MARK OF WILLIAM SWAN, BOSTON, CIRCA 1740

William Ellery was born in Newport, RI and educated at Harvard College. He practiced law in Newport and served as Clerk of the Rhode Island General Assembly. Upon the death of Samuel Ward in 1776, Ellery replaced Ward in the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence in the same year. He later served as Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. He married Ann Remington in 1750, and secondly Abigail Cary in 1767.