[STOCK CERTIFICATE No. 1602 REPRESENTING THREE SHARES IN THE NORTH AMERICAN LAND COMPANY SOLD TO DR. ENOCH EDWARDS, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN TO GEORGE WASHINGTON DURING THE REVOLUTION, SIGNED BY JAMES MARSHALL AND ROBERT MORRIS]
[Morris, Robert]: [Edwards, Enoch]
Published by [Philadelphia], 1795
Used
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William Reese Company - Americana, New Haven, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 3 out of 5 stars
AbeBooks Seller since July 13, 2006
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Engraved form, accomplished in manuscript, 9 3/4 x 12 1/2 inches. Scalloped left edge with small closed tear. Scattered staining, small bit of paper loss from ink corrosion in the ascender of the "R" in Robert Morris's signature. Good plus. A stock certificate representing three shares in the disastrous North American Land Company, signed by Robert Morris as president and James Marshall as secretary. Dr. Enoch Edwards, the purchaser of these shares, was a quietly significant figure in the founding of America. A surgeon by trade, he was attending physician to George Washington during the war, a member of the 1776 Provincial Congress of Pennsylvania, and a signatory of the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution. His work and social circles brought him into friendly contact with many of the Revolution's luminaries, and it is said that the signers of the Declaration dined at his summer home in Philadelphia on that very day. After substantial personal contributions to the Revolution and pledging his personal credit in support of the insolvent Confederation, Robert Morris was eager for new private ventures. Along with John Nicolson and John Greenleaf, he organized the North American Land Company, the largest land trust in America. The company quickly collected six million acres in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Washington, DC. Substantially overextended and discovering most of the land they purchased was barren, the company was also seriously hurt by Greenleaf's dishonest use of company funds, which ultimately led to its collapse. His resources now utterly exhausted, Morris spent a year in debtors' prison before being released in the wake of the passage of federal bankruptcy law in 1801 - Nicolson would die there in 1800, before the new law was passed. This document is also signed by Morris' son- in-law, James Marshall (brother of John Marshall), best remembered for negotiating the release of Lafayette on behalf of Washington. The transfer of the shares was approved and signed by Marshall and Morris on April 18, 1795, and the shares are numbered 16246 to 16248. Important evidence of early American land speculation, bought into by an important figure of the Revolution, and signed by a Signer of the Declaration and the savior of America's credit. Seller Inventory # WRCAM44290B
Bibliographic Details
Title: [STOCK CERTIFICATE No. 1602 REPRESENTING ...
Publisher: [Philadelphia]
Publication Date: 1795
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[STOCK CERTIFICATE No. 1602 REPRESENTING THREE SHARES IN THE NORTH AMERICAN LAND COMPANY SOLD TO DR. ENOCH EDWARDS, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN TO GEORGE WASHINGTON DURING THE REVOLUTION, SIGNED BY JAMES MARSHALL AND ROBERT MORRIS].
Published by
[Philadelphia]. February 20, 1795., 1795
Used
Seller: William Reese Company - Americana, New Haven, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Engraved form, accomplished in manuscript, 9¾ x 12½ inches. Scalloped left edge with small closed tear. Scattered staining, small bit of paper loss from ink corrosion in the ascender of the "R" in Robert Morris's signature. Good plus. A stock certificate representing three shares in the disastrous North American Land Company, signed by Robert Morris as president and James Marshall as secretary. Dr. Enoch Edwards, the purchaser of these shares, was a quietly significant figure in the founding of America. A surgeon by trade, he was attending physician to George Washington during the war, a member of the 1776 Provincial Congress of Pennsylvania, and a signatory of the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution. His work and social circles brought him into friendly contact with many of the Revolution's luminaries, and it is said that the signers of the Declaration dined at his summer home in Philadelphia on that very day. After substantial personal contributions to the Revolution and pledging his personal credit in support of the insolvent Confederation, Robert Morris was eager for new private ventures. Along with John Nicolson and John Greenleaf, he organized the North American Land Company, the largest land trust in America. The company quickly collected six million acres in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Washington, DC. Substantially overextended and discovering most of the land they purchased was barren, the company was also seriously hurt by Greenleaf's dishonest use of company funds, which ultimately led to its collapse. His resources now utterly exhausted, Morris spent a year in debtors' prison before being released in the wake of the passage of federal bankruptcy law in 1801 - Nicolson would die there in 1800, before the new law was passed. This document is also signed by Morris' son-in-law, James Marshall (brother of John Marshall), best remembered for negotiating the release of Lafayette on behalf of Washington. The transfer of the shares was approved and signed by Marshall and Morris on April 18, 1795, and the shares are numbered 16246 to 16248. Important evidence of early American land speculation, bought into by an important figure of the Revolution, and signed by a Signer of the Declaration and the savior of America's credit. Seller Inventory # 58514
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