Partly-printed document filled in manuscript and signed by James Hamilton (1710-1783), as Pennsylvania provisional councilman. [Philadelphia], Pennsylvania, 14 June 1775. 1 page, quarto. Docketed to verso, with affixed red wax seal.

A bill penal with interest acknowledging Hamiltons' debt of £14, 9 shillings, and 9 pence of "Lawful Money of Pennsylvania to be paid unto Adam Clampffer," a Philadelphia hatter.

James Hamilton stands as one of the most prominent figures in Pennsylvania’s colonial administration. He served as Mayor of Philadelphia (1745–1747) before embarking on a distinguished tenure as Lieutenant Governor of the province, serving from 1748 until 1754, and again from 1759 until 1763. At the time of this signing, Hamilton remained an active and influential member of the Provincial Council.

The recipient of the bond, Adam Clampffer (1750–1805), was a Philadelphia Quaker and artisan. Having completed his apprenticeship as a hatter in 1772, Clampffer was a young newlywed at the time of this transaction. His subsequent success in the trade is evidenced by the 1790 Census, which records him as a master hatter and head of a household of seven children.

Executed on June 14, 1775, the same day the Continental Congress established the Continental Army, this document captures a moment of private commerce on the eve of colonial upheaval.

[Colonial America, Manuscripts, Ephemera]