One-page, 8 x 10, ALS, New York, 14, Febry, 1833, A. DRY writes to JOHN MORIN SCOTT.

“I take the liberty to trouble you with another commission to take the Testimony of William B. Hart in a suit which I am now prosecuting to which I must beg you will give attention at your earliest convenience. I have also written Mr. Hart to call on you and give his Evidence which you will perceive is merely to prove the Execution of a Bond to which is the only subscribing witness.

“I am still indebted to you for attending to the Executions of a former commission and press of business must be my apology for not having sooner paid it.  Will you please send with this commission a [note] of the amount in which I shall then be your debtor which I will endeavor to remit without delay.

“Respectfully yours,

“A. Dry

“J.M. Scott Esq.”

JOHN MORIN SCOTT was the mayor of Philadelphia in the 1840s and a prominent lawyer and Whig Party politician.  He graduated from Princeton University in 1805, studied law under William Rawle and was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar on Sept. 2, 1811.  Scott served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant in the Second Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry at Camp DuPont.  He participated in Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention from 1837 to 1838.

The Second and First Troops of the Philadelphia City Cavalry served as mounted soldiers who performed scouting and reconnaissance missions between the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay. They helped protect Philadelphia from potential British advances. The cavalry units acted as an early warning system, equipped to move swiftly on horseback. They were effective for patrolling stretches vulnerable to invasion or disruption, such as the vital gunpowder facilities at DuPont.

Clean integral address leaf to Scott in Philadelphia. No postal markings.  Dry’s writing is very clear and easy to read. His signature is difficult, but is docketed clearly on the verso.

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