Maryland








Maryland Landowner in 1786 to Former Member of Continental Congress





GEORGE WELLS, Autograph Letter Signed, to Matthew Tilghman, January 12, 1786, Baltimore, Maryland. 1 p., 7.5" x 9.25". Some chipping on edges, not affecting text; expected folds.





In this letter, George Wells of Baltimore asks Matthew Tilghman of Chester Town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to bring suit against William Armstrong for rent due and a bond. Tilghman had been a Revolutionary leader in Maryland and served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776.





Excerpt


“From a recommendation from my friend Coll Richard Graves, on the following Business I shall employ you as my attorney. I have here Inclosed William Armstrong Bond, Likewise An Account for one years rent due on a Lot which the Said Armstrong Least from me. you’l please to bring suit for the Bond & the Ground rent and if you think it necessary I will send you a Copy from the records for the Ground Least him, this Mr Armstrong Lives about 7 miles from ‘Chester Town’ and near the Church.”





[Docketing by Tilghman:] “George Wells inclosing Bond & Acct Wm Armstrong / Jany 12, 1786”





George Wells (1743-1831) was born in Maryland and lived there until the mid-1780s, when he moved to western Pennsylvania and then on to Ohio.





Matthew Tilghman (1718-1790) was born on the family plantation near Centreville, in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. He married Anne Lloyd in 1741, and they had five children between 1742 and 1755. They moved to a large plantation in Claiborne, Maryland. He was a leader in the Revolutionary movement in Maryland, effectively heading the revolution in Maryland from 1774 to 1776. He was the chairman of the Committee of Safety, president of the Annapolis Convention that functioned as the colony’s provincial government, and head of the Maryland delegation to the Continental Congress. There, he supported the Declaration of Independence and voted for its approval before being replaced in Congress by Charles Carroll of Carrollton before signing the document. He returned to Maryland to preside over the Annapolis Convention and headed the committee that drafted Maryland’s first constitution. He served in the Maryland State Senate from 1776 to 1783, when he retired to manage his properties.





Richard Graves (d. ca. 1792) owned a plantation in Kent County, Maryland, and commanded the 13th battalion of the Maryland militia during the Revolutionary War. In the 1780s, he had a ship-yard in Kent County and also served as a justice of the peace.








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