1776 Americana: A Catalogue of Autograph Letters and Documents Relating to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War

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A.S.W. Rosenbach (1876 – 1952) was a scholar, collector, and dealer in rare books and manuscripts in Philadelphia, Pennsyvlvania. A catalog produced by the Rosenbach Company in 1926 lists two letters by George Wythe for sale,[1] one of which is the earliest known letter (1754) written by Wythe.[2]

Document text, 1926

Page 95

Page 95 from 1776 Americana (Philadelphia: Rosenbach Company, 1926).


230
EXTREMELY EARLY LETTER OF WYTHE, SIGNER
FROM VIRGINIA
     WYTHE, GEORGE. Signer from Virginia. A. L. S. To Daniel Parke Custis, New Kent. Williamsburg, April 10, 1754. 1 page, folio. With address.
$385.00

In a letter on legal matters to a relative of Martha Washington, Wythe, the Virginia Signer, mentions another of her family, Mr. Dandridge.



231
VIRGINIA SIGNER ON THE SUBJECT OF A RUN-
AWAY SLAVE
     WYTHE, GEORGE. Signer from Virginia. A. L. S. To Robert Carter. June 11, 1771.[3] With address. 1 page, folio.
$675.00

Refers to a run-away slave. " . . . we agreed to refer the affair of his slave, Moses Flood, to the arbitrament of Mr. Treasurer and Mr. Blair, who value the man to 100 l. . . . Perhaps you may hear of the fellow in Maryland, whither, it seems, he fled, and reclaim him for the benefit of the estate. . . . "

References

  1. 1776 Americana: A Catalogue of Autograph Letters and Documents Relating to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War (Philadelphia: Rosenbach Company, 1926), 95.
  2. William Edwin Hemphill, "George Wythe the Colonial Briton: A Biographical Study of the Pre-Revolutionary Era in Virginia," PhD diss., University of Virginia, 1937, 56.
  3. This letter was sold at auction again, in 2007: "George Wythe Rare Autograph Letter Signed 'G. Wythe,' one page, Lot #30154," Heritage Auctions, October 25, 2007.