North American Land Company stock certificate, datelined Philadelphia, issued February 20, 1795, to William Temple Franklin, signed by financier Robert Morris, (also a signer of the Declaration of Independence), and James Marshall, Sec. Number 5 shares. Uncanceled. William Temple Franklin (1760-1823 and known as an adult as "Temple) was the illegitimate son of William Franklin (1730-1813), himself the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). William Franklin was the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey and an ardent Loyalist. He probably aided the British during the American Revolution, and he was imprisoned by American forces from 1776 to 1778. In 1782 he went into exile in London where he died several years later, estranged from and unreconciled with his father, Benjamin. In contrast, Temple Franklin was endeared by his grandfather, who had him appointed as secretary to the American delegation at the Treaty of Paris. After Benjamin died in 1790, Temple went to England and lived with his father. While in London, Temple acted as an agent of Robert Morris, who had helped finance the American Revolution and was the wealthiest man in United States at that time. This document coincides with that period. Temple Franklin became the literary heir of his grandfather's papers, editing and publishing many of Benjamin Franklin's writings, including his Autobiography. He also speculated in real estate, becoming quite wealthy, then losing his fortune and dying in poverty in France in 1823.Date: 1795Country (if not USA): State: PennsylvaniaCity: Provenance: Ken Prag Collection