[Three Manuscript Documents Written and/or Signed by Wentworth Cheswill, the First African American Elected to Public Office in the United States].
Newmarket, Rockingham County, NH: 1809-1913. Three documents, totaling five pages. Old folds, with some short separations, minor staining and spotting. Overall very good condition. Item #13259
A trio of legal documents memorializing the service of Wentworth Cheswill (1746-1817) as a Justice of the Peace in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the early national period. Cheswill was a veteran of the American Revolution and at various times also served as auditor and assessor of his town. He is generally considered the first African American to be elected to public office in the United States. Cheswill was educated under Harvard graduate William Moody's Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts. Following his education, Cheswill returned to Newmarket and worked as a schoolmaster while at the same time amassing considerable land holdings in the area.
On December 13, 1774, as the elected town messenger for the Committee of Safety, Cheswill rode with Paul Revere to warn Portsmouth citizens that two British warships were on their way to retake gunpowder and weapons stolen by the colonists from Fort William and Mary. When the American Revolution broke out, Wentworth Cheswill enlisted as a private in Col. John Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers and fought at the Battle of Saratoga. He also signed the New Hampshire Committee of Safety's Association Test in April 1776. The documents presented here are as follows:
1) Manuscript Document Signed, "Wentworth Cheswill Jus. Peace." February 27 to April 11, 1809. [2]pp. The first page of the document is entirely in Cheswill's hand, documenting an argument over a debt between two local citizens. The second page is in a different hand, is dated March 6, 1809, and documents the result of the case. Cheswill then adds a note at the bottom of his page indicating there was a "Rule returned 11th April 1809."
2) Partially-Printed Document, Completed in Manuscript, Signed "Wentworth Cheswill." October 12, 1812. The handwriting completing the document is Cheswill's, in which he rules on another debtor case, rendering his detailed judgement.
3) Partially-Printed Document, Completed in Manuscript, Signed, "Wentworth Cheswill." April 16, 1813. [1]p., with one-page manuscript supporting document tipped on. The handwriting completing the document is not Cheswill's, but he does sign his full name at the conclusion of the document.
Price: $6,500