Autographs
Scarce 1825 Military Commission Signed “Oliver Wolcott”
OLIVER WOLCOTT, JR. (January 11, 1760 – June 1, 1833). United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1795 to 1800 under George Washington in 1795 to succeed Alexander Hamilton, and the 24th Governor of Connecticut from 1817 to 1827.
May 30th, 1825-Dated, Partially-Printed Document Signed, “Olv.(er) Wolcott,” as Governor, Hartford, Connecticut, Very Fine. Governor Oliver Wolcott has signed this 8” x 11” Military Commission of Lyman Baldwin to be a Lieutenant in the State Militia. Lyman Baldwin (1791-1873), born in Milford, Connecticut on March 15, 1791 to Edward Baldwin and Frances S Summers. Lyman married Grace Johnson and had 6 children. He passed away on 22 Mar 1873 in Milford, Connecticut. Boldly headed and nicely titled, having an ornate Script style to the text, nicely embossed with a large official State Seal at the upper left. Signed at right by Wolcott, and also by Thomas Day as Secretary. Document is separated at center fold with some minor margin splits, age tone, in overall sharply printed and is well accomplished, attractive condition for display.
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (January 11, 1760 – June 1, 1833) was United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1795 to 1800 and the 24th Governor of Connecticut from 1817 to 1827.

He was a clerk in Connecticut's Office of the Committee on the Pay Table from 1781 to 1782, and a commissioner on that committee from 1782-1784. Wolcott was appointed in 1784 as one of the commissioners to mediate claims between the U.S. and the state of Connecticut. After serving as state comptroller of Connecticut from 1788–90, he was named auditor of the federal treasury, and became Comptroller of the Treasury in 1791. He was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by George Washington in 1795 to succeed Alexander Hamilton. In 1799, as Secretary of the Treasury, he designed the United States Customs Service flag. He resigned in 1800 due to unpopularity, and a particularly vitriolic campaign against him in the press in which, among other things, he was falsely accused of setting fire to the State Department building.

Wolcott lost a campaign for Governor of Connecticut in 1816, running as a "Toleration Republican", against the Federalist Party to which he had once belonged. He ran again in 1817 and won, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as Governor, and serving ten years in the post. His tenure was noted for the economic growth and moderate policies that attended it. Additionally, he presided over a convention that created a new state constitution in 1818 and disestablished the Congregationalist Church. Nevertheless, he was defeated for reelection as Governor of Connecticut in 1827.

Thomas Day (1777–1855) graduated from Yale College in 1797; studied law at Litchfield Law School; and, from September 1798 to September 1799, was a tutor in Williams College. He was admitted to the bar in December 1799, and began practice in Hartford. In 1809, he was appointed assistant secretary of the state of Connecticut and in 1810 secretary, an office which he retained until 1835.