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Lot 142: Gov. Thomas Hutchinson Signed Doc.

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Lot  142: Gov. Thomas Hutchinson Signed Doc.
<b>Autographs</b><hr><b>THOMAS HUTCHINSON, Last Colonial Governor of Massachusetts; Enforced Stamp Act.</b>
Manuscript Document Signed 'T Hutchinson' as Chief Justice for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, October 15, 1764, Very Good. A legal deposition regarding the death of one Nathaniel Dyer, in which Ephraim Man and John Stoddard, both of Braintree, swear before Hutchinson that they had known Dyer well, that he was about 27 years old, that his mother did about thirteen years ago, and 'his father died about the year 1760 being the last any men went into the service from this government.... Nathaniel left at the time of his death... one brother...& three sisters....' Hutchinson signed boldly in the lower right corner, and a small paper seal is in the lower left corner. There are two heavy stains which affect some text, some partial fold splits and small holes at folds. As Chief Justice, Hutchinson would uphold the legality of the Stamp Act in 1765 and would have his house burned by a mob. Hutchinson was lieutenant governor from 1758-71 and the last royal governor of Massachusetts (1771-74). He fled in exile to England in 1774, where he remained until his death in 1780.