"From Alexander Hamilton to Pierce Butler, February 19, 1794," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-16-02-0034.
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
South Carolina Audited Accounts relating to Asa Cole and numerous others as sailors and officers on the Frigate South Carolina SC1926.
This next segment of the Audited Accounts document addresses differences in handwriting among these men. The document picks up right where it left off in the previous post with the following passage:
"It also appeared from the same source and from the Records of the Comptroller General's Office; that many other individuals whose powers were produced had long since been paid, and the handwriting, to the receipts at the bottom of the Accounts current between the individual claiming, and the State, bears no similitude to the handwriting at the bottom of the powers; indeed, in some instances, it appears, that individuals who could not sign their names to the accounts current, or to the receipts; in the execution of the powers, are made to write a fair open and clear hand - of this [undecipherable word] of powers, is the powers of:
Richard Lunt
Reuben Tucker"
In Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 156, Richard Lunt is cited as being a "Gunner's yeoman" on board the frigate. Likewise, in the same work, page 168, Reuben Tucker is cited as being a "Carpenter's mate" on board the frigate. Both of these two men filed pension applications with the State of South Carolina for services on board the frigate South Carolina after the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain. Richard Lunt's pension application is cited as "SC1723" and Reuben Tucker's pension application is cited as "SC1931". Both of these men signed their pension applications with a mark signified as an "X". This is an indication that both men were illiterate and incapable of signing their name. The making of this type of mark on official documents in place of a true signature was quite common among illiterate people at this time in American history.
The immediate following paragraph is as follows:
"Of those cases, where the handwriting to the powers is unlike the handwriting to the Receipts, and other Vouchers, are the powers of:
John Evans
Samuel Perry
Job Wetherall
Thomas Williams
Signed in the presence of Rowland Sandiford, but not sworn to; and certified before George Bartram a Notary Public, in the City of Philadelphia."
This last category of the four men named consists of those whose handwriting is in dispute between the several documents that were necessary to gain the reimbursements for their previous services on board the frigate South Carolina. The different styles of handwriting calls into account whether these men actually signed their documents in person or if these same documents had been signed by another third party intent on fraud and illegally obtaining these accounts and their sums to be paid to these individuals. Again, the paragraph cited at the beginning of this post indicates that the Committee on Claims were aware that some of these claims had already been paid several years earlier, which may have caused the Committee to look closer into these accounts and thus they began to uncover numerous questionable cases of fraud.