[HANCOCK, John (1737-1793)]. Autograph letter to David Jenks, Boston 5 April 1760.

One page, 228 x 189mm. (Upper portion mounted to another sheet, partial separation along one horizontal fold). Endorsed on verso by Walter BENJAMIN (1854-1943) attesting to the Hancock attribution.

John Hancock sends instructions for a shipment to the military governor of Louisbourg. In an unsigned retained copy, Hancock introduces the bearer, "Capt. Fellows who I have Engaged to Carry a Load of Lime to Louisbourg," and hoping that he could "fully Load the sloop," and enclose a bill of lading with his letter to "Brigr. General [Edward] Whitmore & Send it to Louisbourg," while requesting a duplicate bill of lading be returned to him. In a postscript, Hancock requests 20 to 30 hogsheads of Lime be sent to him "for my own use." He likely wrote this letter in the name of his uncle, Thomas Hancock, a leading Boston merchant, with whom he lived and worked after the death of his father in 1744. Two months later, Thomas would send his nephew to London for a year in order to become familiar with London society. (Fowler, The Baron of Beacon Hill, 1980, p. 37). Hancock returned in 1761 and when his uncle died in 1764, John assumed leadership of the House of Hancock—becoming one of the wealthiest men in the colonies.

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