BETHEL TOWNSHIP — A unique George Washington letter, dated 1780 and addressed to Col. Stephen Moylan, heads to auction at Briggs Auction’s Fine Estates Auction on Friday, Aug. 23.
Descended in and cherished by the consignor’s family, the letter is now being offered for the first time at public auction. The letter was written on Jan. 5, 1780, after Washington and his troops marched into Morristown, New Jersey, that December for winter encampment.
In it, Washington requests that Stephen Moylan, the colonel of the Fourth Continental Light Dragoons camped in Colchester, Conn., organize commissions to complete an arrangement of the four regimes of cavalry as requested by the board of war. Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, closes with, “I am, dear sir, your humble servant, George Washington.
” The letter reads in full as: “Dear Sir, The Board of War are anxious to complete an arrangement of the four Regimes of Cavalry and have wrote to me on that account. You will therefore be pleased to forward that of your regiment as speedily as possible. As this will be first upon record in the War Office and will be the scale by which the future formations will take place, I must request you to be as particular as possible in ascertaining the status of the commissions and if any officers are entitled to promotions in consequence of vacancies.
You are to specify when the vacancies happened and who formally filled them. The majority of your regiment and that of late Blands can’t be filled until regimental mounts are completed. I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant, George Washington.
” The letter is additionally signed by George Washington twice on the address page. Moylan (1737-1811) was an Irish-American patriot leader during the Revolution. He held several positions in the Continental Army, including Muster-Master General, Secretary and Aide to General George Washington, 2nd Quartermaster General, Commander of the Fourth Continental Light Dragoons, and Commander of the Cavalry of the Continental Army.
In January 1776, he wrote a letter that included the term “United States of America,” the earliest known use of that phrase. The letter came into Briggs Auction’s care through descendants of Stephen Moylan and Thomas Lancaster Lansdale. The family possessed several pieces of Washington correspondence, which were donated to The Society of Cincinnati.
This is the only piece that remained in the family. When the consignor was a child, she found this last remaining letter in a puzzle box in her family’s attic and cherished it from that day. The letter is lot 99 in the Aug.
23 auction, and has a conservative estimate of $10,000-15,000. It will be sold in conjunction with more than 500 other curated lots in Briggs Auction’s August Fine Estates Auction, including antique, midcentury modern, and designer fine furnishings and decorative arts, fine art, fine jewelry, carpets, fine porcelains and more. Bidding will be online through BriggsAuction.
com , their mobile bidding app, and LiveAuctioneers.com . Pre-auction/absentee bidding is now open, with real-time online bidding beginning at 10 a.
m. on Aug. 23.
Preview will be by appointment only, by calling or emailing Briggs Auction to schedule at [email protected] or 610-566-3138. Briggs Auction, Inc.
is a four-generation, family-owned and operated auction house located at 1347 Naamans Creek Road, Garnet Valley, across from Booth’s Corner Farmer’s Market. Briggs offers online auctions, estate appraisal services and real estate auctions for estates, downsizers and more. Their bi-weekly Discovery Auctions feature over 1,000 lots of antique and name-brand furnishings, decorative and fine art, fine and costume jewelry, silver, collectibles, coins, toys, tools, books, home goods, estate vehicles and more.
For more information, visit www.BriggsAuction.com .
Ike, Spike, and Fritz head to Delco for live broadcasts this week SportsRadio 94WIP is launching its Tour de Delco, with a live broadcast on Tuesday, Aug. 13 from 2 to 6 p.m.
at Dolan’s Tavern, 24 E Sellers Ave., Ridley Park. Tour de Delco, presented by Visit Delco, will continue visiting some of Delco’s iconic hot spots in the next few weeks to celebrate sports and get a flavor for the county’s unique traditions and community pride.
Residents are welcome to stop by to be a part of the fun. The 94WIP Afternoon Show broadcasts live with radio personalities Ike Reese, Spike Eskin and Jack Fritz on weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m.
The three radio personalities will bring the show to the following Delaware County locations: • Tavola at Springfield Country Club, 400 W. Sproul Road, Springfield, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2 to 6 p.
m. • The Streetlight Kitchen and Bar at Drexelbrook, 4700 Drexelbrook Drive, Drexel Hill, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2 to 6 p.
m. • Dining Under The Stars, Media, Aug. 21, 2 to 6 p.
m. • White Dog Café, 949 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, with Mike Sielski and Rob Ellis, 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. either Aug.
24 or 31 The sixth location to visit has not been determined. Residents can vote for their favorite county destination for the sixth broadcast. SportsRadio 94WIP will decide and announce the winning location.
