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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Williams, William (1731-1811) [Document allocating funds for the construction of a naval galley]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01503 Author/Creator: Williams, William (1731-1811) Place Written: Connecticut Type: Autograph document signed Date: 16 February 1776 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 9 x 20.8 cm. Order a Copy

Williams, a Lebanon, Connecticut city clerk and Selectman, reports that at a previous meeting, the Governor and Council of Safety of Connecticut voted that the Committee of Pay Tables should collect money to build a galley for use by the colony. States that the sum will be accounted for by Captain Jonathan Lester. Instructs that Lester draw his order on Constable Jabez Hough of Norwich. Lester signs on verso, stating "Please to pay or Discount the within to Jabez Hough." Hough also signs, underneath an order to the treasurer for the amount requested. Docketed 15 March [1776].

Williams served on the Continental Congress in 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence, assisted in Framing the Articles of Confederation, and in 1777 was appointed to the Board of War. Jonathan Trumbull served as Governor of Connecticut 1769-1784.

Hough, Jabez, fl. 1773-1776
Lester, Jonathan, -1797
Williams, William, 1731-1811
Trumbull, Jonathan, 1710-1785

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