Record #:

16865

Author(s):

Mitchell, Thornton W.

Abstract:

The West Case concerns a letter, dated August 26, 1790, from George Washington to the state's governor and council. The lawsuit, STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. B.C. WEST, JR., began on May 10, 1974 when it was discovered this letter was to be auctioned at Southeby's in New York. This auction coincided with theft of documents from the archive and further evidence pointed to an Elizabeth City man named West who was illegally selling historic records. After much deliberation and a lengthy appeals process the letter was returned to the state.

Source:

Carolina Comments (NoCar F 251 C38), Vol. 29 Issue 6, Nov 1981, p126-131 Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Historic documents; Legal cases