1747-1865
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection consists of miscellaneous Hancock family papers, including many written or signed by John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress and governor of Massachusetts.
Biographical Sketches
Thomas Hancock (1703-1764)
Thomas Hancock was a wealthy Boston merchant and the uncle of John Hancock (1737-1793). After early successes as a bookseller, publisher, and paper maker, he became an influential overseas merchant, importing manufactured goods and exporting rum, whale oil, and fish. His fortune grew during international hostilities in the 1740s, when he tapped into several lucrative overseas markets, and profitable contracts supplying British forces during King George's War and the French and Indian War made him one of the richest men in Boston. He owned real estate in Boston and northern New England and was elected to the Massachusetts Council in 1758.
John Hancock (1737-1793)
John Hancock was a Revolutionary patriot, merchant, and politician. The son of Rev. John Hancock (1702-1744), minister of Braintree, he moved to Boston after the death of his father and was educated by his uncle Thomas Hancock (1703-1764). In 1754, he graduated from Harvard and joined his uncle's merchant business, taking over when Thomas Hancock died in 1764. Initially moderate, John Hancock's politics became more radical as British policies became more severe, and British attempts to raise revenue in the colonies, such as the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, were disastrous for his business.
Hancock's wealth and social standing made him very influential in the patriot cause. He was a Boston selectman from 1765 to 1774 and a member of the Massachusetts General Court from 1766 to 1774. When his sloop Liberty was seized by customs officers in May 1768 on charges of smuggling, a riot ensued. On 5 March 1774, he delivered a stirring oration commemorating the Boston Massacre four years before. Hancock was elected president of the Provincial Congress in October 1774, delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in December 1774, and finally (by unanimous vote) president of the Congress, a position he held from May 1775 to October 1777. He presided over the debate on the Declaration of Independence and was the first to sign it in 1776.
In 1780, the citizens of Massachusetts approved a state constitution, and Hancock was elected the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A popular governor, he served from 1780 to 1785 and then again from 1787 until his death. In May 1787, the Constitutional Convention convened to replace the Articles of Confederation with a federal constitution, and Hancock was named as president in January 1788. He favored ratification, but with changes that would curb some of the powers of the federal government. It was largely due to Hancock's support that the Constitution was finally ratified by a vote of 187 to 168.
John Hancock married Dorothy Quincy (1747-1830) in 1775, and the couple had two children, neither of whom lived to adulthood.
Ebenezer Hancock (1741-1819)
Ebenezer Hancock was the younger brother of John Hancock and served as deputy paymaster general of the Continental Army beginning in June 1776.
Sources
Fowler, William M., Jr. "John Hancock." American National Biography. Ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. Vol. 9. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 968-970.
Fowler, William M., Jr. "Thomas Hancock." American National Biography. Ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. Vol. 9. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 972-973.
Collection Description
This collection consists of miscellaneous papers belonging to the Hancock family, most of which are signed by John Hancock. These documents include military commissions and appointments signed by him as president of the Continental Congress and as governor of Massachusetts; two letters from J. H. Bastide and Thomas Gage to Thomas Hancock (John's uncle) regarding supplies for the British and American forces in the French and Indian War; a wastebook (1809-1813) noting daily accounts for the Hancock family's Boston merchant business; and letters and deeds for John Hancock's brother Ebenezer and his two nephews, John and Thomas.
Acquisition Information
Gift of John Hancock Insurance Co., September 1991.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Loose papers, 1747-1865
Arranged alphabetically.
Allen, Henry, 2 Sep. 1793
Notice of appointment as notary public, Suffolk County, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Badlam, Ezra, 1 Jan. 1776
Commission as captain for the 26th Regiment, signed by John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress.
Bank, William, 25 Sep. 1776
Letter to John Hancock regarding getting together with him and Dorothy Hancock, Boston.
Bartlett, Josiah, 25 Oct. 1776
Pass written to Continental officers for Bartlett as a member of the Continental Congress, signed by John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress.
Bastide, J[ohn] H[enry], 18 July 1747
Letter to Thomas Hancock regarding payment to him, supplies, etc., Louisbourg.
