Mar 20 at 10:30 AM - Sale 2697 -

Sale 2697 - Lot 341

Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800
(RECONSTRUCTION.) John Roy Lynch. Letter to an office-seeker while awaiting the start of his first term in Congress. Autograph Letter Signed to William J. Davis on Mississippi House of Representatives letterhead. One page, 10 x 8 inches; mailing folds, minimal wear. Jackson, MS, 30 January 1874
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John Roy Lynch (1847-1939) was born into slavery, and after emancipation rose swiftly through the ranks of Mississippi politics. He was elected to the Mississippi legislature in 1869 and became the Speaker of the House in 1872--the first Black man to hold the position in any state. That November, he was elected to the United States Congress.

This letter was written as Mississippi Speaker of the House, while waiting to take his Washington office in March. He writes to a prospective office-seeker: "In consequence of the position which I occupy at present, I have deemed it advisable not to make any written recommendations in the interest of any person or persons whatever; but I intend to write a letter to Senator Ames in a few days, in which I will make favorable mention of you, and I will promise you further, that I will cheerfully cooperate with Senator Ames in securing you an appointment."

We know of only two other Lynch letters to appear at auction, both of them dated 1884, the last being at Swann's 31 March 2016 sale, lot 442.

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