Jacob Shallus or Shalus (1750–April 18, 1796) was the engrosser or penman of the original copy of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. The handwritten document that Shallus engrossed is on display in the Rotunda of the Charters of Freedom at the

National Archives Building The National Archives Building, known informally as Archives I, is the headquarters of the United States National Archives and Records Administration. It is located north of the National Mall at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.), Penn ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early life

Shallus was the son of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrants. His father was an innkeeper named Valentine Schallus who immigrated from

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

region in 1747 and his mother was Frederica Catherina. His brother Thomas Shallus was a mapmaker. He was born a year after his father Valentine immigrated to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and was a volunteer in the Revolutionary War. During the Revolutionary War, Shallus fought in Canada after becoming a

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

of Pennsylvania's 1st Battalion on January 19, 1776. Shallus also assisted in the outfitting of a

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

ing vessel, the ''Retrieve''.

Career

At the time of the Constitutional Convention in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Shallus served as Assistant Clerk to the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

, which met at the Pennsylvania State House, today known as Independence Hall. The convention's desire for speedy drafting and Shallus' convenience to the convention's meeting may have influenced his choice as engrosser. Shallus' name appears nowhere on the document itself, but an investigation into the identity of the Penman in 1937 for the 150th anniversary of the Constitution revealed the identity of the transcriber. Shallus was paid $30 () for his engrossing work, a sum recorded as for "clerks employed to transcribe & engross." The effort consisted of copying the Constitution on four sheets of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

made from treated animal skin (either calf, goat, or sheep; in 1987 the supervising conservator at the National Archives said, "We don't know which") and measuring 28 3/4 inches by 23 5/8 inches, probably with a

goose A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egy ...

quill A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen/metal-Nib (pen), nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, event ...

and with ink made of iron filings in oak gall that was black when applied but that has now turned brownish. Shallus engrossed the entire document except for the list of

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

at the end of the document, which are in Alexander Hamilton's handwriting. Shallus is also credited as Assistant Secretary in the 1790 re-authoring of the State Constitution of Pennsylvania.

Personal life

Shallus married Elizabeth Melchor, sister to Col. Isaac Melcher, Barrack-Master-General of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. They would be married in Pennsylvania on September 21, 1771. Her obituary from the ''Democratic Press'' in

from August 3, 1818 notes she was "one of those patriotic Ladies of Philadelphia who first associated together and supplied the suffering soldiers with shirts, stockings, &c. in that eventful period of the revolution, which tried and apalled iceven men's souls." Jacob and Elizabeth would have at least one child that survived to adulthood, their eldest son, Francis Shallus who was born in 1774. Francis Shallus would become an engraver after apprenticing under Robert Scot, the 1st Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint. In 1800, Francis married Ann Peters in

Germantown, Philadelphia Germantown () is an area in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Palatines, Palatine, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough (Pennsylvania), borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, whi ...

. Together they would open a circulating library in Philadelphia that “specialized in popular fiction, particularly romances, as well a sprinkling of classics.” This library would become one of the earliest of such establishments to encourage both men and women to congregate.

References

External links

''Prologue'' Winter 2002, Vol. 34, No. 4, Travels of the Charters of Freedom
National Park Service Document

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shallus, Jacob 1750 births 1796 deaths American calligraphers American people of German descent Drafting of the United States Constitution People from Philadelphia People from colonial Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading

External links