300 Year Old Pennsylvania Colonial Era Document
Four 8 x 13 inch folded pages in good condition.
Stamps and seals intact
This document is a legal instrument, specifically a power of attorney, dated July 19, 1721. The document appoints an agent to manage affairs on behalf of the principal.
Document Summary
The main purpose of the document is for the "Rotten merchant," acting on behalf of herself and as the heir of her deceased husband Benjamin Keely, to formally name and appoint another person as her attorney.
Date: July 19, 1721.
Principal: The merchant "Belle" in Rotterdam (part of text is hard to read), acting also for the estate of her late husband Benjamin Keely.
Agent (Attorney): Benjamin Theissen, a merchant of Whitshill in Derbyshire.
Purpose: To "ask, demand and receive" from a Mr. John Bernay Sprogall of Whitshill, or from any trustees or assignees managing Mr. Sprogall's goods/estate, any sums of money, charges, or damages owed.
This document is a This type of document was a common legal tool used for managing finances and legal matters across different locations when travel was difficult, allowing an agent to act on the principal's behalf. legal instrument, specifically a power of attorney and possibly related to an estate settlement or debt collection in Pennsylvania, dated and recorded in October 1722. The text appears to be a manuscript copy of an official record, likely from the area of modern-day Berks or Lebanon County.
Document Details
Type: Power of Attorney and Acquittance/Discharge document.
Location: Mentions "Pensilvania" and "Rotterdam," suggesting a transatlantic connection, likely involving Dutch or German immigrants.
Date: The main document appears to have been signed around or before October 1713, 1714, and 1715, related to payments, while an appended sworn affirmation by a witness is dated October 24, 1722.
Key Individuals: Names mentioned include Thomas Freieman (deceased), P. Benjamin Tusly, Schilpext De Engers, Peter Eighend, and Jacob Lyn.
Financial Details: The document mentions a sum of "Two hundred fifty five pounds proclamatione Money of Pensilvania".
Content Summary
The document formally grants "full and lawfull power and authority" to a designated attorney to manage a legal or financial matter, specifically to make compositions, agreements, seal discharges or acquittances, sue and defend in court, and generally act as the principal would if personally present for the recovery of a "Constit[uent's] due".
An appended note at the bottom, signed by "Men fra" and "Willem Fis," affirms that on October 24, 1722, the "oldest Sworn Shelgert & Richele Sye" appeared and swore before an official that the "above Instrument" was signed in their presence.
This type of record reflects the complex legal environment of early 18th-century Pennsylvania, which was rapidly developing its own judicial system and dealing with significant immigration and land disputes.
Four 8 x 13 inch folded pages in good condition.
Stamps and seals intact
This document is a legal instrument, specifically a power of attorney, dated July 19, 1721. The document appoints an agent to manage affairs on behalf of the principal.
Document Summary
The main purpose of the document is for the "Rotten merchant," acting on behalf of herself and as the heir of her deceased husband Benjamin Keely, to formally name and appoint another person as her attorney.
Date: July 19, 1721.
Principal: The merchant "Belle" in Rotterdam (part of text is hard to read), acting also for the estate of her late husband Benjamin Keely.
Agent (Attorney): Benjamin Theissen, a merchant of Whitshill in Derbyshire.
Purpose: To "ask, demand and receive" from a Mr. John Bernay Sprogall of Whitshill, or from any trustees or assignees managing Mr. Sprogall's goods/estate, any sums of money, charges, or damages owed.
This document is a This type of document was a common legal tool used for managing finances and legal matters across different locations when travel was difficult, allowing an agent to act on the principal's behalf. legal instrument, specifically a power of attorney and possibly related to an estate settlement or debt collection in Pennsylvania, dated and recorded in October 1722. The text appears to be a manuscript copy of an official record, likely from the area of modern-day Berks or Lebanon County.
Document Details
Type: Power of Attorney and Acquittance/Discharge document.
Location: Mentions "Pensilvania" and "Rotterdam," suggesting a transatlantic connection, likely involving Dutch or German immigrants.
Date: The main document appears to have been signed around or before October 1713, 1714, and 1715, related to payments, while an appended sworn affirmation by a witness is dated October 24, 1722.
Key Individuals: Names mentioned include Thomas Freieman (deceased), P. Benjamin Tusly, Schilpext De Engers, Peter Eighend, and Jacob Lyn.
Financial Details: The document mentions a sum of "Two hundred fifty five pounds proclamatione Money of Pensilvania".
Content Summary
The document formally grants "full and lawfull power and authority" to a designated attorney to manage a legal or financial matter, specifically to make compositions, agreements, seal discharges or acquittances, sue and defend in court, and generally act as the principal would if personally present for the recovery of a "Constit[uent's] due".
An appended note at the bottom, signed by "Men fra" and "Willem Fis," affirms that on October 24, 1722, the "oldest Sworn Shelgert & Richele Sye" appeared and swore before an official that the "above Instrument" was signed in their presence.
This type of record reflects the complex legal environment of early 18th-century Pennsylvania, which was rapidly developing its own judicial system and dealing with significant immigration and land disputes.
