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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Peirce, Joseph (1745-1828) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.04957 Author/Creator: Peirce, Joseph (1745-1828) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 24 May 1791 Pagination: 2 p. : address ; 32.5 x 20.1 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Knox's agent Peirce to Secretary of War Knox. References Knox's letter of 16 May, which mentioned the insolvency of the estate. Is confident it is insolvent because the probate judge reported it so to the judges of the Supreme Court and because of advertisements in the newspapers. Says that Samuel Winslow reported to him that David Partridge, an occupant (possibly a squatter) of the Cooper Claim, was served a writ. On Winslow's advice he sent fifteen dollars to a Mr. Parsons to handle this issue, which will be tried in Portland in July. Peirce wrote to Winslow to find evidence of other occupants illegally selling land to pay for taxes. Believes that Knox and Henry Jackson will discuss the sale of the patent. Says Mr. [possibly Samuel Allyne] Otis declined giving a receipt for the papers on the Hampshire Lands. Says that Otis will return them after looking them over. Settled and received the bond and mortgage from the firm Westi & Coxes. (See GLC02437.04957 for related information.)

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Peirce, Joseph, 1745-1828
Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809
Winslow, Samuel, fl. 1781-1806
Otis, Samuel Allyne, 1740-1814

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