1806 PA Grant Signed THOMAS MCKEAN TIMOTHY MATLACK Declaration of Independence

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1806 PA Grant Signed THOMAS MCKEAN TIMOTHY MATLACK Declaration of Independence:
$550.00

Incredible item!!! 1806 vellum land grant for 1050 acres of land in Tioga county PA called Luneville from Alexander Baring and family to Thomas M Willing. Autograph / signed by Thomas McKean AND Timothy Matlack, a signer of the Declaration of Independence on the front and the man who was the scribe and drafted the official copy of the Declaration and US Constitution signing the back of this document! It is also signed by the first Deputy Secretary of PA James Trimble. Thomas McKean served as Governor of PA and Delaware, referred to as President. It is amazing to compare the handwriting on the original Declaration to Matlack\'s, his handwriting had changed a little by 1806 but the "R\'s" are very distinctive. I actually have two of these so I am willing to let this go to a good home. Thomas McKean(March 19, 1734 – June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, inNew Castle During theAmerican Revolutionhe was a delegate to theContinental Congresswhere he signed theUnited States Declaration of Independenceand theArticles of Confederation. McKean served as aPresident of Congress. He was at various times a member of theFederalistandDemocratic-Republican parties. McKean served asPresident of Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Governor of Pennsylvania. McKean was born in New London Township,Chester County, Pennsylvania, the son of William McKean and Letitia Finney. His father was a tavern-keeper in New London and both his parents wereIrish-bornUlster-Scotswho came to Pennsylvania as children. Mary Borden was his first wife. They married in 1763, lived at 22 The Strand in New Castle, Delaware. They had six children:Joseph, Robert, Elizabeth, Letitia, Mary, and Anne. Mary Borden McKean died in 1773 and is buried atImmanuel Episcopal Churchin New Castle. Sarah Armitage was McKean\'s second wife. They married in 1774, lived at the northeast corner of 3rd and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had four children, Sarah, Thomas, Sophia, and Maria. They were members of the New Castle Presbyterian Church in New Castle and the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Sarah\'s son,Carlos Martínez de Irujo, 2nd Marquis of Casa Irujo, would later becomePrime Minister of Spain. McKean\'s education began at the Reverend Francis Allison\'s New London Academy. At the age of sixteen he went to New Castle, Delaware to begin the study of law under his cousin, David Finney. In 1755 he was admitted to the Bar of theLower Counties, as Delaware was then known, and likewise in theProvince of Pennsylvaniathe following year. In 1756 he was appointed deputy Attorney General forSussex County. From the 1762/63 session through the 1775/76 session he was a member of the General Assembly of the Lower Counties, serving as its Speaker in 1772/73. From July 1765, he also served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and began service as the customs collector at New Castle in 1771. In November 1765 his Court of Common Pleas became the first such court in the colonies to establish a rule that all the proceedings of the court be recorded on un-stamped paper.

Eighteenth century Delaware was politically divided into loose political factions known as the "Court Party" and the "Country Party." The majority Court Party was generally Anglican, strongest in Kent and Sussex counties and worked well with the colonial Proprietary government, and was in favor of reconciliation with the British government. The minority Country Party was largely Ulster-Scot, centered in New Castle County, and quickly advocated independence from the British. McKean was the epitome of the Country party politician and was, as much as anyone, its leader. As such, he generally worked in partnership withCaesar Rodneyfrom Kent County, and in opposition to his friend and neighbor, George Read. At theStamp Act Congressof 1765, McKean and Caesar Rodney represented Delaware. McKean proposed the voting procedure that the Continental Congress later adopted: that each colony, regardless of size or population, have one vote. This decision set the precedent, the Congress of the Articles of Confederation adopted the practice, and the principle of state equality continued in the composition of the United States Senate.

