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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.

Hancock, John, 1737-1793 to Dorothy Hancock

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01732 Author/Creator: Hancock, John, 1737-1793 Place Written: Susquehannah, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 4 March 1777 Pagination: 1 p. : address : free frank ; 32.8 x 20.7 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Hancock, a Declaration of Independence signer, as President of the Continental Congress to his wife. Apparently written on the road to Congress. Says he is stuck where he is until the ice is cut and he can cross with the ferry. Says "My Boy" Joe has treated him ill when he got drunk on his wine, broke several bottles, and dropped his trunk out of the wagon, which was later found. He was brought to the inn drunk and put to bed. Hancock says he will "turn him adrift" once he gets to Philadelphia. Is glad he did not leave him with her, because he "would have been a plague." Asks to be remembered to many of their friends and writes that he misses her. Tells her to get more wine when she finishes it. Free frank is his signature below the address.

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