American Historical Ephemera and Photography

2pp, approx. 8 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. A record of the partial interests and sales of "Six Iron Guns said to be the Property of Capt. Thomas Dean / who with his Family hath deposited out of the country / are lawfully attached on the Suits of Richard Manning & Love Pickman for debts justly due to them respectively." Undersigned by seven "Subscribers" and "Creditors" of Dean who agree to the sale of the his six cannons "to the highest bidder either at public or private sale" and that payment received will be divided and used to offset Dean's debts. Signed by Ebenezer Putnam, Stephen Webb, George Peall, Eleazer Moses, Timothy Ornese [sp?], John Bray, and E.A. Holyoke. Verso with listing of costs, payments, and accounts associated with the sale of the cannons.

Captain Thomas Dean was a prominent Salem mariner and merchant who started sailing in the 1740s. Massachusetts Vital Records indicate that a "Captain Thomas Dean" of Salem, MA, married twice, first Sarah Phippen in 1751 and, following her death, Mary Cash on 9 April 1754. They had ten children. Dean may have been a privateer during the Revolutionary War, and it is unclear why his family had removed from the town of Salem. As evidenced by this document, he was unquestionably indebted to multiple persons. No doubt sensing the opportunity posed by the ongoing American Revolution, Dean's creditors indicate the guns are to be sold "immediately by reason of the very great demand." A year after the initial document was signed, the successful sale of 8, not just 6, guns is recorded on the back of the form: 2 for £190, 2 for £105, and 4 for £245 for a total of £505 raised. Notably, among Dean's creditors to be paid is "Love Pickman," possibly Love Rawlings Pickman (1709-1787), a female American silversmith. Her signature appears on the document accepting the accounts presented, along with the signature of Richard Manning, Jr. (1755-1813), a prosperous blacksmith and later founder of the Boston Stage Company.