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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.

Sampson, Zabdiel (1781-1828) to Aaron Hobart

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06313.04.131 Author/Creator: Sampson, Zabdiel (1781-1828) Place Written: Plymouth, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 January 1822 Pagination: 1 p. : address ; 24.7 x 20.4 cm. Order a Copy

Explains and encloses (not included) Captain Edward Morton's "demand against the United States," for monies owed for selling General Henry Dearborn a barge he captured for the use of the United States during the War of 1812. Also, indicates that he wants Hobart present if a payment is made. Asks about the Merchant Bill (and its likelihood of becoming law) and the petitions that Bartlett and Carver presented in the last congressional session.

Zabdiel Sampson was a congressional representative from Massachusetts from 1817 to 1820, after which he was appointed collector of customs at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1820, serving until his death.
Aaron Hobart, lawyer, jurist, state senator, and congressman, was born on June 26, 1787 in Abington, Massachusetts. Hobart pursued classical studies and graduated from Brown University in 1805. Thereafter, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1809, commencing practice in Abington. In 1824 he moved to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He was a representative in the state legislature in 1814; a state senator in 1819; and in 1820 was elected a representative in the 16th congress to fill a vacancy, taking his seat on December 18, 1820. He was re-elected to the 17th, 18th, & 19th congresses, serving from 1820-1827. He was a member of the governor's council, 1827-31, and a judge of probate, 1843-58. He is the author of Historical Sketches of Abington Mass. (1839). He died in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts on September 19, 1858 and was buried in Central Cemetery.

Sampson, Zabdiel, 1781-1828
Hobart, Aaron, 1787-1858
Morton, Edward
Dearborn, Henry, 1751-1829
Bartlett, Zacheus, fl. 1822
Carver, fl. 1822

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