JOHN HANCOCK - THIRD PERSON AUTOGRAPH LETTER 03/26/1793 - HFSID 283178

JOHN HANCOCK
John Hancock wrote this third person letter as Governor of Massachusetts in 1793, the year of his death, to invite the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor's Council to his home.
Third person autograph letter. 1 page, 7x5¾. Docketed on verso. March 26, 1793. In full: "The Governor presents his Complimts. to the Lieut. Governor & the Gentlemen of the Council, and requests their meeting at his house tomorrow morning half past 9 o'clock, & to honour him with their Company at Dinner on the same Day -". Postscripted: "The favr. is also asked of the Secretary". Hancock died on Oct. 8 later that year. 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. The 8-member Governor's Council, a powerful body in colonial times, still exists today, its duties now confined to advice and consent on judicial nominations, pardons and commutations.Lightly toned and creased. Light discoloration in left half, which touches body of letter and signature. Show-through from mounting remnants on verso touches signature. Show-through from docket touches body of letter but not signature. Irregular edges. Rounded corners. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.