Lot 207
Lee, Richard Henry (1732-1794) Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Autograph Document Signed (Westmoreland County, Virginia) December 9, 1761, 1 pg small quarto. A legal document binding Fleming Patterson and Hugh West to John McCarty for the sum of 14 pounds. The document is signed by Patterson and West, with red wax seals next to their signatures, and acknowledged before Lee, who was Justice of the Peace of Westmoreland County, although his title is not mentioned in the document. Overall toning, but boldly penned and signed. A nice example for framing. Lee is in the rare group of signers, considered a 3 out of 5 in rarity.
Lee was from a weathy family and did not have to work, but he avidly studied law and history. As a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1758 to 1775, he spoke out against slavery, asking the burgesses "to lay so heavy a duty on the importation of slaves as effectually to put an end to that iniquitous and disgraceful traffic within the colony of Virginia." He opposed the Stamp Act, leading his company of light horse to the resident collector's house and confiscating and burning his commission and papers. In 1773 he initiated, with Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, intercolonial committees of correspondence. Lee was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1779. On June 7, 1776, he moved the resolution (adopted July 2) that led directly to the writing of the Declaration of Independence, which he signed, as well as the Articles of Confederation. He was in the Congress again from 1784 to 1789, serving as President 1784-85. From 1789 to 1792 he was a member of the U.S. Senate.
Estimated Value $3,000 - 4,000.
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| Realized $4,888 |