McKean quickly became one of the most influential members of the Stamp Act Congress. He was on the committee that drew the memorial to Parliament, and withJohn RutledgeandPhilip Livingston, revised its proceedings. On the last day of its session, when the business session ended,Timothy Ruggles, the president of the body, and a few other more cautious members, refused to sign the memorial of rights and grievances. McKean arose and addressing the chair insisted that the president give his reasons for his refusal. After refusing at first, Ruggles remarked, "it was against his conscience." McKean then disputed his use of the word "conscience" so loudly and so long that a challenge was given by Ruggles and accepted in the presence of the congress. However, Ruggles left the next morning at daybreak, so that the duel did not take place. In spite of his primary residence in Philadelphia, McKean remained the effective leader for American Independence in Delaware. Along with George Read and Caesar Rodney, he was one of Delaware\'s delegates to theFirst Continental Congressin 1774 and theSecond Continental Congressin 1775 and 1776.

Being an outspoken advocate of independence, McKean\'s was a key voice in persuading others to vote for a split with Great Britain. When Congress began debating a resolution of independence in June 1776 Caesar Rodney was absent. George Read was against independence, which meant that the Delaware delegation was split between McKean and Read and therefore could not vote in favor of independence. McKean requested that the absent Rodney ride all night from Dover to break the tie. After the vote in favor of independence on July 2, McKean participated in the debate over the wording of the officialDeclaration of Independence, which was approved on July 4.

A few days after McKean cast his vote, he left Congress to serve as colonel in command of the Fourth Battalion of thePennsylvania Associators, a militia unit created byBenjamin Franklinin 1747. They joined Washington\'s defense of New York City at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Being away, he was not available when most of the signers placed their signatures on the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. Since his signature did not appear on the printed copy that was authenticated on January 17, 1777, it is assumed that he signed after that date, possibly as late as 1781.[2]

In a conservative reaction against the advocates of American independence, the 1776/77 Delaware General Assembly did not reelect either McKean or Caesar Rodney to the Continental Congress in October 1776. However, the British occupation following theBattle of Brandywineswung opinions enough that McKean was returned to Congress in October 1777 by the 1777/78 Delaware General Assembly. He then served continuously until February 1, 1783. McKean helped draft theArticles of Confederationand voted for their adoption on March 1, 1781.

When poor health causedSamuel Huntington, to resign asPresident of Congressin July 1781, McKean was elected as his successor. He served from July 10, 1781, until November 4, 1781. The President of Congress was a mostly ceremonial position with no real authority, but the office did require McKean to handle a good deal of correspondence and sign official documents.[3]During his time in office,Lord Cornwallis\'sBritish armysurrendered at Yorktown, effectively ending the war. Meanwhile, McKean led the effort in the General Assembly of Delaware to declare its separation from the British government, which it did on June 15, 1776. Then, in August, he was elected to the special convention to draft a new state constitution. Upon hearing of it, McKean made the long ride to Dover, Delaware from Philadelphia in a single day, went to a room in an Inn, and that night, virtually by himself, drafted the document. It was adopted September 20, 1776. TheDelaware Constitution of 1776thus became the first state constitution to be produced after the Declaration of Independence.

McKean was then elected to Delaware\'s first House of Assembly for both the 1776/77 and 1778/79 sessions, succeeding John McKinly as Speaker on February 12, 1777 when McKinly became President of Delaware. Shortly after President McKinly\'s capture and imprisonment, McKean served as the President of Delaware for a month from September 22, 1777 until October 20, 1777. That was the time needed for the rightful successor to John McKinly, the Speaker of the Legislative Council, George Read, to return from the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and assume the duties.

