Revere Paul

Patriot Paul Revere Witnesses a Deed for the Support of a Minor Heir

Boston Brahmin Jonas Clarke Minot sells his ward's share of her grandfather's property to have money for her support. Paul Revere, who like her grandfather was a silversmith and coppersmith, signs the deed as a witness.

PAUL REVERE, Manuscript Document Signed, Deed of Property from Jonas Clarke Minot to Samuel Goff, June 17, 1799, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Signed by Joseph Clarke Minot. Signed by Paul Revere and George R. Minot as witnesses. 2 pp., 7.75" x 12.75". Housed in a beautiful personalized presentation case.

Complete Transcript

To all People to whom these Presents shall come,

Jonas Clarke Minot of Boston in the County of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts Gentleman, as he is Guardian of Sarah Drowne of said Boston a Minor sends Greeting,

Whereas the said Minot upon his petition in his said capacity of Guardian, obtained authority from the Supreme Judicial Court held in said County on the third Tuesday of February Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and ninety nine, to sell the real estate of the said Sarah Drowne consisting of one undivided fifth part of a certain Dwelling House and Land situated in Cornhill near the Market in said Boston and bounded in the front on the Street: Easterly by land of Samuel Eliot Esqr; Southerly in the rear by land of said Eliot & the heirs of Mr Gibbs deceased; Westerly by land of Mr Samuel Goff, & measuring about thirty seven feet in the front & about thirty eight feet in the rear and Whereas the said Minot in pursuance of the said authority, after posting notifications, taking the oath and giving bond as required by Law, did on the twenty second day of May last past set up for sale by public auction to the highest bidder, the said undivided fifth part of the Dwelling House and Land above described and Whereas Samuel Goff of said Boston Shopkeeper did then appear and bid the sum of one thousand three hundred and fifty Dollars for the same which was the highest sum that could be obtained therefor

Now Know Ye that I the said Jonas Clarke Minot for and in consideration of the said sum to me in my said capacity, well & truly paid by the said Samuel Goff (the receipt whereof I hereby acknowledge) and by virtue of the authority aforesaid, have given, granted, bargained, sold, conveyed and confirmed, and by these Presents do give, grant, bargain, sell, convey and confirm unto him the said Samuel Goff and to his heirs and assigns forever the said one undivided fifth part of the Dwelling House and Land aforedescribed & the privileges & appurtenances thereof, and all the right, title and interest of the said Sarah Drowne in & unto the same.

To have and to hold the same unto him the said Samuel Goff and to his heirs and assigns and to his and their only use, benefit & behoof forever.

And I the said Jonas Clarke Minot covenant and agree with the said Samuel Goff his heirs and assigns, that I have duly posted notifications, taken the oath, and given bond as required by law in the case of the sale of Minors Estates by their Guardians, previous to the sale of the granted Premises as aforesaid.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this seventeenth day of June in the year of OUR LORD one thousand seven hundred and ninety nine.

Jonas Clarke Minot

Signed, Sealed & Delivered

in presence of Us

Paul Revere

Geo. R Minot

Suffolk Ss. June 17th 1799

[Certification:]

Then personally appeared Jonas Clarke Minot above-named, & acknowledged the foregoing Instrument by him subscribed to be his free act and deed.

before me George Rds Minot Justice of the peace

[Registrar's Endorsement:]

Boston June 17th 1799 Received and Entered with Suffolk Deeds Lib:192 fol:58

Pr Wm Alline Regr

Historical Background

Sarah Drowne (b. 1779) was the daughter of Samuel Drowne and granddaughter and heir of Thomas Drowne (1715-1795), a coppersmith and blacksmith, who was also sometimes listed as a silversmith.

Thomas Drowne's father Shem Drowne (1683-1774) was a famous colonial coppersmith and tinplate worker, and America's first documented weathervane maker. Shem Drowne made the grasshopper weathervane atop Faneuil Hall, which has become a symbol of Boston. When the earthquake of 1755 shook the grasshopper weathervane off the building, Thomas Drowne helped his father repair and remount it. In 1768, the younger Drowne placed a humorous note labeled "food for the grasshopper" in the belly of the weathervane.

