Jacob Shallus orShalus (1750–April 18, 1796)[1] was an American calligrapher who was theengrosser or penman of the original copy of theUnited States Constitution. Thehandwritten document that Shallus engrossed is on display in theRotunda of the Charters of Freedom at theNational Archives Building inWashington, D.C.
Shallus was the son ofGerman immigrants. His father was an innkeeper named Valentine Schallus who immigrated fromPalatine region in 1747 and his mother was Frederica Catherina.[2][3][4]His brother Thomas Shallus was a mapmaker.
He was born a year after his father Valentine immigrated toPennsylvania and was a volunteer in theRevolutionary War. During the Revolutionary War, Shallusfought in Canada after becoming aquartermaster of Pennsylvania's 1st Battalion on January 19, 1776.[2]Shallus also assisted in the outfitting of aprivateering vessel, theRetrieve.[5]
At the time of theConstitutional Convention inPhiladelphia, Shallus served as Assistant Clerk to thePennsylvania General Assembly, which met at thePennsylvania 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.[5]
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 (equivalent toUS$749 in 2024) for his engrossing work, a sum recorded as for "clerks employed totranscribe & engross."[5] The effort consisted of copying the Constitution on four sheets ofparchment 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 agoosequill and withink made of iron filings in oak gall that was black when applied but that has now turned brownish.[6] Shallus engrossed the entire document except for the list ofstates at the end of the document, which are inAlexander Hamilton's handwriting.[5]
Shallus is also credited as Assistant Secretary in the 1790 re-authoring of theState Constitution of Pennsylvania.
Shallus married Elizabeth Melchor, sister to Col. Isaac Melcher, Barrack-Master-General of theContinental Army, in Pennsylvania on September 21, 1771.[7] Her obituary from theDemocratic Press inPennsylvania 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 [sic] even men's souls."
Jacob and Elizabeth had at least one child that survived to adulthood, their eldest son, Francis Shallus who was born in 1774.[8]Francis Shallus became an engraver after apprenticing underRobert Scot, the 1st Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint.[8]In 1800, Francis married Ann Peters inGermantown, Philadelphia.[8] Together they opened a circulating library in Philadelphia that “specialized in popular fiction, particularly romances, as well a sprinkling of classics.”[9]This library became one of the earliest of such establishments to encourage both men and women to congregate.[10]
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