At this time, immediately after the Battle of Brandywine, the British Army occupied Wilmington and much of northern New Castle County. Its navy also controlled the lower Delaware River and Delaware Bay. As a result the state capital, New Castle, was unsafe as a meeting place, and the Sussex County seat,Lewes, was sufficiently disrupted by Loyalists that it was unable to hold a valid general election that autumn. As President, McKean was primarily occupied with recruitment of the militia and with keeping some semblance of civic order in the portions of the state still under his control. McKean started his long tenure as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania on July 28, 1777 and served in that capacity until 1799. There he largely set the rules of justice for revolutionary Pennsylvania. According to biographer John Coleman, "only the historiographical difficulty of reviewing court records and other scattered documents prevents recognition that McKean, rather thanJohn Marshall, did more than anyone else to establish an independent judiciary in the United States. As chief justice under a Pennsylvania constitution he considered flawed, he assumed it the right of the court to strike down legislative acts it deemed unconstitutional, preceding by ten years the U.S. Supreme Court\'s establishment of the doctrine of judicial review. He augmented the rights of defendants and sought penal reform, but on the other hand was slow to recognize expansion of the legal rights of women and the processes in the state\'s gradual elimination of slavery."

He was a member of the convention of Pennsylvania, which ratified the Constitution of the U.S. In the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention of 1789/90, he argued for a strong executive and was himself at that time a Federalist. Nevertheless, in 1796, dissatisfied with Federalist domestic policies and compromises with England, he became an outspoken Jeffersonian Republican or Democratic-Republican. While Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, McKean played a role in the Whiskey Rebellion. On August 2, 1794, he took part in a conference on the rebellion. In attendance was Washington, his Cabinet, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and other officials. President Washington interpreted the rebellion to be a grave threat, arguing that it could mean “an end to our Constitution and laws.” Washington advocated “the most spirited and firm measures,” but held back on what that meant exactly. McKean argued that the matter should be left up to the courts, not the military, to prosecute and punish the rebels. Alexander Hamilton, naturally, insisted upon the “propriety of an immediate resort to Military force.”[4]Some weeks later, Mckean and General William Irvine wrote Pennsylvania Governor, Thomas Mifflin, and discussed the mission of federal committees to negotiate with the Rebels, describing them as “well disposed.” However, McKean and Irvine felt the government must suppress the insurrection in order to prevent it from spreading to nearby counties.[5]

McKean was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, and served three terms from December 17, 1799 until December 20, 1808. In 1799 he defeated the Federalist Party nominee, James Ross, and again more easily in 1802. At first, McKean ousted Federalists from state government positions. Because of that he has been called the father of thespoils system. However, in seeking a third term in 1805, McKean was at odds with factions of his own Democratic-Republican Party and the Pennsylvania General Assembly instead nominated Speaker Simon Snyder for Governor. McKean then forged an alliance with Federalists, called "the Quids," and defeated Snyder. Afterwards, he began removing Jeffersonians from state positions.

The governor\'s beliefs in strong executive and judicial powers were bitterly denounced by the influentialAuroranewspaper publisher,William Duane, and the Philadelphia populist, Dr. Michael Leib. After they led public attacks calling for his impeachment, McKean filed a partially successful libel suit against Duane in 1805. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives impeached the governor in 1807, but his friends prevented a trial for the rest of his term and the matter was dropped. When the suit was settled after McKean left office, his son Joseph angrily criticized Duane\'s attorney for alleging, out of context, that McKean referred to the people of Pennsylvania as "Clodpoles" Some of McKean\'s other accomplishments included expanding free education for all and, at age eighty, leading a Philadelphia citizens group to organize a strong defense during theWar of 1812. He spent his retirement in Philadelphia, writing, discussing political affairs and enjoying the considerable wealth he had earned through investments and real estate.

Death and legacy

McKean was a member of the PennsylvaniaSociety of the Cincinnatiin 1785 and was subsequently its vice-president.Princeton Collegegave him the degree of L.L.D. in 1781, Dartmouth College presented the same honor in 1782, and the University of Pennsylvania gave him the degree of A.M. in 1763 and L.L.D. in 1785. With Professor John Wilson he published "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States" in 1790.

McKean died in Philadelphia and was buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery there. In 1843, his body was moved to theLaurel Hill Cemetery, also in Philadelphia.McKean County, Pennsylvaniais named in his honor, as isThomas McKean High Schoolin New Castle County, also McKean Street in Philadelphia, and the McKean Hall dormitory at theUniversity of Delaware.Penn State Universityalso has a residence hall and a campus road named for him.

