Addressed to William M. Ewarts, lawyer and statesman. Blue pencil notation indicates contents (no longer with cover) were from Governor John A King and the item was posted in 1858. Full Albany postmark. Good Scott #26 stamp. Cover in very nice condition. Small tear where wax seal was broken on envelope flap.

William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818 – February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of author, editor, and Indian removal opponent Jeremiah Evarts, and the grandson of Declaration of Independence signer Roger Sherman.

William attended Boston Latin School, graduated from Yale College in 1837 and then attended Harvard Law School. While at Yale he became a member of the Linonian Society and the secret society Skull and Bones , but later in life spoke out against such societies at the 1873 Yale commencement alumni meeting, claiming they bred snobbishness. He was admitted to the bar in New York in 1841, and soon took high rank in his profession. He married Helen Minerva Bingham Wardner in 1843. They had 12 children between 1845 and 1862, all born in New York City.

A Whig Party supporter before joining the fledgling Republican Party, Evarts was appointed an assistant United States district attorney and served from 1849-1853. In 1860 he was chairman of the New York delegation to the Republican National Convention where he placed Senator William H. Seward's name in nomination for President. He served on New York's Union Defense Committee during the Civil War. In 1861 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate from New York. He was a member of the New York state constitutional convention in 1867-1868. He was chief counsel for President Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial. Evarts served as United States Attorney General for Johnson from July 1868 until March 1869.. Evarts was appointed Attorney General after the Senate declined to re-confirm Henry Stanbery to the office, which Stanbery had resigned from in order to participate in the defense of Johnson in the impeachment trial.

In 1872 he was counsel for the United States before the tribunal of arbitration on the Alabama claims at Geneva, Switzerland. Evarts was also a founding member of the New York City Bar Association, and served as its first president from 1870 to 1879, by far the longest tenure of any president since.

Evarts served as counsel for President-elect Rutherford B. Hayes, on behalf of the Republican Party, before the Electoral Commission in the disputed presidential election of 1876. During President Hayes's administration he was Secretary of State. He was a delegate to the International Monetary Conference at Paris 1881. From 1885 to 1891 he was a U.S. Senator from New York. While in Congress (49th, 50th and 51st Congresses), he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Library from 1887 to 1891. He was also a sponsor of the Judiciary Act of 1891 also known as the Evarts Act, which created the United States courts of appeals. As an orator Senator Evarts stood in the foremost rank, and some of his best speeches were published.

He led the American fund-raising effort for the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty, serving as the chairman of the American Committee. He spoke at its unveiling on October 28, 1886. His speech was entitled "The United Work of the Two Republics." "Taking a breath in the middle of his address, he was understood to have completed his speech. The signal was given, and Bartholdi, together with Richard Butler and David H. King Jr., whose firm built the pedestal and erected the statue, let the veil fall from her face. A 'huge shock of sound' erupted as a thunderous cacophony of salutes from steamer whistles, brass bands, and booming guns, together with clouds of smoke from the cannonade, engulfed the statue for the next half hour." Senator Evarts retired from public life due to ill health in 1891. He was also part of a law practice in New York City called Evarts, Southmoyd and Choate. He died in New York City and was buried at Ascutney Cemetery in Windsor, Vermont.

Evarts owned a large number of properties in Windsor, Vermont including Evarts Pond and a group of historic homes often referred to as Evarts Estate. The homes included 26 Main St. in Windsor, Vermont. The house was purchased from John Skinner in the 1820s for $5,000 by William M. Evarts and was passed down to his daughter, Elizabeth Hoar Evarts Perkins, who left the house to family members, including her son Maxwell Perkins. The house stayed in the family until 2005. 26 Main Street in Windsor, Vermont was recently restored and reopened as Snapdragon Inn. Snapdragon Inn is open to the public and features a library that displays and collects items related to the history of William M. Evarts and his extended family.

William was a descendant of the English emigrant John Evarts, the family settled in Salisbury, Connecticut in the 17th century. William was a member of the extended Baldwin, Hoar & Sherman family, which had many members in American politics.

John Alsop King (1788–1867) was an American politician who was Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on 3 January 1788, the son of U.S. Senator Rufus King (1755–1827) and Mary (Alsop) King. He had four brothers, among them Congressman James G. King (1791–1853), and Charles King who was President of Columbia University.

When his father was appointed the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, the family moved to Britain, and King was educated at Harrow School. Upon graduating from Harrow, King returned to New York City to study law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York City. John King's law career was interrupted by a stint in the military; he served as a cavalry lieutenant in the War of 1812. After the war, however, he returned to his law practice and then ventured into politics. King was a member of the New York State Assembly (Queens Co.) in 1819, 1820 and 1820–21; of the New York State Senate (First D.) in 1823; and again of the State Assembly in 1832, 1838 and 1840.

King was elected as a Whig to the 31st United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1851. His term as Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858 was noted for improvements to the State's education system and the enlargement of the Erie Canal. King died on July 7, 1867, in Queens County, New York. State Senator John A. King (1817–1900) was his son; Congressman Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (1810–1864) was his son-in-law.