Manuscript document signed Edward Russell (1733 – 1819), as Town Clerk of Branford, Connecticut. Branford, Connecticut, 12 August 1782. 1 page, 6 x 7 1/2 inches. Docketed, with figuring to verso. 

A formal notification addressed to Connecticut State Treasurer John Lawrence (1719 –  1802), advising that the Branford selectmen have authorized tax reductions for several local residents, a common practice for those providing military service or suffering wartime hardships. Russell writes, in part "...at a Meeting of the Civil Authority and Selectmen in the Town of Branford on the 25th Day of January 1781, they then proceeded to make abatements on the State Taxes payable in State Money...a List of the names of the persons abated [is] in this Office."

Edward Russell was a prominent Connecticut patriot who served the fledgling nation through both civic responsibilities and active military command during the Revolutionary War. Early in the conflict, he served as a Captain in the 2nd Connecticut Regiment during the Battle of Long Island (1776). As the war progressed, he rose to the rank of Colonel, leading a regiment of militia to defend the state during Tryon's Raid on New Haven in July 1779. In addition to his military service,, Russell was a fixture of Branford’s civil administration, serving for many years as Town Clerk. Lawrence, the recipient, served as the Treasurer of Connecticut from 1769 to 1789, navigating the complex financial demands of the Continental Army, both during the war and in its aftermath.