Wythe, George, Signer of the Declaration from Virginia

Autograph letter signed in the salutation ("G. Wythe to mr Carter"), one page (9 1/2 x 7 1/8 in.; 241 x 181 mm) with integral address, Williamsburg, 1 February 1779, Robert Carter, Nomini Hall Plantation, regarding Carter's  legal dispute with Charles Carter and a recommendation that Robert Carter engage Thomas Mason as his lawyer; a few spots, seal tear closed, repair to one fold separation. Blue linen folding case, blue morocco spine lettered gilt.

In this letter, Wythe names the lawyers that attend the Virginia's high court of chancery as counsel: Thomas Mason, Edmund Randolph, Richard Parker, Jerman Baker, Henry Tazewell, and Bartelot Williams. He volunteers to write to Mason and suggest that he undertake the management of Carter's dispute with Charles Carter. In addition to signing the declaration, Wythe was also, among other things, dean of Viriginia's lawyers, a Williamsburg alderman and mayor, a member of the House of Burgesses, and speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. He accepted an appointment as a judge of Virginia's High Court of Chancery  in 1789. The plantation owner Robert Carter embraced the Swedenborgian faith in 1787 and freed almost 500 slaves  from his Nomini Hall plantation. It is the largest known manumission in North American history prior to the Civil War.