Description:

William Penn Deeds Land to Fellow Quaker in 1681

WILLIAM PENN. Manuscript Document Signed, "Wm Penn", 1p, 8.25" x 12", Warminghurst, West Sussex, England, September 11, 1681, a Deed to Thomas Herriot. Docketing at verso. Expected age wear includes flattened folds and discoloration. Professionally cleaned and mended. A superb example.

Penn deeds 2,500 acres of land in Pennsylvania to English yeoman Thomas Herriot in September 1681 for £50. A year later, Herriot accompanied Penn on the Welcome, bound for Pennsylvania but died on the voyage. In full: "Know All men by these presents that I William Penn of Worminghurst in the County of Sussex Esquire have had and Received of and from Thomas Herriot of hurst y Point [Hurstpierpoint] in the County of Sussex yeoman the sume of ffifty pounds of Lawfull English money which said ffifty pounds is the Consideration money for the purchase of two thousand ffive hundred acres of Land in Pennsylvania mentioned and expressed in one pair of Indentures of Bargain Sale and Release thereof bearing even date herewith and made or mentioned to be made between mee the said William Penn of the one part and the said Thomas Herriot of the other part Of and from which said ffifty pounds I the said William Penn Doo hereby for my selfe my Heirs and Assignes Remise Release and Quitt Claim the said Thomas Herriot his Heirs Executors Administrators and Assignes and every of them by these presents..."

William Penn received a royal deed from King Charles II of England for the Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 to settle a debt of £16,000 that the king owed to Penn’s father. Penn established a proprietary colony (his “Holy Experiment”) on principles of democracy and religious freedom, especially for Quakers. He made his first visit to America in 1682, landing in October and founding the colonial capital of Philadelphia.

The first surviving deed by William Penn is dated July 14, 1681, to his then friend, business manager, and fellow Quaker Philip Ford (ca. 1631-1702), who later cheated Penn out of his title to Pennsylvania. That deed has the same form and text as this one, except for the name and amount of money and land involved. Herriot also apparently held a second deed for an additional 2,500 acres in Pennsylvania.

Thomas Herriot, his sister Mary (b. 1652), her husband grocer Dennis Rochford (b. ca. 1647), and their children traveled to America with William Penn aboard the ship Welcome to take possession of the land. Both Thomas Herriot and Dennis Rochford had subscribed £50 to the Free Society of Traders, which owned 20,000 acres in Pennsylvania. Thomas Herriot and two of the Rochford children died on the six-week voyage. In a will he made on September 19, 1682, Herriot left his estate to his brother-in-law Dennis Rochford and a legacy to his sister Anne Strate.

In 1685, Penn returned to England to aid his oppressed fellow Quakers there. He convinced King James II to allow Quakers to practice their religion in England as well as in America, but the king was soon exiled, and William and Mary ascended to the throne in 1688. Continuing to speak out against religious persecution, Penn was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two weeks in 1690. When Penn was charged with treason in 1692, his right to govern Pennsylvania was taken away, though he retained proprietary ownership of the colony.

William Penn (1644-1718) was an English Quaker and the founder of Pennsylvania. In 1681, King Charles II granted Penn a royal charter for a large quantity of his American land holdings for debts the king owed to Penn’s father. Penn arrived in 1682 and established the colony of Pennsylvania. He sailed up the Delaware River and founded Philadelphia to be the capital. He returned to England in 1684, but he again came to Pennsylvania in 1699 and stayed for two years. Later, settlers on the lower Delaware split away in 1704 to form what became Delaware. Penn was an early supporter of colonial unification and an advocate of democratic government. The embezzlement of his financial manager led Penn to debtors’ prison in 1707 at age 62. Sympathetic Quakers got Penn’s sentence reduced to house arrest and eventually obtained his release. He died penniless in Ruscombe west of London.

Thomas Herriot (bef. 1640-1682) was the son of John Herriot. Thomas Herriot appears on a list of purchasers of land in Pennsylvania, compiled by William Penn in March 1682. It authorized surveyor Thomas Holme to survey land to each purchaser, including 5,000 acres to Thomas Herriot. He subscribed £50 to the Free Society of Traders, a joint-stock company of merchants, landowners, and personal associates of William Penn, who were granted special concessions to encourage early settlement. Herriot died aboard the Welcome on its 1682 voyage with William Penn from London to Pennsylvania.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Unless otherwise indicated, we do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice. If any changes to the shipping address need to be made, you must inform us immediately.***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.

After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

November 29, 2023 10:30 AM EST
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000