William H. Harrison ALS On Christmas, U.S. Senate Bid

William Henry Harrison ALS Requesting Friends Pull Strings to Ensure his U.S. Senate Bid. 2pp autograph letter signed by future 9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) as "W. H. Harrison" on the second page at bottom right. Written in North Bend, Ohio on December 25, 1821. The letter is on cream bifold paper. The first page and address leaf measure 12.25" x 7.875". The first and second pages have been inscribed by Harrison, while the third page is blank. The fourth page, consisting of a holographic integral address leaf, is docketed at top, bears a stamped philatelic marking from Cincinnati, and bears remnants of a red wax seal. Expected paper folds. Minor weathering to the address leaf and a few isolated holes found within the wax. Else near fine, with dark and bold handwriting.

William Henry Harrison, the ex-military hero and aspiring Midwestern politician, wrote "MT Williams Esqr. / of the H of R of Ohio / Columbus". This was Micajah Terrell Williams (1792-1844), the Ohio politician. Harrison was writing to ask Williams--and many other mutual friends--to support his eventually unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. Harrison's letter is direct in its persistent requests for Williams to rally Harrison's partisans.

The entirety of this remarkable letter has been reproduced below, with unchanged spelling and punctuation: "North Bend 25th Dec 1821 Dear Williams I have written a sort of official notification to Captain Brown as the Senior of the Hamilton Delegation to communicate my wish to be considered as a candidate for the Senate of the U.S.

"I rely with confidence on the support of all of you. Mr. Short will be prevented by our commission from taking an active part but the rest can + I am sure will. You + Genl Webb got so well acquainted with the members last year that you will have more in yr power than the others but the exertion of all will probably be necessary. There were a number of the upper members who last year voted against me solely from local considerations. Amongst those were Baldwin Mr Millan, Ogwatt Stone Jennings + Wheeler of the Senate and Harper Galt Lannon House Sloan Whittlesey Wilson +c+c of the House.

"Some of these (particularly Wilson) assure me of this in the strongest terms. Will you be so obliging as to remind them of it in as Delicate Terms as possible - not that I consider them in the smallest degree pledged to me. But they all strongly disclaim any personal Hostility and on the contrary possess a friendship for me + a willingness to have (?) served me if an obligation to what they concern to be the interests of their immediate Constituents had not forbade it.Make my Particular Respects to Col. + tell him that I rely upon his aid I would have written to him but I thought it would be better to write as few letters as possible.

"Present my regards to your colleague - + believe me yr friend W.H. Harrison M.T. Williams Esqr."

William Henry Harrison had gained his first real political experience serving as governor of Indiana Territory between 1801-1812. In 1814, he had retired from the military and uneasily transitioned back to civilian life. Between October 1816-March 1819, Harrison served as an Ohio Congressman to the U.S. House of Representatives. Next followed two bitter political defeats: the first, Harrison's aborted bid for governor of Ohio in 1820; and the second, his loss of a U.S. congressional seat in 1822. Harrison did in fact reach the U.S. Senate, but it was not until March 1825.

Harrison's correspondent M.T. Williams represented southwestern Ohio's Hamilton County (which included Cincinnati) in the Ohio House of Representatives. Williams was reelected in 1822-23 and served as the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives between 1824-1825. Later, Williams acted as a commissioner of the Ohio-Erie Canal.

Harrison was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1824 as a Pro-Adams candidate, and served from 1825-1828, when President John Quincy Adams appointed him U.S. Minister to Colombia. He was elected President on the Whig ticket in 1840.He has the dubious distinction of the shortest presidency; Harrison died of pneumonia only a month after taking office.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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