William Penn Gifts 5,000 Acres of Pennsylvania Land to His Niece and Nephew

(London), October 23, 1681. Oblong sheet, 20 1/2 x 25 3/4 in. (521 x 654 mm). Partially-printed land indenture on vellum, signed by William Penn, granting 5,000 acres of Pennsylvania land to his niece and nephew, Ann Sharlot Lowther and John Lowther. Wax seal present at bottom. Signed on verso by witnesses Thomas Rudyard, Harbert Springett, and Thomas Coxe. Creasing from old folds; scattered light foxing and ink stains. In mat and in frame.

Rare and early Pennsylvania land grant signed by William Penn (1644-1718), gifting 5,000 acres to his sister's two young children, John and Ann Lowther. Additionally signed by Penn's cousin and land agent, Harbert Springett, his lawyer Thomas Rudyard, as well as one of the first proprietors of East New Jersey, Thomas Coxe.

After receiving his official grant from King Charles II for the colony of Pennsylvania in March 1681, William Penn's first task was finding enough settlers or investors to pay the expenses for his enterprise. To arouse interest he published several promotional tracts in London, the first being A Brief Account of the Province of Pennsylvania, and he eventually authored seven others between April and September of 1681. His efforts quickly paid off, and by May 1682, 566,000 acres of land had been sold. In order to secure enough of a stake in the colony for himself and his family, he decided to keep 10,000 acres out of every 100,000. Historian John E. Pomfret describes in his article The First Purchasers of Pennsylvania (1956) that "Penn disposed of blocks of 5,000 acres to his relatives, the Penningtons, the Lowthers, the Crispins, William Markham, and Richard Penn...There were few speculators among the larger purchasers; most of them were men in the full tide of the Quaker interest..."

Very rare. We have not been able to locate any other deeds signed by Penn granting land to family members in the available auction records.