1735 Colonial Pennsylvania Vellum Deed — Baldwin Family to Richard Barry — 1708 Chain of Title — Three Seals
An exceptionally early and visually commanding Colonial Pennsylvania land indenture, executed on December 4, 1735, conveying approximately 25 acres in Chester County from members of the prominent early Baldwin family to Richard Barry.
The grantors were John Baldwin of Philadelphia, identified as a joiner and the only son and heir of Joseph Baldwin, and his mother, Elizabeth Bond of Chichester. Elizabeth was the widow of Joseph Bond and had formerly been married to Joseph Baldwin. For £30 in Pennsylvania currency, mother and son conveyed the 25-acre property, together with its buildings, improvements, woods, waters, rights, privileges, and appurtenances, to Richard Barry.
The deed preserves an even earlier chain of ownership. It recites a conveyance dated November 20, 1708, through which Thomas Baldwin, a Chester County blacksmith and early Pennsylvania settler, transferred the property to his son Joseph Baldwin. Following Joseph’s death, title descended to his only son, John, subject to his mother Elizabeth’s rights in the estate.
This exact transaction is recorded in published histories of early Chester: John Baldwin and his mother Elizabeth Bond conveyed to Richard Barry approximately 25 acres previously granted by Thomas Baldwin to Joseph Baldwin in 1708. The document therefore provides a tangible connection to some of the earliest generations of English settlement in southeastern Pennsylvania.
John Baldwin and Elizabeth Bond have each signed the deed beside an impressive original black wax seal. The instrument was witnessed by Richard Weaver and others and was acknowledged before Chester County justice Caleb Copeland on May 30, 1738.
The reverse preserves extensive colonial recording endorsements from 1738 and 1739, together with a remarkable embossed paper-and-wax Chester County seal. The Latin legend surrounding the seal reads in part Sigillum Comitatus Cestriae, identifying it as the official seal of the County of Chester. Large county seals of this type are seldom encountered so substantially intact on surviving private deeds.
Handwritten in dense eighteenth-century legal script on an unusually long sheet of vellum, the document begins with a bold and beautifully flourished “This Indenture” heading. Its early date, architectural and genealogical content, three surviving seals, and documented connection to the Baldwin family give it exceptional display and research appeal.
Condition: Original storage folds, general toning and soiling, darker discoloration across portions of the reverse, scattered rubbing and fading, several small holes or edge losses, and a more substantial irregular loss along the lower edge. The two black personal seals remain substantially intact with age cracking and minor losses. The large Chester County seal and its folded paper surround are remarkably well preserved. The principal text and signatures remain legible.
An exceptionally early and visually commanding Colonial Pennsylvania land indenture, executed on December 4, 1735, conveying approximately 25 acres in Chester County from members of the prominent early Baldwin family to Richard Barry.
The grantors were John Baldwin of Philadelphia, identified as a joiner and the only son and heir of Joseph Baldwin, and his mother, Elizabeth Bond of Chichester. Elizabeth was the widow of Joseph Bond and had formerly been married to Joseph Baldwin. For £30 in Pennsylvania currency, mother and son conveyed the 25-acre property, together with its buildings, improvements, woods, waters, rights, privileges, and appurtenances, to Richard Barry.
The deed preserves an even earlier chain of ownership. It recites a conveyance dated November 20, 1708, through which Thomas Baldwin, a Chester County blacksmith and early Pennsylvania settler, transferred the property to his son Joseph Baldwin. Following Joseph’s death, title descended to his only son, John, subject to his mother Elizabeth’s rights in the estate.
This exact transaction is recorded in published histories of early Chester: John Baldwin and his mother Elizabeth Bond conveyed to Richard Barry approximately 25 acres previously granted by Thomas Baldwin to Joseph Baldwin in 1708. The document therefore provides a tangible connection to some of the earliest generations of English settlement in southeastern Pennsylvania.
John Baldwin and Elizabeth Bond have each signed the deed beside an impressive original black wax seal. The instrument was witnessed by Richard Weaver and others and was acknowledged before Chester County justice Caleb Copeland on May 30, 1738.
The reverse preserves extensive colonial recording endorsements from 1738 and 1739, together with a remarkable embossed paper-and-wax Chester County seal. The Latin legend surrounding the seal reads in part Sigillum Comitatus Cestriae, identifying it as the official seal of the County of Chester. Large county seals of this type are seldom encountered so substantially intact on surviving private deeds.
Handwritten in dense eighteenth-century legal script on an unusually long sheet of vellum, the document begins with a bold and beautifully flourished “This Indenture” heading. Its early date, architectural and genealogical content, three surviving seals, and documented connection to the Baldwin family give it exceptional display and research appeal.
Condition: Original storage folds, general toning and soiling, darker discoloration across portions of the reverse, scattered rubbing and fading, several small holes or edge losses, and a more substantial irregular loss along the lower edge. The two black personal seals remain substantially intact with age cracking and minor losses. The large Chester County seal and its folded paper surround are remarkably well preserved. The principal text and signatures remain legible.
