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Handwritten document by the Marquis de Lafayette, one page, 7.25 x 9.75, no date but circa 1811. Unsigned handwritten accounting document by Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, recording amounts due to Alexander Baring, John Parish, Mr. Ridgeway, and others, noting acreage associated with the payments. Affixed to a slightly larger sheet and in. In fine condition, with small spots of foxing.
In the aftermath of the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, Lafayette was financially ruined. Seeking to aid a hero of the American Revolution who had received no compensation during the war, the United States government—and Lafayette's own old friends—sought to support him, granting him both monetary funds and vast land grants in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. He received mortgages on some of these lands, and the property would eventually have to be sold to repay the debts. The matter was complicated by conflicting claims on some of the land, and dragged on for many years while Lafayette remained in France.
