Lot 6D email save

PENN, William. Engraved indenture on vellum, with

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N.p. [but London]: 21 March 1681/1682. 1 p., large vellum membrane with scalloped top edge (518 x 660 mm). Signed by Penn on the fold, with attached wax seal. Witnessed and signed by Herbert Springett, Thomas Coxe, and Thomas Rudyard on the verso. Docketed on the verso and signed by Lewis Weiss. Additional docketing on the verso signed and sealed by Thomas Lask of the "Office of Recording Deeds." Condition: two small holes. early deed of sale for land in pennsylvania to the original owner of a portion of independence mall. Little is known of the recipient of this deed, beyond the information within the deed itself; i.e. Sanders being a yeoman from Illmore in Buckinghamshire. Thomas Saunders (presumed to be the same) was among the earliest Quakers in that region and is known to have held a weekly Meeting at his home in the 1660s. No doubt experiencing similar persecution for his beliefs as others of that faith, he acquired this tract and emigrated to Pennsylvania. As an incentive to purchase large plots, William Penn granted bonus lots within the planned city of Philadelphia as surveyed by Thomas Holme. Saunders is listed on the Reed map as receiving his bonus city lot on the northwest corner of Mulberry [present day Arch] and Fifth; i.e., part of the present day Independence Mall. The verso of this deed includes a later manuscript note signed Lewis Weiss (1717-1796), a German-born jurist and among the most accomplished real estate attorneys in mid-18th century Philadelphia. "His ability as a drafter of legal documents was so well known that he was frequently employed by the Assembly to prepare the more important bills which were to come before them" (Jordan, "Lewis Weiss of Philadelphia" in PMHB, vol. 15).

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