Partly-printed vellum DS, signed “Th: Jefferson” as president and “James Madison” as secretary of state, one page, 11.75 x 9.25, March 13, 1802. Land grant reading in part: “Know Ye, that in pursuance of the act of Congress passed on the eighteenth day of February, 1801, entitled ‘An Act regulating the grants of Land appropriated for the Refugees from the British Provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia’ there is granted unto Thomas Faulkner, a certain tract of land estimated to contain Three hundred twenty acres and forty two Perches, being half Section Number fourteen east in Township Number five Range twenty two of the lands set apart and reserved for the purpose of satisfying the claims of refugees aforesaid.” Signed at the conclusion by Jefferson and countersigned by Madison. On the reverse of the document is a superb 4 x 3.5 detailed hand-drawn map titled “Joining the Military District,” in black ink, with Faulkner’s rectangular tract of land highlighted in yellow. His neighbors are identified as Martha Walker on the north, Lt. Col. J. L. Livingston on the east, J. L. on the south, and S. Noble on the west. A “Scale of Chains” is beneath the map. In very good condition, with intersecting folds, scattered mild toning, professional repair to one small hole of paper loss to one printed word, and usual overall wrinkling. Reverse bears docketing and scattered toning and soiling, not detracting from the intricate detail of the map. The white wafer seal is intact at lower left.
The forty-eight refugees named in this act aided Americans during the Revolutionary War and were primarily from Quebec and Nova Scotia. Due to their participation, the men were unable to return to Canada, then part of the British Empire. Their heroism, however, won them respect and admiration in their new home. In 1792, Faulkner, among the refugees entitled to such land per a 1785 resolution, petitioned the US government for his share of property. In 1801, Congress set aside a 100,000-acre, 4-1/2-wide parcel of land to meet claims filed by individuals such as Faulkner, who was personally awarded 320 acres of land “and forty two Perches.” Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
