2004-09
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/31/2004
McKEAN, Thomas(1735-1817) Signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress and Governor of Pennsylvania. He was not available when most Signers placed their signatures on the Declaration on August 2, 1776. There is considerable question as to when McKean actually signed the Declaration. He certainly did not do this in August, and although he claimed in old age that he attached his name some time in 1776, it did not appear on the printed copy that was authenticated on January 17, 1777, and it is assumed that he signed after that date. War-Date Autograph Letter Signed, “Tho McKean” 1p. folio, December 26, 1775, being a petition to the Committee of Safety for the Province of Pennsylvania, written for Richard Seward, requesting a commission in the army, and reads in part: “...he [Seward] was early instructed at the military college of Chelsea...and has always had a fondness for the military profession - that he is a sincere lover of liberty and warmly attached to the cause of America, in which he is willing to hazard his life...for the defense of this Country...” Countersigned by Seward, who went on to serve as a lieutenant in teh 5th Penn. Battalion, and was taken prisoner at Fort Washington, 1776, and later exchanged by the British. Silked, else VG.
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