Henry Packer Dering Autograph Letter Signed to Congressman Jonathan Nicoll Havens February 18 1793

Description

Henry Packer Dering Autograph Letter Signed to Congressman Jonathan Nicoll Havens February 18, 1793. Manuscript, ink on paper, autograph letter signed “H.P. Dering,” addressed to Jonathan N[icoll] Havens, dated February 18, 1793, ½  folio sheet, 12 ¾ in x 7 ¾ in, 1 page, vertical chain lines, watermark of an eagle with a shield, grasping thirteen arrows in its left talon and an olive branch in its right talon, an early representation of the Great Seal of the United States.

Text of the letter:

“Sag Harbor, Feb[ruar]y 18, 1793

Dear Sir,

Capt. Nicoll Fosdick has desired me to purchase for him 200 bush[el]s of Shelter Island Oats, and finding most of the oats on the Island disposed of except yours, I would wish to know if you would sell yours for the price he has authorized me to give which is as customary 2/p[er] bush[e]l: Cash paid on delivery of the Oats at the Landing Shelter Island.

From the best information I can get you will have about 100 bushels to part with – more than you’d want for your own use.

Your answer by the return of Capt. Clark will Oblige.

Sir, your hum[bl]e Serv[an]t

H.P. Dering

PS There has a report been circulating for some days past of the death of Mr. Gelston New York, but as we have rec[eive]d no confirmation of it, must conclude it is groundless.”

An interesting letter between two important men in New York’s early statehood: Henry Packer Dering was appointed the first Customs Master by George Washington under the new United States Constitution. Custom House (Sag Harbor, New York) – Wikipedia Prior to the establishment of the United States Post Office in 1794, mail was carried by a designated ship captain with whom the sender had a standing business relationship. The first recorded official postmaster appointment for Sag Harbor dates from September 25, 1794, the official date of the first United States Post Office at Sag Harbor. In 1794, Henry Packer Dering added a lean-to to his house to fulfill his duties as the first postmaster in Sag Harbor.

Congressman Jonathan Nicoll Havens 1757 – 1799 was a member of the New York delegation which met at Poughkeepsie on June 17, 1788, and ratified the Constitution of the United States. He served in Congress from 1795 to 1799, the year of this premature death, aged 41. Jonathan Nicoll Havens – Wikipedia . See Duvall, The History of Shelter Island.

 

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