(NEW HAMPSHIRE) Pair of early documents concerning the Mason

Sale 2273 - Lot 235

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Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

GOVERNOR ANDROS'S PAPERS ON THE MASON CLAIM (NEW HAMPSHIRE.) Pair of early documents concerning the Mason family claims to the colony. Contemporary manuscript copies, each one page, about 14 x 9 inches; minor wear, the second document disbound. London, 23 June 1682 and 19 November 1686

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Robert T. Mason was a grandson of New Hampshire's founding proprietor John Mason, and sued to regain control of the colony after the original charter lapsed. These two documents come from this struggle. The first, dated 1682, is a contemporary copy of a letter from King Charles II to Massachusetts governor Simon Bradstreet. He orders Bradstreet to exclude any biased jurors from the trial. The second, dated 1686, is a court ruling from Whitehall which rules in favor of Mason's claims, rejecting the appeal from William Vaughan of the New Hampshire Council. These documents were both among the papers of Sir Edmund Andros, who became governor of New England in 1686. Provenance: H.P. Kraus catalogue 150 (Andros Papers), issued in 1978, items 27 and 38. A copy of the catalogue is included.