Recent Acquisition: Page from William Ellery’s letter book

November 1, 2017

Last week, the Newport Historical Society acquired a page from a letter book belonging to William Ellery, Newport’s signer of the Declaration of Independence. The page has been returned to its original location in the letter book at NHS, after having been missing for decades.

Ellery wrote the draft letters on this page in March of 1797. One is addressed to Oliver Wolcott, Jr., successor to Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. This is not the only Wolcott related item among NHS’s collections. His father, Oliver Wolcott, Sr., was a former Continental Army officer, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and 19th Governor of Connecticut. NHS has a locket in its collection that contains the hair of George and Martha Washington, presented to the senior Wolcott in 1797, and arranged to form a bouquet of flowers.


 Interested in William Ellery? Check out this Ellery themed item available for purchase from our online store:

 

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