A JOHN HANCOCK SIGNED MILITARY COMMISSION AS GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS

JOHN HANCOCK (1737-1793).  Hancock was an American statesman.  He was the President of the Continental Congress and the first Signer of the Declaration of Independence.  He later served as Governor of Massachusetts.

DS. 1pg. 16” x 12 ½”. October 31, 1787. Boston.  A large partly-printed commission signed “John Hancock” as Governor and co-signed “John Avery” as Secretary.  Hancock appointed Reuben Haynes as a lieutenant in the Worcester militia.  Captain Haynes lived from 1755 to 1841.  The document has an intact seal, a dark, 3.5” Hancock autograph with a couple faint folds through it, a missing upper right corner, and three pieces of tape, including one touching the “Avery” signature.  The condition is good to very good.  It is matted in cream and framed to an overall size of 24” x 19”.