Hall, Lyman (1724-1790) [Document authorizing the distribution of confiscated slaves from Tory plantations to veterans of the Revolution]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09104 Author/Creator: Hall, Lyman (1724-1790) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph document signed Date: 26 March 1783 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 17 x 20 cm. Order a Copy
"Ordered that the Commissioners, of the Confiscated and Annexed Estates, furnish Mr. Henry Ellison with such Numbers of Negroes, as he is Entitled to Receive, by Virtue of his Certificates in Col. Jackson's Corps, agreeable to the Laws of this State & that this Order do issue in Favour of Mr. Ellison..." Docketed "An order for negros to H. Allison."
At the end of the American Revolution, Loyalists (estimated at 10-15 % of the population) fled to Canada and Britain. While most of Georgia's veterans were rewarded with bounty lands, Ellison (or Allison) may have specifically asked to be awarded slaves, hence the need for this special order in council. It is likely that the firm to which Ellison is directed was a slave-trading establishment.
Lyman Hall (1724 - 1790), one of three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence, was a political leader in the American Revolution. Born in Connecticut, he trained as a Physician at Yale, then moved to Georgia, where he became a planter. Sent to the Continental Congress in 1775, he became governor of Georgia in 1783. In 1785, Georgia chartered a state university at his suggestion.
[Draft Created by Crowdsourcing]
In Council March 26th 1783
Ordered that the Commissioners, of the Confiscated and [illegible] Estates, furnish Mr. Henry Ellison with such Number of Negroes, as he is [illegible] to Receive, by Virtue of his Certificates in Col. Jackson's Corps, aprable to the Law of this State.
& that this order do [illegible] in Favour of Mr. Ellison, Directed to Messr. Chl. Annisette, [illegible] & Hugh Lawson
L Hall
[2]
No. 1 in order for negros to H Allison
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