Books and Manuscripts

York-Town, August 6, 1788. Single sheet, 8 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (222 x 184 mm). Partially-printed document, signed by Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Virginia, Thomas Nelson, Jr., promising to pay merchant Alexander Macaulay; counter-signed by William B. Christian and John Lewis as witnesses. Docketed on verso in another hand above an endorsement signed by Macaulay. Wax seal present; lightly foxed. In mat and in frame, unexamined out of frame, 14 1/2 x 13 in. (368 x 330 mm).

A rare and bold signature of Thomas Nelson, Jr. (1738-1789), who in addition to signing the Declaration of Independence for Virginia, was governor of the state, and a brigadier general in the state militia. A native of Yorktown, Nelson was present during the siege of the city by the Continental Army in 1781. A popular legend dictates that Nelson urged George Washington to fire cannons upon his own home, the "Nelson House" where British general Cornwallis had made his headquarters, offering five guineas for the man who hit it first.