Richard Howell as 3rd Governor of New Jersey, pays James Kinsey his Salary as Chief Justice

Fantastic document signed from Richard Howell 3rd Governor of New Jersey paying James Kinsey's salary as Chief Justice of New Jersey.

"To the treasure of New Jersey pay to the Honorable James Kinsey Esquire and order 200 pounds being six months salary do to him as chief justice on the 12th day of instant for which this shall be your warrant giving my hand in Counselor Trenton the 26th day of October 1793 by the governor signed Richard Howell"

The document is signed by both Howell and on reverse by Kinsey. Inlaid document  dated Trenton 26th October 1793.

Richard Howell was the third governor of New Jersey after the American revolution. During the war he promoted to brigade Major for Maxwell's Brigade in the 2nd New Jersey regiment. He served as one of General Washington's intelligence officers and later as a civilian secret agent. As commanding officer of his detachment Major Howell led a group of light horse and light infantry on surveillance missions at Sandy Hook and at several other locations in Northern New Jersey where he observed the British movements in and around New York harbor and Staten Island. He reported his observations to General Washington directly or through General Lord Stirling, General Maxwell, and Colonel Shreve.

He resigned his commission in April 1779 to pursue a career as a lawyer. (That is the official version.) The unofficial version is that he resigned to go to New York as a gentleman to engage in secret business for General Washington.

In 1787 Richard Howell Esq, was a delegate from Gloucester county New Jersey and attended the convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States of America. He was nominated by congress for Attorney General of the Army but declined the commission. He was later Clerk of the Supreme court of New Jersey and in 1793 he was elected Governor of that state. He was also an original member of the Society of Cincinnati and a Freemason.

James Kinsey (March 22, 1731 – January 4, 1802) was an American lawyer from Burlington, New Jersey.

Kinsey was born in Philadelphia on March 22, 1731. He attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1753 and practiced in the courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with residence in Burlington County, New Jersey. He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1772–1775, and was a member of the committee of correspondence for Burlington County in 1774 and 1775. He was a member of the Continental Congress from July 23, 1774, until his resignation effective November 22, 1775. He was appointed Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court on November 20, 1789, and served until his death. Kinsey also served as a Member of the New Jersey Legislative Council representing Burlington County in 1791.

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