4 Early MA Military Commissions, Signed by Levi Lincoln [Whig Party]

LEVI LINLCON JR. (October 25, 1782 – May 29, 1868) was a lawyer and politician from Worcester, MA, and the 13^th Governor of Massachusetts (1825-1834). He represented the state in the U.S. Congress (1834-1841).  Lincoln supported the War of 1812, a minority position in Federalist-dominated Massachusetts and opposed the Hartford Convention.  Lincoln oversaw significant economic development in Massachusetts and issued the first-ever veto by a Massachusetts Governor.   Lincoln and Daniel Webster were leading forces in founding the National Republican (later Whig) Party in Massachusetts, which dominated state politics until the 1850s.  While serving in Congress, he was appointed by President William Henry Harrison as collector of the Port of Boston. He was also helping to develop land in the city of Worcester, where he served as its first mayor in 1848.

Offering four military appointments, 9 3/4 x 15 3/4 three for captain, one for lieutenant, signed by Lincoln as Governor, in 1829 and 1830, appointing JAMES F. ANDREWS of Grafton, ASA SPOONER of Athol, CALVIN REEDE of Hawley, all to the position of captain and JOEL RANDALL of Cummington to lieutenant.  Each is beautifully signed by Lincoln and EDWARD D. BANGS (August 24, 1790 – April 1, 1838), who served as the 6^th Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth from 1824 to 1836.

SPOONER was the son of Wing Spooner, who was a captain in the Revolutionary War.  Asa was a lone advocate of temperance, which, when introduced, found only one other supporter in Athol. Reede appears to be from the prominent Massachusetts Reede family. The Reede appointment notes that Calvin refused to take the oath and refused the commission. The notation is signed by ABEL WILLIAMSON, Colonel, 5^th Regiment on the front and by THOMAS SHELDON, Major General 4^th Division on the verso.

Toning and some bleed through.  All seals and signatures are intact. Certificates previously vertically split, away from signatures, and reattached with archival tape. The Reede certificate contains tape stains from previous cello tape attachment, which has been removed.  Some chipping along the edges. For the most part, the certificates would frame nicely.

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