Taylor George

George Taylor, Declaration Signer, Receives Payment for Land, Handsomely Presented!

George Taylor was one of the nine delegates from Pennsylvania to sign the Declaration of Independence. His signature is among the rarest of the Signers, due to his limited role in public life afterwards, and his death only a few years later in 1781.

1p ADS signed by Declaration Signer George Taylor (1716-1781) as "Geo. Taylor" at lower right. The receipt, on cream laid paper, is dated December 6, 1774. The fragment is positioned at the center of a beige mat in a floating mount. Trimmed close. Vertical creases at old folds, else near fine. A striking and bold signature. Actual size 4.75" x 3". Overall size of mat is 10.75" x 8.25".

In full:

"Receiv’d 6.th December 1774 from Thomas Adamson One Hundred Pounds being the first payment for the Land sold him as of the above agreement.



Geo.Taylor."

A fragment of what appears to be the aforementioned “above agreement” of the land deal appears verso, and is signed by William Armstrong and Charles Craig. The endorsement reads: “And Signed Sealed and Delivered by the said Lewis Gordon the fifteenth day of October Anno 1774 in the presences of Sam.l Foulke John Shotesbury”. All co-signers appear in records of Philadelphia and Chester County, Pennsylvania.

George Taylor was an Irish immigrant who came to America indentured to Samuel Savage, Jr., the master of the Warwick Furnace and Coventry Forge in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He took over the forge upon the death of Savage, and also married his widow. Taylor ran the forge until his heirs came of legal age. In 1757, he became justice of the peace in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and in 1764 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. He was reelected to the position in 1775, the same year he secured a contract to produce cannon balls for the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety.

When the Second Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776, Taylor was appointed by the Assembly to replace one of the Loyalist delegates who had resigned. Less than a month later he was signing the Declaration of Independence despite not having been present for the actual vote. Taylor was one of eight foreign-born signers, the only ironmaster, and the only former indentured servant to sign. Taylor served only seven months in the Continental Congress before the Assembly appointed a new delegation. He was then appointed to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council but retired after a month due to illness.

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.

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