Benjamin Franklin Signed 1786 Pennsylvania Land Warrant – Lancaster County

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Benjamin Franklin Signed 1786 Pennsylvania Land Warrant – Lancaster County:
$14500.00

An important original Commonwealth of Pennsylvania land warrant boldly signed by Benjamin Franklin as president of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council, dated May 9, 1786.

Franklin signs prominently at the left:

“B. Franklin, President”

The document authorizes Pennsylvania Surveyor General John Lukens to survey approximately 120 acres in Warwick Township, Lancaster County. The land had been requested by Christopher Blickensderfer, acting for himself and George and Jacob Roads, and included an existing improvement adjoining the properties of several named neighboring landowners.

Under the terms of the warrant, the applicants agreed to pay the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the statutory rate of ten pounds for every hundred acres. The document is numbered 1756.

An endorsement on the reverse records the warrant and subsequent survey proceedings, apparently completed on September 1, 1786, under Deputy Surveyor Thomas Clarke. The docketing identifies Christopher Blickensderfer and George and Jacob Roads and confirms the Lancaster County location.

Benjamin Franklin served as president of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council from 1785 to 1788. Under Pennsylvania’s revolutionary constitution, the president of the Council performed functions comparable to those of a governor. Franklin’s service in this office represented the final major period of his extraordinary public career.

When he signed this warrant, Franklin was eighty years old and already internationally celebrated as a printer, scientist, diplomat, statesman and revolutionary. He had helped draft and sign the Declaration of Independence, negotiated the alliance with France and the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War, and would serve as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention the following year.

This warrant therefore bears the original signature of the only Founding Father to sign all four of the principal documents associated with the creation of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Alliance with France, Treaty of Paris and United States Constitution.

Document: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania land warrant
Date: May 9, 1786
Signatory: Benjamin Franklin
Signature: “B. Franklin, President”
Acreage: Approximately 120 acres
Location: Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Applicant: Christopher Blickensderfer, for himself and George and Jacob Roads
Surveyor general: John Lukens
Deputy surveyor: Thomas Clarke
Warrant number: 1756
Survey endorsement: Apparently September 1, 1786

Condition: The warrant is separated vertically into four principal sections along old folds, with additional toning, staining, fold wear and scattered edge losses. The sections appear to constitute nearly the complete document. Most printed and manuscript information remains legible. Importantly, Franklin’s large signature is complete, dark and unaffected by the principal separations. The pieces have not been taped together. Professional, reversible paper conservation is recommended. Please examine all photographs carefully.

An exceptional opportunity to acquire an original governmental document signed by Benjamin Franklin during his tenure as president of Pennsylvania.