Patrick HENRY (1736-1799) Partly-printed Document Signed “P. Henry” as Governor of Virginia, 1 page, 347 x 420 mm. (13 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.), [Richmond], 13 April 1786, a grant for 2,000 acres “…in the County of Jefferson…” granted “unto Names Nourse Junr. Ass[ign]ee of George Rogers[?] who as ass[igne]ee of James Clack…”

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Virginia laid claim to all of the lands south of the Ohio River, north of its southern boundary with North Carolina, and westward to the Mississippi River. A movement to separate state composed of Virginia Lands west of the Appalachians began in 1784 and culminated in the admission of Kentucky as the 15th State in the Union in 1792.

James Nourse Jr. (1758-1789) was the son of James Nourse (1731-1784) an English-born emigrant who came to America in 1769. Nourse Sr. accompanied British officer and diarist Nicholas Cresswell (1750-1804) during his 1775 descent of the Ohio River to the Kentucky River and onto Harrodsburg.^* Nourse Jr. was already a settler in Kentucky when Henry issued this grant. He was a member of the militia and active in local politics until his death at age 41.^†

Soiling and toning as shown (which only grazes the signature), usual folds, some cockling and marginal wear, else good condition with a nice dark signature. Note: this document has been stored folded and will be shipped in the same manner.

(EXA 5638) $1,000
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^* See “Journey to Kentucky in 1775” Journal of American History XIX, (1925): 121-139, 251-260, 351-364.
^† James Nourse Jr., biographical notes: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~baerfacts/shannon/235.htm