Robert Morris 1795 Document Signed - Great Stock Certificate

Important financier who signed the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution (1734-1806)

Document signed “Rob’t Morris”, stock certificate for two shares in the Property of the North American Land Company., countersigned "James Marshall" as Secretary, 10x12, Philadelphia, October 15, 1795, in part: "This is to Certify that James Rees is entitled to two shares in the Property of the North American Land Company, the Dividend whereof shall not be less than Six Dollars....". 

Scalloped left edge, small hole in R of Morris's signature. Light chipping to edges, overall very good condition.

Morris had founded the North American Land Company with John Nicholson, the Comptroller General of Pennsylvania, and James Greenleaf in 1795. Robert Morris (1734-1806) was a Philadelphia merchant and financier and a delegate to the Continental Congress (1775-1778). Although voting against independence, which he considered premature, Morris worked diligently on military procurement, playing a key role in keeping George Washington's army supplied. He was U.S. Superintendent of Finance (1781-1784) under the Articles of Confederation, cutting expenses and raising revenue, often borrowing in his own name, to keep the new government solvent. Morris, who was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, was George Washington's first choice to be Secretary of the Treasury. Morris declined the offer, serving instead in the U.S. Senate (1789-1795, the year he signed this stock certificate). Morris was the father-in-law of JAMES MARKHAM MARSHALL (1764-1848), the brother of John Marshall (1755-1835), and also a land speculator, who became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1801-1835).