1794 dated Pay Order Issued to Andrew Adams and signed by Andrew Kingsbury and John Porter - Connecticut - Revolutionary War

State of Connecticut Pay Order Issued to Andrew Adams and signed at back. Also signed by Andrew Kingsbury and John Porter on front. Further research necessary on John Porter.

Andrew Adams (January 7, 1736 – November 26, 1797) was an American lawyer, jurist, and political leader in Litchfield, Connecticut, during the American Revolutionary War. He was a representative for Connecticut to the Continental Congress and later became Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Adams was born in Stratford, the son of Samuel (1703-1788) and Mary Fairchild (1698-1803) Adams. His father was a lawyer in Stratford and a judge of Fairfield County. Adams attended Yale and graduated in 1760 before studying law with his father. He initially practiced in Stamford. In 1772, he was appointed as the king's attorney for Litchfield County. Adams moved to Litchfield in 1774, where he lived for the rest of his life.

With the onset of the American Revolution, Adams was a member of Connecticut's Committee of Safety. He served in the state Assembly from 1776 until 1781 and was its speaker in 1779 and 1780. During the Revolutionary War, he also served as a colonel in the Connecticut militia. Adams was appointed to the Second Continental Congress in 1778 and signed the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, Adams was appointed as a judge of the supreme court of Massachusetts. In 1793, he was appointed chief justice of the State of Connecticut. He passed away on November 26, 1797, at the age of sixty-three, leaving behind a strong reputation as a lawyer, statesman, and patriot.

Andrew Kingsbury was born on 24 April 1759 in West Farms. He was the son of Phebe French Kingsbury and Ephraim Kingsbury. In June 1776, he enlisted as a private soldier and was discharged along with the Regiment in Salisbury, Pennsylvania, later that year. In 1777, Kingsbury reentered the service at Danbury, Connecticut and was transferred to the General and Hospital Department. There, he served as a clerk until 15 December 1778, when he was appointed as Storekeeper. He held that position until 1781, when he became a clerk in the office of Ralph Pomeroy, Esq., Deputy Quartermaster-General. Kingsbury married Mary Osborn (who passed away in 1848) on 14 January 1783, and together they had five children. Kingsbury continued to serve in the Comptroller’s Office until 1791. He was then appointed Comptroller of Public Accounts, serving until 1793, when he was elected Treasurer of the State of Connecticut. Kingsbury remained in that office until 1818. Additionally, he became Treasurer of the Connecticut Missionary Society in 1799 and Treasurer of Hartford Grammar School in 1806. Andrew Kingsbury passed away on 6 October 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Connecticut Historical Society)

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War and the American War of Independence, was started by delegates from the thirteen American colonies in Congress. They objected to Great Britain's taxation policies and lack of colonial representation. Since their founding in the 1600s, the colonies had mostly governed themselves. The British government, deeply in debt after the 1754-1763 French and Indian War as well as the 1756-1763 Seven Years' War, attempted to have the colonies pay for their own defense, which was strongly opposed. The Stamp Act and Townshend Acts led to colonial unrest, resulting in the 1770 Boston Massacre and the 1773 Boston Tea Party. When Parliament imposed the Intolerable Acts on Massachusetts, twelve colonies sent delegates to the First Continental Congress to draft a Petition to the King and organize a boycott of British goods.

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