1758 John Hancock ALS To Governor Whitmore, French & Indian War
Autograph letter or retained draft by John Hancock, dated November 14, 1758, written during the French & Indian War period while Hancock was working in the mercantile firm of his uncle, Thomas Hancock.
The opening reads approximately:
"Mr Hancock's compliments to Gov. Whitmore and sends him two bottles of wine for his acceptance hopes they will arrive in good order..."
The reverse is endorsed:
"Bight Whitmore by Samuel N. Nov. 14, 1758"
The "Whitmore" here is almost certainly Major General Edward Whitmore, the British officer commanding forces in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton following the Louisbourg campaign. Surviving archival references record correspondence between John Hancock and General Whitmore in 1758, making the identification consistent with both the date and content.
Identification
Author: John Hancock
Recipient: Edward Whitmore
Date: November 14, 1758
Subject: Gift/transmittal note accompanying two bottles of wine sent to General Whitmore.
Historical Context: French & Indian War; predates the American Revolution by nearly two decades.
Significance
This is not a routine Revolutionary-era Hancock item. It is much earlier (1758) and documents Hancock's role in the Hancock mercantile network supplying and corresponding with British military officers. Early Hancock material from the 1750s is considerably scarcer than his later gubernatorial or Congressional signatures.
Value Estimate
Condition is fair, with edge wear and losses, but the handwriting remains legible.
Current collector market estimate:
Original manuscript letter written by John Hancock, dated November 14, 1758, during the French & Indian War period.
Addressed to General Edward Whitmore, British commander in Nova Scotia following the capture of Louisbourg. Hancock sends compliments and forwards two bottles of wine, expressing hope they arrive in good order.
An unusually early Hancock item created nearly twenty years before the Declaration of Independence and before Hancock emerged as a leading Revolutionary figure.
Single leaf manuscript with docketing on reverse. Condition shows age toning, folds, edge wear, and minor losses consistent with eighteenth-century correspondence.
A scarce and historically significant early John Hancock manuscript relating to military and commercial connections in British North America.
After the British capture of Louisbourg in 1758, Whitmore was appointed Governor of Cape Breton Island (Île Royale) and St. John's Island (present-day Prince Edward Island) and took office shortly after the fortress surrendered in the summer of 1758. He served as military governor there until his death in 1761.
Timeline:
July 1758 – Louisbourg captured by the British.
August 1758 – Whitmore appointed Governor of Cape Breton and St. John's Island.
1758–1761 – Governed Cape Breton from Louisbourg.
December 1761 – Drowned while traveling from Louisbourg to Boston.
The date 14 November 1758 falls only a few months after Whitmore became governor of Cape Breton. Hancock's gift of wine likely relates to Whitmore's new command and the extensive commercial and military supply connections between Boston merchants and the newly conquered Louisbourg garrison.
That connection strengthens the historical appeal of the piece. A letter from the future signer of the Declaration of Independence to the newly appointed British governor of Louisbourg/Cape Breton, written immediately after one of the most important victories of the French and Indian War, is a much better story than a routine merchant note.
This is not merely a wine-shipment note. It connects:
John Hancock at age 21.
Edward Whitmore newly appointed governor of the conquered French fortress of Louisbourg.
The immediate aftermath of the 1758 Louisbourg campaign, one of the decisive victories of the French and Indian War.
Boston merchant support and provisioning of British military authorities.
Early Hancock material from the 1750s is genuinely scarce. Most collectors encounter Hancock signatures from the 1770s–1790s, not from his pre-Revolution merchant years.
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Autograph letter or retained draft by John Hancock, dated November 14, 1758, written during the French & Indian War period while Hancock was working in the mercantile firm of his uncle, Thomas Hancock.
The opening reads approximately:
"Mr Hancock's compliments to Gov. Whitmore and sends him two bottles of wine for his acceptance hopes they will arrive in good order..."
The reverse is endorsed:
"Bight Whitmore by Samuel N. Nov. 14, 1758"
The "Whitmore" here is almost certainly Major General Edward Whitmore, the British officer commanding forces in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton following the Louisbourg campaign. Surviving archival references record correspondence between John Hancock and General Whitmore in 1758, making the identification consistent with both the date and content.
Identification
Author: John Hancock
Recipient: Edward Whitmore
Date: November 14, 1758
Subject: Gift/transmittal note accompanying two bottles of wine sent to General Whitmore.
Historical Context: French & Indian War; predates the American Revolution by nearly two decades.
Significance
This is not a routine Revolutionary-era Hancock item. It is much earlier (1758) and documents Hancock's role in the Hancock mercantile network supplying and corresponding with British military officers. Early Hancock material from the 1750s is considerably scarcer than his later gubernatorial or Congressional signatures.
Value Estimate
Condition is fair, with edge wear and losses, but the handwriting remains legible.
Current collector market estimate:
Original manuscript letter written by John Hancock, dated November 14, 1758, during the French & Indian War period.
Addressed to General Edward Whitmore, British commander in Nova Scotia following the capture of Louisbourg. Hancock sends compliments and forwards two bottles of wine, expressing hope they arrive in good order.
An unusually early Hancock item created nearly twenty years before the Declaration of Independence and before Hancock emerged as a leading Revolutionary figure.
Single leaf manuscript with docketing on reverse. Condition shows age toning, folds, edge wear, and minor losses consistent with eighteenth-century correspondence.
A scarce and historically significant early John Hancock manuscript relating to military and commercial connections in British North America.
After the British capture of Louisbourg in 1758, Whitmore was appointed Governor of Cape Breton Island (Île Royale) and St. John's Island (present-day Prince Edward Island) and took office shortly after the fortress surrendered in the summer of 1758. He served as military governor there until his death in 1761.
Timeline:
July 1758 – Louisbourg captured by the British.
August 1758 – Whitmore appointed Governor of Cape Breton and St. John's Island.
1758–1761 – Governed Cape Breton from Louisbourg.
December 1761 – Drowned while traveling from Louisbourg to Boston.
The date 14 November 1758 falls only a few months after Whitmore became governor of Cape Breton. Hancock's gift of wine likely relates to Whitmore's new command and the extensive commercial and military supply connections between Boston merchants and the newly conquered Louisbourg garrison.
That connection strengthens the historical appeal of the piece. A letter from the future signer of the Declaration of Independence to the newly appointed British governor of Louisbourg/Cape Breton, written immediately after one of the most important victories of the French and Indian War, is a much better story than a routine merchant note.
This is not merely a wine-shipment note. It connects:
John Hancock at age 21.
Edward Whitmore newly appointed governor of the conquered French fortress of Louisbourg.
The immediate aftermath of the 1758 Louisbourg campaign, one of the decisive victories of the French and Indian War.
Boston merchant support and provisioning of British military authorities.
Early Hancock material from the 1750s is genuinely scarce. Most collectors encounter Hancock signatures from the 1770s–1790s, not from his pre-Revolution merchant years.
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