PENN, WILLIAM Secretarial document signed, appointing Phineas Pemberton, William Biles and Richard Hough to a Court of Inquiry addressing "...Affairs of Property within the County of Bucks in the Province of Pensilvania..."
with the Colonial Seal of Pennsylvania affixed (left margin). Philadelphia: 18th October, 1700. 10 7/8 x 17 1/4 inches (29 x 43.5 cm); single leaf, the wafer seal in the left blank margin, Penn's signature bold and quite dark (l.r.). Toned and with some spotting, folds and edges reinforced, a small loss to the edge of the document just touching the lower edge of Penn's signature (small loss to the swash beneath), the seal with (possibly later) lobe-shaped reinforcements at the edges and with some cracking to the wax and loss of the paper covering, usual folds, the reverse annotated with the identity of the document in an old legal hand.

An interesting and significant document signed by William Penn as Governor (or "Proprietor") of Pennsylvania, soon after returning to America and taking up the reins of governance from Samuel Carpenter, the Deputy Governor. The three appointees were all men well-known to Penn. Biles was one of the foremost citizens of Pennsylvania, a man of very substantial wealth, whose home plantation immediately adjoined Penn's Pennsbury estate, a circumstance that led to some considerable resentment on Penn's part. Indeed, the two men were frequently at odds over a range of issues (and would become more so), but Biles was quite simply too important a figure to be ignored in a matter such as the present. Phineas Pemberton was Penn's Chief Administrator in Bucks County, and Richard Hough was a well-regarded member of the Provincial Council (who was drowned in an accident in 1705).
The Court of Inquiry appointed by this warrant was permitted to summon "all persons concerned" and to request "all Grants, Letters Patent, Conveyances, Records, and all other Papers and Writings..." in order to examine (among other things) "the State of my Quitrents in the said County..." as well as "Escheats, Fines and Forfeitures." They were given substantial legal resources to pursue these ends. This would have been one of several such documents produced for the participants. For more on Penn and Biles see the account of his somewhat vexed relationship with Penn at https://www.jstor.org/stable/20086025.

C

Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.