Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 22.5 x 18, November 29, 1865. President Johnson appoints Thomas Fitnam as “Consul of the United States of America at Goderich, C. W. [Canada West, the name of the province of Ontario from 1841 to 1867, before it became part of the Dominion of Canada].” Signed at the conclusion by Andrew Johnson and countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. The white paper seal affixed to the lower left remains intact. In very good to fine condition, with light toning along the intersecting folds, and repairs to fold splits and small areas of paper loss. Accompanied by an 1876 ALS from Fitnam to his son, written aboard the U.S. Consulate; a U.S Patent Office document issued to Fitnam for an improvement in “Life Preservers,” September 18, 1891; and two letters to Fitnam from Assistant Secretary of State Frederick W. Seward.
Thomas Fitnam (ca. 1802 - 1876) was a fiery Irish-born saddle maker who became a naturalized United States citizen and was appointed to several consul positions abroad by three presidents (Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant). He died serving as a consul at St. Helena, a remote British Colony island in the South Atlantic Ocean, and was buried there.
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