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Sale 73
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Lot 88
[Colonial America] Penn, William (1644-1718) English Quaker, Proprietor and Colonial Governor of Pennsylvania. Document signed ("Wm Penn"), 1p, 9¾" x 7¼", Philadelphia, 3 July (3d of ye 5th month) 1683. During his first visit to Pennsylvania, William Penn appoints John Goodson as coroner of Philadelphia.
Addressed "To John Goodson Chirur[ge]on in Philadelphia, the documents reads: "William Penn Proprietary & Governr of ye Province of Pennsilvania & the Territories thereunto B[e]longing. Reposing confidence in thy sobriety & Integrity, I do authorise & appoint Thee to be Coroner of ye county of Philadelphia to inspect ye Bodies of those yt come untimely to their Deaths, & impannel Juries upon the same, & do what to ye Office of a Coroner belonges, & to receive ye Fees due for ye same, as by Law directed: Hereby requiring all Persons to give thee ye Respect due to thy Office…."
John Goodson (?-1727) was the first English physician to arrive in Pennsylvania under Penn's charter. Goodson was appointed "chirurgeon" to the Free Society of Traders and resided in Pennsylvania prior to Penn's first visit. Goodson was made a judge in 1685, and in November of 1694, Penn appointed him Deputy-Governor to Governor Markham; he was also an Elder of the Quakers.
The document is age-toned, with one stain in the upper portion of the first letter, a couple of small archival tape repairs on verso, and a few small edge chips, slightly affecting one letter of the text. Goodson's docket ("My Commission from Governor Penn To be Coroner") has been affixed to the verso (integral leaf not present); verso also has a penciled notation, "B.T. Mendenhall to J.T. Watson Oct. 1855." The document is boldly penned with a large, bold signature by Penn. Early land grants from Philadelphia are not uncommon, but documents this unusual and early are very rare. This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, surviving medical appointments in America and is the first appointment of a coroner in the colony of Pennsylvania.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000
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