New Hampshire's Certificate of Ascertainment for the 1792 Presidential Election
11/23/1792
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This is the Certificate of Ascertainment from the state of New Hampshire for the 1792 presidential election. A Certificate of Ascertainment confirms which electors were appointed in the state based on the election results. (When a person votes for a presidential and vice presidential candidate, they're actually voting for the slate of electors representing their choice for president and vice president.)
The Governor of a state prepares Certificates of Ascertainment as soon as the election results in the state are certified. They are paired with Certificates of Vote after the electors meet and vote, and send them to the President of the United States Senate.
This certificate was signed by Josiah Bartlett as the "President" (Governor) of the State of New Hampshire. It certifies that Bartlett himself, John Pickering, Benjamin Bellows, Ebenezer Thompson, Jonathan Freeman, and John Gilman were duly appointed Electors for President and Vice President in New Hampshire.
The 1792 election was the country's second presidential election. President George Washington was elected to a second term and John Adams was re-elected as vice president.
The Governor of a state prepares Certificates of Ascertainment as soon as the election results in the state are certified. They are paired with Certificates of Vote after the electors meet and vote, and send them to the President of the United States Senate.
This certificate was signed by Josiah Bartlett as the "President" (Governor) of the State of New Hampshire. It certifies that Bartlett himself, John Pickering, Benjamin Bellows, Ebenezer Thompson, Jonathan Freeman, and John Gilman were duly appointed Electors for President and Vice President in New Hampshire.
The 1792 election was the country's second presidential election. President George Washington was elected to a second term and John Adams was re-elected as vice president.
Transcript
State of New Hampshire[seal]
I hereby certify all whom it may concern that Josiah Bartlett, John T. Gilman Jonathan Freeman Benjamin Bellows John Pickering and Ebenezer Thompson Esquires, are duly appointed Electors for, and in behalf of their State according to a law of said State and agreeably to a law of the united States, to give in their votes for the election of a President and Vice President of the United States.
In Witness whereof, I have caused the Seal of said State to be affixed, and have hereunto set my signature this 23d day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred and ninety two, and of the American Independence the seventeenth
Josiah Bartlett } President of the State of New Hamps
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 77834720
Full Citation: Certificate of Ascertainment; 11/23/1792; 1792 [Washington and Adams]; Certificates of Electors of the Electoral College for New Hampshire, 1868 - 1984; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/nh-certificate-ascertainment, June 18, 2025]Activities that use this document
- The Electoral College Process
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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