John Hancock, 25 November 1775

HANCOCK, John (1737-1793). Autograph document signed ("John Hancock") as President of Congress, Philadelphia, 25 November 1775.

One page, 102 x 161mm (mounted, vertical fold separation with small losses reinforced with tissue, minor marginal tears).

John Hancock accepts a donation from Anthony Wayne for support of "Sufferers in Boston." In a fascinating document from early in the war, Hancock accepts a donation of £160 from "Colonell Anthony Waine," on behalf of Chester County, Pennsylvania "for the benefit of the Sufferers in Boston by the Port Bill, which I Engage shall be improv'd for the purpose of the Donors —"

Following the closure of the Port of Boston in 1774, communities throughout New England and well beyond contributed food, supplies and cash to support those impacted by the worst of the "Coercive Acts." Even Chester County, Pennsylvania offered its support. In August 1774, as chairman of the Chester County Committee of Safety, Anthony Wayne endorsed a resolution by a group of "Subscribers for Relief of the Poor of Boston, Chester County." (However it yet to be determined whether the donation acknowledged by Hancock in the present document was as a result of this, or possibly a subsequent resolution. See David Paul Nelson, "Anthony Wayne as a Soldier," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 106, No. 4 (Oct., 1982), fn 4.) But even if this payment arrived more than a year late, it would still have had some impact considering how many were displaced by the ongoing Siege of Boston.