Lot 57
Witherspoon, John (1723-94) Signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey. Autograph Endorsement Signed ("Jno. Witherspoon") as president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), one page, 6 x 7¼ in., n.p., Aug. 13, 1773. An account of money due for "work and materials used in Mrs. Weatherspoons upper parlour," with two lines in Witherspoon's hand approving payment, "Sir please pay the above Acct of Repairs To Jonathan Sergeant Esqr." Overall toning and uneven lower margin, affecting nothing.
At the urging of Benjamin Franklin and Richard Stockton, Witherspoon, who was a noted Presbyterian scholar, came to America from Scotland in 1768 to become president of the College of New Jersey. Witherspoon lived at first in the President's House but around 1773, the year of this bill, he moved about a mile north of the village to "Tusculum,'' a residence he built that still stands. Witherspoon was very active in the revolutionary cause. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1776, he voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee's Resolution for Independence and shortly after voted for the Declaration of Independence. He helped draft the Articles of Confederation and supported the adoption of the U. S. Constitution.
Witherspoon is very rare.
Estimated Value $3,500 - 5,500.
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| Realized $9,735 |
