American Historical Ephemera & Photography

Manuscript document signed by John Grant and George Grant "of Hartford in the County of Hartford in the Colony of Connecticott in New England" documenting the transfer "One piece or parcell [sic] of UppLand Scituated Lying and being on the East Side of the Connecticott River in the Township of Hartford" unto William Pitkin Junior of Hartford. 4 May 1693. 1 pp, 12 3/8 x 17 1/4 in. (sight), 18 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (framed) (adhesive remnants visible, slight losses at center folds, creasing, unexamined outside frame). With remnants of red seals and countersigned by witnesses including Assistant Caleb Stanly. Verso not visible through paper backing of frame, but later typed notation on paper backing indicates text: "A conveyance of seventy-two acres of Upland from John Grant & George Grant unto William Pitkin. Anno 1693."

The Pitkins were a politically prominent family in Hartford, with the first William Pitkin coming to the colony in 1659 from London to serve as the King's Attorney General. The family amassed a large fortune in the New World. By 1694 the eldest William Pitkin was the largest land holder in Hartford on the east side of the River, a fact made possible in part by the conveyance offered here. A scarce and early piece of American historical ephemera.