Rev War BLACK PAUL REVERE, Wentworth Cheswill / Cheswell SIGNED DOCUMENT (NH)

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Rev War BLACK PAUL REVERE, Wentworth Cheswill / Cheswell SIGNED DOCUMENT (NH):
$199.99

- Wentworth Cheswill SIGNED New Hampshire DOCUMENT -- Often Called the Revolutionary War BLACK PAUL REVERE -- FIRST African-American ELECTED to Public Office in U.S. -- REV WAR SOLDIER in the “BATTLE OF SARATOGA” - - SIGNED on verso by SILVERSMITH Timothy Gerrish -

Partly-printed NEW HAMPSHIRE document SIGNED TWICE by “Justice of the Peace” WENTWORTH CHESWILL (sometimes spelled Cheswell), once along the bottom of the document and again within the text itself. Cheswill is often referred to as the Revolutionary War’s BLACK PAUL REVERE. Document is a LEGAL WRIT dated September 15th 1812, at Newmarket (NH) in Rockingham County, whereby Elijah Hanson of Dover CLOTHIER “recovered judgement against” Silas Tuttle of Newington LABORER “for the sum of FIVE DOLLARS and FIFTY SIX cents debt or damage, and the sum of THREE DOLLARS and THIRTEEN cents costs of suit”.

Document is also SIGNED on the backside or verso by New Hampshire SILVERSMITH / GOLDSMITH Timothy Gerrish who was a Deputy Sheriff and Jail Warden for the last 16 years of his life.

WENTWORTH CHESWILL (1746 – 1817) was the grandson of Richard Cheswell, a black slave who gained his freedom in 1717 and was New Hampshire’s first black property owner. Wentworth Cheswill attended Dummer Academy in Massachusetts in 1763 and thereafter returned to his home town of Newmarket to become the schoolmaster. In 1768, he was selected as the town’s constable, becoming the FIRST African-American or BLACK person ELECTED to PUBLIC OFFICE in the United States. Prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord, he was appointed messenger to the “Committee of Safety”, entrusted with carrying important news to and from the Provincial Committee at Exeter (NH) and tasked with delivering information and intelligence on British troop movements. Serving in that capacity, Cheswill undertook the same responsibility as Paul Revere, warning New Hampshire residents of the impending British invasion. Wentworth Cheswill was also an American Revolutionary War veteran, serving briefly in Colonel John Landgon’s company during the Saratoga campaign, helping to bolster the Continental Army under General Horatio Gates. CONDITION: document measures about 7 ½ x 12 5/8 inches in size and is in EXCELLENT overall condition. There are two vertical folds and one horizontal fold, but NO rips or tears (see scans). WENTWORTH CHESWILL’S signature / autograph is guaranteed authentic. Winning buyer to pay $7 for shipping, postage & INSURANCE. Please email your questions.