Our Collection

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.

Dayton, Elias (fl. 1765) [Certificate of service and of disability].

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02498.04 Author/Creator: Dayton, Elias (fl. 1765) Place Written: s.l. Type: Document signed Date: 20 February 1765 Pagination: Order a Copy

"This is to certify that the bearer, John Williams, has served in the New Jersey Regiment [illegible] the command of Col. McDonald and Serjent in Capn Draytons Company and in the service has lost the use of [illegible] thumb. Given under my hand and seal." Signed as Captain of the New Jersey Regiment. An important Revolutionary War military figure, Drayton was a member of the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788.

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