Visit Delco is the official tourism promotion agency for Delaware County, with a mission to promote the county as a welcoming destination for visitors, meetings, and events, and to drive economic vitality through tourism. For more information on the contest, or to vote, visit https://www.audacy.
com/94wip/sports/sportsradio-94wip-tour-de-delco-delaware-county-philadelphia . Poetry open mic event planned in Lansdowne Philly Poetic Resistance will host Poetry for the People, an open mic event, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
on Saturday, Sept. 7 on the Patio of the 20th Century Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Ave, Lansdowne.
This is an outdoor event. Rain date is same time on Saturday, Sept. 21.
The 20th Century Club Patio is located south of the main entrance and is wheelchair accessible from the small parking lot on Lansdowne Court. A cushion or folding chair is recommended to ensure a comfortable seat. All are welcome, including walk-ins on the day of the event, to come and read their poetry or just to listen.
To read a poem at the event, attendees should sign up as soon as they arrive. All sign-ups will occur on-site at the event. Philly Poetic Resistance is a group of Philadelphia-area poets and poetry lovers who gather monthly to share poetry and community.
Participants are also now worldwide via Zoom. To find out more information, got to: https://www.phillypoetic.
com or https://www.facebook.com/people/Philly-Poetic-Resistance/100064557317463 .
Rutledge to hold borough wide yard sale Rutledge will hold its borough-wide yard sale on Saturday, Sept. 7. Chambers Memorial Presbyterian Church, 2 Sylvan Ave.
, Rutledge, will participate with an indoor and outdoor flea market at the event. The public is welcome to rent spaces for $25 on the lawn, driveway, or inside of McCrone Hall. In case of rain, all spaces will be moved indoors so the sale can go on rain or shine.
To participate, register at http://chamberschurch.org , call the office 610-544-1493, or email [email protected].
Vendors can also register for the Chambers’ Christmas Bazaar/Craft Fair slated for Saturday, Nov. 2. Amateur photographers encouraged to enter litter awareness contest The notorious litterbug continues to remind people about the environmental and economic problems that litter can cause.
In previous years, the Gene Capaldi Lens on Litter Photo Contest showed the litterbug that the people of Pennsylvania really do care about the litter that spoils the beautiful countryside, quaint towns and busy city streets of the commonwealth. To focus attention on this ugly and avoidable environmental problem, the Pennsylvania Resources Council reminds residents of its annual Lens on Litter contest, with a deadline of Thursday, Oct. 31.
Pennsylvania residents can snap photos with their cameras or mobile devices of examples of litter in any Pennsylvania community. The contest is open to amateur photographers only. Contestants are separated into two categories: students through 12th grade and adults.
Six prizes, three to each group, will be awarded with the first-place winner receiving $500, second-place $250 and third-place $100. Although it’s not mandatory, entrants are also encouraged to initiate a cleanup of their photographed area for extra judging points. Cleanups can be registered with Keep PA Beautiful’s Pick-Up PA program.
Program sponsors include Carolyn Capaldi, Robert & Mary Capaldi, Keep PA Beautiful and Sheetz Inc. For program details and requirements, go to: www.keeppabeautiful.
org/programs/pick-up-pa . All entries, including digital, must include the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, email address, title given to photo, location of litter site and how the entrant learned about the contest. Students should also include age, grade and name of school.
Photos submitted without all required information will be disqualified. Photos may be used by PRC at their discretion. For complete details, previous winners and an online submission form, visit: https://prc.
org/what-we-do/lens-on-litter-contest . Entries, limited to five per person, must be no smaller than 4-by-6 inches and no larger than 8-by-10 inches. All entries may be mailed to PRC Gene Capaldi Lens on Litter Contest, 1521 North Providence Road.
, Media, PA 19063. High resolution digital submissions may be emailed to [email protected].
Media-UP Library collects books for fall sale Media-Upper Providence Free Library is continuing to accept donations for its fall book sale, scheduled for Oct. 19-21. Anyone can donate their no-longer-needed books, puzzles, games, CDs, DVDs and records in good condition.
Donation bins are available 24/7, and are located near the library’s main entrance on North Jackson Street in Media, through Monday, Sept. 30. Donations are not accepted during October, the month of the sale.
Reader’s Digest books, encyclopedias, National Geographic magazines, VHS or cassette tapes are not accepted. For more information or to arrange to make a large donation, email [email protected], call 610-566-1918 or go to: http://librarysalemupl.
org . Readers can send typed community news press releases and photos to Peg DeGrassa at [email protected].
No flyers..
