Lot 54
Whipple, William (1730-85) Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Connecticut. Autograph Letter Signed ("W:m Whipple"), 2½ pages, 12½ x 7¾ in., Portsmouth, Oct. 19, 1778. To his brother, Joseph Whipple, whom he had hoped to see before he set out for Congress, regarding the family farm in Kittery (Maine), where they lived before moving to New Hampshire. He discusses in detail the below-par yield of crops and the manager of the farm, who is not doing a good job. He is concerned about being charged for the wages of a boy who did no work and whose master had "brought him to keep him from doing mischief at home," and he encloses money received from Mr. Austin for rental of a store. A seal tear on the address leaf does not affect any text or the signature. Accompanied by a transcript. Whipple is rare.
William Whipple served in the Continental Congress from 1776 through 1779, although he took leave to fulfill his military duties as Brigadier General of the New Hampshire Militia, a post to which he was appointed in 1777. He led his troops against General Burgoyne at the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga.
Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,500.
Purchased from Walter R. Benjamin Autographs, Inc. in 1982.
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| Realized $3,186 |
