Manuscript vellum DS, signed “John Dickinson” and “Attest, John Armstrong, Jr.,” one page, 20 x 22.75, October 10, 1785. Document regarding rent of tenants on confiscated Loyalist property. In part: “The said Andrew Allen being attainted of High Treason the Agents of the State for forfeited Estates seized upon the Lands and Tenements of the said Andrew Allen when…the said Leonard Melchior being desirous of redeeming his Ground Rent…Upon the whole We concur in the Opinion given by the Judges formerly and think that it would be proper for Council to consider the aforesaid Rents Charge as extinguished.” Boldly signed at the conclusion by Dickinson as governor and Armstrong as secretary of state. Retains original seal and pink ribbon tied to lower right corner, with the seal fully intact with folded points. In fine condition, with intersecting folds and a few small stains. The man convicted of treason, Andrew Allen, initially favored the colonial cause in the American Revolution, and represented Pennsylvania in the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776; however, he resisted radical change and became a Loyalist after the Declaration of Independence and the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. An impressive document in size and boldness, made especially desirable by this unusual association. RR Auction COA.
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