Belinda, an African, 23 Nov. 1787
Notice to pay fifteen pounds, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Blanchard, William, 27 Apr. 1784
Commission as captain in the 2nd Regiment, Massachusetts Militia, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Boston Almshouse, 1 Mar. 1770
Accounts, signed by the Selectmen of Boston, including John Hancock.
Boston (Mass.) Selectmen, 1767
Itemized bill for work done on the pest house by William Todd, signed by the Boston Selectmen, including John Hancock.
Buckland (Mass.) Selectmen, 18 Sep. 1788
Notice of election to the Selectmen of Buckland, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Cambridge (Mass.) Selectmen, 4 Apr. 1791
Election returns showing candidates with number of votes (with Hancock winning by a landslide), signed by the Cambridge Selectmen.
Clark, John, 7 May 1766
Notice of admittance into the Boston Alms House, signed by the Boston Selectmen, including John Hancock.
Gage, Thomas, 18 Mar. 1764
Letter to Thomas Hancock regarding payment for supplies and requesting that he send two ships to Louisbourg.
Hancock, Ebenezer, 24 Aug. 1785
Deed to land and a brick tenement from John Hancock, Ebenezer's older brother, signed by John and Dorothy Hancock.
Hancock, John, 25 Apr. 1756
Letter to S. W. Johnson, Stratford, [Conn.], regarding interest due on a debt.
Hancock, John, 1 Feb. 1772-25 Sep. 1792
Three small handwritten receipts to Hancock, all mounted together on cardboard.
[Hancock, John], [1777]
Note to Mr. Purviance that he and Mr. Steward begin cutting timber and building two frigates. No signature, dated "Tuesday evening."
Hancock, John, 28 May 1777
Letter to Ebenezer Hancock, paymaster, instructing him to draw $400,000 from accounts for public service, Philadelphia, signed by John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress. Backed with cardboard.
[Hancock, John], 7 Sep. 1778
Dinner invitation to Council members from John Hancock, unsigned.
Hancock, John, 17 Apr. 1780
Letter to Barnabus Deane on a money matter.
Hancock, John, 24 Mar. 1783
Letter to Governor [William] Greene [of Rhode Island] sending him four Continental commissions.
Hancock, John (nephew), 9 Mar. 1798
Insurance policy in the name of John Hancock for James Deane for property on board the sloop Betsy.
Hancock, John (nephew), 7 Mar. 1828
Deed to Hancock from Washington Gordon.
Hancock, Thomas, 29 July 1790
Letter to his uncle John Hancock, including poetry dedicated to John Hancock.
Hardy, Joseph, 24 June 1776
Commission as captain of Marines aboard the ship Columbus, Philadelphia.
Hitchcock, Luke, 10 Nov. 1776
Commission in the militia, signed by John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress.
Hooker, John, 9 Jan. 1789
Notice of appointment as justice of the peace, Springfield, Mass., for a seven-year term, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Jefferson, Thomas, 30 Dec. 1793
Correspondence wrapper with Jefferson's signature addressed to the governor of New York.
Perley, Thomas, 19 July 1791
Appointment as justice of the peace for Essex County, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts. Negative photostat.
Phillips, William, 27 Jan. 1783
Receipt to John Hancock for two black carriage horses. Mounted on cardboard.
Pidgin, Rhoda and Benjamin, 7 May 1782
Divorce decree, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Pinkham, Paul, 18 Nov. 1788
Salary contract as Nantucket lighthouse keeper for 1788 and 1789, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Rice, Benjamin, 28 Nov. 1791
Notice of judgment for a bounty on hemp, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Speedwell (ship), 21 Oct. 1783
Registration of the sloop Speedwell, Samuel Batchelder, owner, and Jonathan Blaisdel, master, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts. Contains two gold foil seals.
Sumner, Thomas Waldron, 4 Aug. 1792
Commission as ensign, 1st Division, Massachusetts Militia, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Thompson, Samuel, 18 Sep. 1788
Notice of appointment as justice of the peace for Middlesex County, signed by John Hancock as governor of Massachusetts.
Warner, Isaac, 27 July 1865
Shareholder document for Girard Mutual Oil Company, signed by a John Hancock.
II. Hancock family account book, 1809-1813
This Hancock family wastebook contains daily accounts of merchandise and cash receipts for the Hancock business, 2 Jan. 1809-16 Nov. 1813.
Preferred Citation
Hancock family papers III, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.