Notes
This letter was signed by Patrick Henry on June 16, 1786 during his fifth and last term as Governor of Virginia. This document accompanied a commission of escheator to a county in Virginia, advising the receiver to check with the attorney general on county business. This document was not included in the acquisition by PHMF
The letter was written from the "Council Chamber" of the Governor's Council, also known as the Privy Council and Council of State. Established in 1607, the Council and its its twelve members were appointed by the British sovereign beginning in the 1630s.
In June 29, 1776, Virginia ratified its constitution, which distributed state power among three branches of the new government: the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. The Council, part of the executive branch, lost most of its formal powers and decreased its numbers to eight members. The councilors—appointed by the legislature—were primarily tasked with serving as advisors to the governor, who was also appointed by the legislature. Patrick Henry was required to get the advice of the Council for most of his actions. Where Henry and his council met was referred to as the Council Chamber.
The Council continued until delegates to the 1850 Virginia Constitutional Convention chose not to retain the Council as a formal body, vesting many of its remaining functions in the popularly elected offices of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.
This letter was sent to George Gilpin (1740–1813) of Fairfax County, Virginia. Gilpin, a merchant, surveyor, and postmaster in Alexandria, was a native of Cecil County, Maryland. During the American Revolution, he had been a colonel of the Fairfax County militia and served on the Fairfax County Committee. Gilpin was a director of the Bank of Alexandria and the Potomac River Company and a justice of the peace and judge of the orphans’ court by Thomas Jefferson’s appointment. Upon the death of George Washington, Gilpin served as an honorary pallbearer.
The Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation purchased this document from Western Hemisphere Inc. Books and Manuscripts based in Stoughton, Massachusetts on June 11, 1971.