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Issued in Philadelphia, this original North American Land Company certificate, No. 963, records William Temple Franklin’s ownership of five shares—numbered 14,023 through 14,027—in the company’s vast American landholdings. The certificate is dated February 20, 1795, and was formally executed on April 18, 1795.
It is boldly signed “Rob’t Morris” as company president and countersigned by James Markham Marshall, the brother of future Chief Justice John Marshall.
Robert Morris was among the most consequential figures of the American founding. He signed the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and United States Constitution; served as Superintendent of Finance during the Revolution; and helped establish the Bank of North America. His personal credit and financial organization proved indispensable to the American war effort.
The recipient, William Temple Franklin, served as Benjamin Franklin’s secretary during the diplomatic negotiations that concluded the Revolutionary War. He subsequently became his grandfather’s literary executor and participated in major American land transactions.
Founded by Morris, John Nicholson, and James Greenleaf, the North American Land Company attempted to transform approximately six million acres across several states into 30,000 transferable shares. Its failure helped destroy Morris’s fortune and eventually sent the celebrated financier to debtors’ prison.
A compelling association document joining Robert Morris with the immediate family of Benjamin Franklin and illustrating both the ambitions and hazards of speculation in the early republic.
Condition: Substantial overall toning; old folds and creases; scattered small punctures; marginal chipping and losses, particularly along the lower and right edges; and evidence of long-term mounting. Portions of the manuscript are faded, but the principal text remains legible. Robert Morris’s signature is unusually dark and prominent; James Marshall’s signature is lighter but visible. Framed with a portrait and descriptive presentation panel.
