AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY THOMAS CONTEE, FEATURING DISCUSSION OF TRANSATLANTIC TOBACCO TRADE

Autograph letter signed by Thomas Contee (circa 1729-1811). N.p., 8 April 1784. 1 page, 8vo. Remnants of original seal to verso. 

A letter written by Thomas Contee to Col. William Lyles in Alexandria, Virginia. In the letter, Contee writes to Lyles about how the latter's order from London isn't coming anymore and that "If you want goods and I can supply you for Tobacco, it will be perfectly agreeable to me, or should you rather incline to ship your Tobacco to London & Consign it to my friend, you shall have goods of me on the most reasonable terms and take Bills in payment." 

Contee's son, Benjamin, ran a shipping business and had just sent a ship at the end of February that contained some goods Contee ordered. But he tells Lyle that "It is probable Ben will be with us in a few weeks, he said in his last letter he has some thought of coming over in the ship that is to bring our goods... and when the ship arrives, shall advise you what goods I may have by here." 

Thomas (c.1729-1811) was too old for active duty when the Revolutionary War broke out, so he served on several councils, including as a major, then colonel, of a militia by the Council of Safety, where he was instructed to inspect newly raised troops and help equip them. After the war, he was elected to the state legislature and served as chairman of the Republican Party in Prince George's County, Maryland. He was also engaged in a tobacco trade business and acted as an agent for his sons' shipping business. 

Benjamin (1755-1815) served as a captain in the 3rd Maryland in the Revolutionary War until the regiment was almost destroyed at the Battle of Camden. When the war ended, Benjamin was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, then became a delegate to the Confederation Congress and the third district of Maryland in U.S. Congress. Him and his brother, Alexander, also started their shipping business in London, but he was later declared insolvent due to "mishaps in trade," so when Benjamin's term in Congress ended, he decided to travel around Europe. On his return back to America, he became an Episcopal minister, a job he held with distinction. 

[American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]