Books and Manuscripts

New Haven, October 20, 1790. Single sheet, 8 1/4 x 13 in. (209 x 330 mm). Partially-printed document, signed by Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Connecticut, Samuel Huntington, as Governor, commissioning Timothy Higgins a "Cornet of the 2d. Troop of Horse, in the first Regiment of light Dragoons" in the state militia; counter-signed by George Wyllys. Severely toned; multiple large stains at center; creasing from old folds, separations along same; crudely repaired and mounted to a larger sheet. In frame, 9 1/2 x 14 1/4 in. (241 x 361 mm).

Samuel Huntington (1731-1796) was serving as the President of the Continental Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781, and because of this, some unconventional scholars consider him the first President of the United States.