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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.

Knox, Henry (1750-1806) to Rufus King

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05174 Author/Creator: Knox, Henry (1750-1806) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 28 September 1791 Pagination: 4 p. : docket ; 31.5 x 20.2 cm. Order a Copy

Knox signs with his initials. References a note King wrote earlier respecting a nephew of Judge [Abraham] Yates "entering into the military Line." Tells King an ensigncy has become vacant in the regular regiment and that he has told President Washington of the appointment. Fears that "you and his other friends may think that he ought to be in a higher grade," but it is not possible. Asks King to find out if the nephew is still interested. Heard from Ralph Izard that he (Izard) gave King a pamphlet on the [Yazoo] Company. Asks King and Doctor William Samuel Johnson to send him documents on the sale, as well as pamphlets "relative to the title." Large parts of pages two and three are struck, and in this section, Knox mentions the history of land ownership in the Carolinas and Georgia. As this issue will doubtlessly come up at the next session of Congress, Knox wants to have as much information as possible, and does not know who else to ask but King.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
King, Rufus, 1755-1827

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