1788 dated Pay Order Issued to Oliver Ellsworth and signed by Oliver Wolcott Jr. - Revolutionary War Autograph

State of Connecticut Pay Order issued to Oliver Ellsworth and signed by Oliver Wolcott, Jr.

Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 – November 26, 1807) was a prominent Founding Father of the United States, recognized for his roles as an attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. He played a significant part in the drafting of the United States Constitution, served as a United States senator from Connecticut, and held the position of the third chief justice of the United States. In the 1796 presidential election, he garnered 11 electoral votes.

Ellsworth's contributions were instrumental in securing Connecticut's ratification of the Constitution, and he was elected as one of the first two senators from the state, serving from 1789 to 1796. He was the principal author of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the framework for the federal judiciary and affirmed the Supreme Court's authority to invalidate state supreme court rulings that conflicted with the United States Constitution. As a key ally of Alexander Hamilton in the Senate, Ellsworth was affiliated with the Federalist Party and played a pivotal role in the passage of Hamilton's initiatives, including the Funding Act of 1790 and the Bank Bill of 1791. He also supported the United States Bill of Rights and the Jay Treaty.

Oliver Wolcott Jr. (January 11, 1760 – June 1, 1833) was an American politician and judge. He served as the second United States Secretary of the Treasury, a judge on the United States Circuit Court for the Second Circuit, and the 24th Governor of Connecticut. Wolcott began his adult life working in Connecticut, later joining the federal government in the Department of Treasury, before returning to Connecticut, where he spent the remainder of his life until his death. Over the course of his political career, Wolcott's views shifted from Federalist to Toleration and ultimately to Jacksonian. He was the son of Oliver Wolcott Sr. and was part of the Griswold-Wolcott family.

Born on January 11, 1760, in Litchfield, Connecticut Colony, British America, Wolcott served in the Continental Army from 1777 to 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. He graduated from Yale University in 1778, where he was a member of the Brothers in Unity society, and studied law in 1781.

Before becoming the second Secretary of Treasury, Wolcott was the first Auditor in the Treasury Department. According to Richard White, his duties as Auditor involved making the initial examination of accounts and determining balances on all claims against the government. Working alongside the first Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and as a fellow Federalist, Wolcott became a target for criticism from Thomas Jefferson. This was due to the rivalry between Hamilton's Federalists and Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, who were the two main political factions of the time.

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