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Revolutionary War-dated manuscript DS, signed "Sam'l Adams" and "Artemas Ward," one page, 15.75 x 10, July 1779. Official Massachusetts Bay Council document appointing Grafton Gardner as judge of probate for Nantucket County, reading, in part: "The Government and People of the State of Massachusetts Bay…do hereby Constitute and appoint You to be Judge for taking the Probate of Wills of all or any person or persons deceased or that shall hereafter cease, being at the time of his or their Death, dwellers or residents in the County of Nantucket within Our State of the Massachusetts Bay in New England." Signed along the left side in ink by Samuel Adams, Artemas Ward, and five additional Massachusetts Bay Council members, including Jeremiah Powell, Benjamin Greenleaf, Jabez Fisher, Benjamin White, and Isaiah Stone. The upper left corner retains its original embossed wax-and-paper state seal incorporating Paul Revere's famed Minuteman design. Archivally mounted and framed to an overall size of 23 x 17.5. In very good to fine condition, with multiple tears to the top edge margin, and trimming to the edges and lower left quadrant; the bold signatures of Adams and Ward are completely unaffected. Issued at a turbulent moment in Revolutionary Massachusetts, the document reflects the wartime government's effort to maintain civil authority over Nantucket, whose Quaker-majority population had attempted to remain neutral during the Revolution. Signed by Declaration signer Samuel Adams and Artemas Ward, president of the Massachusetts Executive Council and effectively the state's wartime chief executive, it offers a compelling glimpse into the civil administration of Revolutionary Massachusetts.
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