PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE - LAND GRANT SIGNED 04/29/1800 - HFSID 283792

JAMES MONROE
As Governor of Virginia (1800), he signs a 15x12 land grant to veterans of the French and Indian War, honoring a promise made by King George III!
Land Grant signed: "James Monroe" as Governor, 1 page, 5¼x12½. Richmond, Virginia, 1800 April 29. Partly printed document on vellum. Embossed paper seal in lower left corner. Land grant for 500 acres issued to William Cockran, Alexander Cockran and Samuel Meeker to honor "military warrant Number Nine hundred and twenty five issued the ninth day of May one thousand Seven hundred and Eighty, agreeable to the Proclamation of the King of Great Britain in the year one thousand Seven hundred and Sixty three." James Monroe (1758-1831, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia) was fifth U.S. President (1817-1825). He served as President James Madison's Secretary of State from 1811 to 1817 and concurrently served as Secretary of War from October 1814 to March 1815. Monroe had previously served in the Virginia state House of Delegates, the U.S. Congress (1789-1794) and as Governor of Virginia (1799-1802, 1811). He was also U.S. Minister to both France (1794-1796) and Great Britain (1803-1807). Following the Seven Years War (1756-1763), remembered by Americans as the French and Indian War, King George III rewarded many veterans with land grants. Following US independence, recognized by Britain in the Treaty of Paris (1784), individual states generally honored those grants bestowed on persons who had not sided with Britain during the Revolution. Grants to Empire Loyalists, which the Treaty committed the US government to "earnestly recommend" that the states honor, were subject to many years of litigation. Monroe's signature mildly faded but fully legible. Toned paper, with slight discoloration. Otherwise, fine condition.