Hand-written 1794 court document found among millions of documents from Eisenhower library

Archivist finds 1794 document in Eisenhower papers

ABILENE, Kan. — A document written by a federal judge 216 years ago has turned up in an unlikely place: in President Dwight Eisenhower’s archives in Kansas.

The 1794 document, signed by Judge Richard Peters, was found at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in July.

Peters signed the slip, listing court costs of $17.44 in a case involving Edmund Randolph, who was attorney general and later secretary of state under President George Washington. The case involved allegations of misappropriating funds and was dismissed.

Peters was secretary of the Board of War during the Revolution. He later served in the Pennsylvania Legislature before Washington appointed him to the bench.

The document was found among letters sent to Eisenhower in 1955.