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Rare signature of David Crockett signed days before the end of his first term as a congressman

David Crockett Promissory Note Signed "David Crockett." One page, 7.75" x 2", Washington, February 24, 1829. Folk hero David Crockett was representing western Tennessee as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives when he signed this promissory note to payee Bob McHatton for the sum of $700. The note reads in full:

"On the 26th of December next, I promise to pay to the order of Bob McHatton, seven hundred dollars for value received, payable at the office of D[?] & Deposits."

Only days before his first term as a congressman adjourned, Crockett was suffering from nostalgia and was anxious to get away from Washington and back to his home in Tennessee. But he first had to pay off several debts, which is likely the reason for this loan. Money was always hard to come by for the frontiersman - he put himself in a financial bind in 1828 when he bought 250 additional acres in western Tennessee. He also needed funds for his upcoming reelection campaign, which promised to be a difficult one for him since his only real success during his first term had been to secure a U.S. postal route through his home district.

The frontiersman won reelection, but in his final bid for the U.S. House five years later, he lost. Days after that defeat, Crockett met one last time with his Tennessee constituents and delivered a short speech. "I put the ingredients in the cup pretty strong," he wrote in his autobiography. "I concluded my speech by telling them that I was done with politics for the present, and that they might all go to hell, and I would go to Texas." Then he and his rifle Betsey left "to give the Texians a helping hand." He was killed doing just that at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. (David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee [Philadelphia: E. L. Carey and A. Hart, 1834],31, 33.) This document is boldly signed. Framed to an overall size of 17.75" x 21.75".




Auction Info

Auction Dates
March, 2012
3rd Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 4
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Sold on Mar 3, 2012 for: $28,680.00
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