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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.

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1 December 1786

Champion, Richard, 1743-1791

Manuscript document signed

Title: Certificate of freedom for Peter a free Negro

Written by Champion for the Court of Common Pleas in Camden County held on 27 November 1786. Document certifies the freedom "of the Negro Peter lately claimed by William Massey." It states that Peter "hath been adjudged a free Man and ... he shall be deemed held and taken as a free Man during his Life." Document was witnessed, but not signed by, Henry Pendleton, an associate justice of the state. Red wax seal is extant on bottom of recto.

GLC06147

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