In April 1796, Samuel Flagg, the administrator of Thomas Drowne's estate, had offered the same dwelling house, land, and shop, "now occupied by Mr. Samuel Goff," for sale at auction by order of the Supreme Judicial Court.

On February 23, 1796, Jonas Clarke Minot became a guardian for Sarah Drowne, "above 14 years of Age, Daughter of Samuel Drown." Her father had been a minor witness in the trial of the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre in 1770. He died in November 1781 in France at the age of 31. Although her mother Elizabeth Lydia Davis Drowne (1757-1817) was still living, the court appointed a guardian to care for Sarah Drowne as a minor.

On February 19, 1799, Minot obtained permission from his brother, the judge of the county probate court, to sell Sarah Drowne's "one undivided fifth part" of her grandfather's property in Boston for her use and benefit. As this document makes clear, he sold it on May 22 to Boston shopkeeper Samuel Goff (1747-1830) for $1,350. Minot used the money for the support of Sarah Drowne.

On July 10, 1799, one month after this transaction, 19-year-old Sarah Drowne filed her intention to marry Francis Andrews, but there is a notation of "Forbid by the Guardian" in the record, so the wedding did not take place. Francis Andrews, a 35-year-old native of Ireland, died in Boston in October 1800.

Paul Revere (1734-1818) was born in Boston's North End and became an apprentice to his father, a French Huguenot silversmith, at age 13. He served briefly in the provincial army during the French and Indian War, but soon returned to run the silver shop. He married Sarah Orme (1736-1773) in 1757, and they had eight children. Because of poor business, Revere took up dentistry, through which he met local physician Joseph Warren. Revere became a member of the Sons of Liberty in 1765 and began to produce engravings with political themes. His almost entirely fictitious depiction of the Boston Massacre helped galvanize colonial resistance to British rule. After his first wife's death, he married Rachel Walker (1745-1813) in 1773, and they had eight children. He served as a courier for the Boston Committee of Public Safety and took considerable risks when organizing the colonial resistance and intelligence networks. Revere was a leader of the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, and in April 1775, he became most famous for alerting the Massachusetts militia to the approach of British forces before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He later served as a Massachusetts militia officer and established a mill in Massachusetts that produced tons of gunpowder for the patriot forces. Following the war, Revere returned to his silversmith trade and used the profits from his expanding business to finance his work in iron casting, bronze bell and cannon casting, and the forging of copper bolts and spikes. He became the first American to roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels.

Jonas Clarke Minot (1738-1808) was born into the prominent Boston Brahmin family of Stephen Minot (1711-1787), as the oldest of ten children. He became a merchant by 1774 in Quebec City, from which he sent a wheat donation to Boston to alleviate the suffering caused by the British closure of the port. In 1777, he married Hannah Speakman (1749-1825). By 1778, the British had detained his goods in Quebec, and he could not transact business. He later became a successful merchant in Boston and served as inspector of the Custom House there from 1789 to 1802. In August 1786, Minot became a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, an elite volunteer militia company.

George Richards Minot (1758-1802) was born into the prominent family of Stephen Minot (1711-1787), the youngest of his ten children, and graduated from Harvard College in 1778. He was elected clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives when it was organized under the new Constitution in 1782. Ten years later, he became Judge of the Suffolk County Probate Court, and in 1799, he became Judge of the Municipal Court of Boston and in 1801 its Chief Justice. He was one of the original members of the Massachusetts Historical Society and wrote a history of Shays's Rebellion in 1788. He and Paul Revere were among the founders in 1792 of the Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society, of which Minot served as president from 1800 until his death. In 1783, Minot married Mary Speakman (1754-1811), the younger sister of his oldest brother's wife. Minot was a friend of John Quincy Adams, who delivered a public eulogy for Minot in May 1802, describing him as "To vice, a merciful but inflexible judge; to misfortune, a compassionate friend; to the widow, a protector of her rights; to the orphan, one in place of a father...."

Provenance: John Heise Autographs; Roy G. Fitzgerald, 1935; Profiles in History; Roger D. Judd, 1992; Christie's, 2019.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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