JOHN HANCOCK - DOCUMENT UNSIGNED 10/02/1762 - HFSID 281338

[JOHN HANCOCK]
John Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, filled out this unsigned bill of lading for his uncle Thomas Hancock's import/export business in 1762, three years before he inherited the business. A rare document from the early life of one of the Founding Fathers!
Document unsigned.9x4¼. Boston, Massachusetts, Oct. 2, 1762. Hancock filled out this bill of lading while with his uncle Thomas Hancock's import/export business in 1762, three years before he inherited the business in 1765. It was for the ship Lucy, captained by James Dickey and bound for Fort Cumberland at Chignecto, Nova Scotia with two hundred bales of flour. Hancock (1737-1793), Member of the Continental Congress (1775-1778), served as President of the Congress from May 24, 1775 to October of 1777 and was the first Signer of the Declaration of Independence. From 1780 to 1785 and from 1787 to his death in 1793, Hancock was Governor of Massachusetts. Hancock's father had died when John was a child, and he was adopted by his uncle, Thomas Hancock, a rich Boston merchant. Hancock inherited his uncle's wealth in 1765, when he was 28 years old. Despite relatively little mercantile success, (Thomas Hancock & Co. went out of business in 1775), John Hancock owned real estate and was a wealthy man when he died in 1793, with an estate then estimated at $350,000. Lightly toned and rippled. Light discolorations along top, right and bottom edges, which touch notations. 1x¾ stain in top left corner from missing seal. Missing bottom right corner. Light nicks in top, right and bottom edges. Torn from binding or larger sheet at left edge. Otherwise in fine condition.