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This antique copy looks to feature the last will and testament of Robert Parke, who passed away in the year 1664. It was believed that Parke was one of the passengers aboard the historic ship, Arbella, which carried Puritan governor John Winthrop and his fellow travelers to the New World. This piece of correspondence is a valuable addition to any collection of pre-1900 paper items and offers a glimpse into the lives of early American settlers.
Found amongst a cache of letters written to/from Nathaniel GOODWIN (1782-1855) and family. Nathaniel was a genealogist, Probate Judge, and Treasurer of Hartford CT. He also published "Descendants of Thomas Olcott" (1845), "The Foote Family" (1849), and posthumously, “Genealogical Notes of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts," with a memoir (1856).
All ephemera shows wear commensurate to age, including, potentially, stains, worn corners, dings, fraying, scents, stray marks, rips, and other imperfections, etc. You get what you see.
Decent condition for age, but does have a definite scent.
This copy is not dated, but it was found amongst documents stretching from the late 1840s to the early 1890s, so I would assume it falls into that timeframe.