McKean was over six feet tall, always wore a large cocked hat and carried a gold-headed cane. He was a man of quick temper and vigorous personality, "with a thin face, hawk\'s nose and hot eyes." John Adams described him as "one of the three men in the Continental Congress who appeared to me to see more clearly to the end of the business than any others in the body." As Chief Justice and Governor of Pennsylvania he was frequently the center of controversy.[7][8]

In the Broadway musical,1776, McKean is portrayed as a gun-toting, cantankerous old Scot who cannot get along with the wealthy and conservative planter George Read.This is actually close to the truth (minus the gun toting) as McKean and Read belonged to opposing political factions in Delaware.McKean was portrayed by Bruce MacKay

[9]in the original Broadway Cast and Ray Middleton[10]in the film version.Timothy Matlack(May 28, 1736 to April 14, 1829) was a brewer and beer bottler who emerged as a popular revolutionary leader and powerful official in theWar of Independence. Secretary of Pennsylvania during the war, and a delegate to theSecond Continental Congressin 1780, he became one of Pennsylvania\'s most provocative and influential political figures. Removed from office by his political enemies at the end of the war, he returned to power in the Jeffersonian era. Timothy Matlack was born inHaddonfield, New Jerseyon May 28, 1736, to Martha Burr Haines and Timothy Matlack: a couple that had both lost their first spouses. His grandparents were William Matlack and Mary Hancock; and Henry Burr and Elizabeth Hudson. His siblings were Sybil, Elizabeth, Titus, Seth, Josiah andWhite Matlack. His half siblings were Reuben and Mary Haines. His first cousin was the Quaker abolitionistJohn Woolman.[2]In 1738, the family moved toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, where Timothy attended Friends\' School. He likely studied underAnthony Benezet. In 1749 he was apprenticed to the prosperous Quaker merchant John Reynell. During his period of service Timothy was considered a strong candidate for the Quaker ministry. At the end of his term he married Ellen Yarnall, the daughter of the Quaker minister Mordecai Yarnall. The couple had five children: William, Mordecai, Sibyl, Catharine and Martha.

In 1760 Matlack opened a mercantile he called the Case Knife. Two years later he and Owen offerdle purchased the Petty\'s Run steel furnace in Trenton, New Jersey. In 1764, following the failure of his shop, Timothy was disowned by theQuaker. The Quakers complained that he had been “frequenting company in such a manner as to spend too much of his time from home.” In 1768, and again in 1769, he was confined to debtors\' prison. By this time Timothy Matlack had set up a new business selling bottled beer. In 1769 he opened his own brewery, located near the State House, orIndependence Hall. A horse racing enthusiast,in 1770 he pitted his gamecocks against those owned by the New York aristocrat James Delancey in an infamous main.

In 1774 Matlack was hired by Charles Thomson, Secretary of the First Continental Congress, to engross the body\'s formal address to the King of England. In May, 1775, he became clerk to the Second Continental Congress and in June he composed George Washington\'s commission as General and Commander-in-Chief of the army of the United Colonies. In October Congress elevated Matlack to Storekeeper of Military Supplies. By this time he was also a member of Philadelphia\'s Committee of Inspection and Secretary of the Committee of Officers of the city\'s three militia battalions. By December he was serving as Secretary to Congress\'s Marine Committee, chaired by John Hancock. By January, 1776, he was Commissary and Clerk-in-Chief of the Committee of Claims. That month Philadelphia added two more battalions to its militia brigade and Timothy Matlack was elected Colonel of the Fifth Battalion of Rifle Rangers. In February he was made an officer of the city\'s Committee of Inspection and added to a key policy-making subcommittee. On May 20, 1776, Matlack was a principal speaker at a massive town meeting in the State House yard. He was a delegate to the Conference of Committees which met in June to plan for the Convention which would write a new constitution for Pennsylvania. These laws were to form the basis of a new government. On July 4, 1776, Matlack read Congress\'s declaration of independence to the crowd gathered at the State House. That night he likely attended Dunlap\'s print shop and printed copies of the declaration were ready by morning. Later that month Matlack engrossedtheDeclaration of Independence on parchment. Members of Congress began signing that historic document on August 2.

