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I, Douglas Hamilton, am the great great great great great grandson of Alexander Hamilton, the only direct descendant of Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury, who bears the Hamilton name. I have assembled an extensive genealogy of the Hamilton family, dating as far back as the Merovingian Kings, and maintain an active collection of Hamilton data. I have, on occasion, served as the representative of the Hamilton family, such as at the Paterson, New Jersey reenactment of 2005, and by my family heritage and research am an authority on Alexander Hamilton. I have examined the powder horn inscribed " Alexander Hamilton 1773" and which bears other symbols and writing relevant to the life of Alexander Hamilton, which had previously been examined and certified by Mr. Jay Hansen, Jr, a recognized expert and authority on antique firearms, and Mr. Robert Phillips, a forensic document examiner expert, as well as other experts. In addition I have reviewed the factual information which was compiled on the powder horn, and the life of my ancestor, Alexander Hamilton, which was verified with my own unique sources of information, and my own family history. I have determined that this is the powder horn which was carved, owned, and used by my ancestor, Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), and that it bears symbolism which is unique to him. I can also verify that in 1804, after the death of Alexander Hamilton, it was necessary to auction all the property at the New York mansion, The Grange, and there is no official record of all items sold. My great great great great great grandmother Elizabeth then moved to Washington, DC together with the documents she was able to save. Obviously, as the auction was in Manhattan, most items remained in the New York, New Jersey area, where they were eventually lost to posterity unless appropriately marked. I can attest that because of the circumstances, the Hamilton family has virtually none of the original belongings. Thus, due to the extraordinary circumstances, there is usually no definitive provenance for articles belonging to Alexander Hamilton, except for the actual markings that he placed on the object, as he tended to mark personal items with his name and/or symbols. In the case of the powder horn, it was located in the Paterson, New Jersey area, which is totally appropriate, and it bears irrefutable markings, writing, and symbols which are authentic, unaltered, and unique to Alexander Hamilton and his life. It is fortunate that the powder horn was so well marked by my ancestor Alexander Hamilton and that there can be no doubt whatsoever that it belonged to, and was carved by him. Signed: Douglas Hamilton |