As a leader of the Pennsylvania Convention he was instrumental in drafting the ultra-democraticPennsylvania Constitution of 1776. In the years that followed he was an ardent defender of this frame against such critics asBenjamin Rush,James WilsonandJohn Dickinson. Newspapers were his primary medium and he signed a number of articles with the pseudonym Tiberius Gracchus.[3]Critics responded with the sobriquet \'Tim Gaff.\' As Secretary to theSupreme Executive Councilof Pennsylvania, Matlack was one of the most powerful men in the new state during the war years. In 1780 his government passed an Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, the first law of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

On December 27, 1776, following Washington\'s victory at Trenton, the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania militia crossed the Delaware river and camped at Burlington. Colonel Timothy Matlack and his 5th Rifle Battalion were part of this expedition. On January 2, they were involved in the Battle of Assumpink Creek, the second battle of Trenton. On January 3 the militia fought bravely at the Battle of Princeton. Matlack\'s force continued to serve in this winter campaign until it dissolved at the end of the month. General Washington credited the Pennsylvania militia for their timely service in this campaign. Other officers commended the Philadelphia force for its manliness and spirit. Following the British occupation of Philadelphia General Washington assigned Major General Benedict Arnold to the post of Commandant of Philadelphia. Secretary Matlack learned to despise the man\'s presence. Matlack led an investigation of his wrongdoing which triggered a court martial. The court sentenced Arnold to be severely reprimanded by the Commander-in-Chief. Washington said his officer\'s behavior had been "reprehensible." Five months later Arnold\'s treason at West Point was discovered.

In this period, at the height of his power, Matlack was named a trustee (1779–1785) of the new University of the State of Pennsylvania (now theUniversity of Pennsylvania). He was also a Secretary of theAmerican Philosophical Society. In 1780, Matlack delivered an address before the Society in which he advocated the institutionalization of agricultural in the interest of national development. “In our endeavors to promote the interest and happiness of our country,” Matlack declared, “let us apply to intelligent husbandmen in every part of the state and collect the real knowledge among us" and "arrange it into science”. Matlack called upon the University of the State of Pennsylvania, as well as other colleges, to foster the development of modern agricultural research and education in America. "The Star-bespangled Genius ofAmerica..." he proclaimed, "points to Agriculture as the stable Foundation of the rising mighty Empire."[4]

In 1781, Matlack was among the founders of theReligious Society of Free Quakers, which consisted mostly of Quakers disowned for their support of or participation in the armed conflict with Great Britain during the American war for independence. One of the earliest opponents of slavery in British colonies in America, Matlack felt the Quakers were not moving quickly enough on abolition. Along withBenjamin Franklin,Robert Morrisand others, Matlack helped raise a substantial sum of money to construct the Free Quaker Meeting House at the corner of Fifth and Arch streets in downtown Philadelphia, where he and other members of the society, including his brothers Josiah andWhite, openly worshiped.[5]Matlack has been attributed with the architectural design of the Free Quaker Meeting House and its masonry vaults. He was also hired in 1794 by Philadelphia merchant and politician Anthony Morris to design a late Georgian style mansion in the countryside just outside of Philadelphia. The estate is known today as theHighlands.

In 1790, Matlack was commissioned along with Samuel Maclay and John Adlum by the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania to survey the "headwaters of theSusquehanna Riverand the streams of the New Purchase," the northwestern portion of the state purchased from the American Indians. They were also charged with exploring a route for a passageway to connect theWest Branchwith theAllegheny River.[6]

After his death inHolmesburg, Pennsylvaniaon April 14, 1829, Matlack was interred in the Free Quaker Burial Ground on South Fifth Street, Philadelphia. His remains were removed from the Burial Ground in 1905 and reinterred in Matson\'s Ford, Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania, in the Flatlands of the Schuylkill River oppositeValley Forge.

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