MORRIS, Robert (1734-1806) Document signed (“Robt Morris”) with several emendations in Morris’ hand, [Philadelphia], 28 May 1796, additionally signed by John NICHOLSON (“Jno Nicholson”) and James Greenleaf (“James Greenleaf”). 3 pages, folio (335 x 205 mm), somewhat weak at folds.
MORRIS, Robert (1734-1806) Document signed (“Robt Morris”) with several emendations in Morris’ hand, [Philadelphia], 28 May 1796, additionally signed by John NICHOLSON (“Jno Nicholson”) and James Greenleaf (“James Greenleaf”). 3 pages, folio (335 x 205 mm), somewhat weak at folds. Facing bankruptcy, James Greenleaf agrees to sell his “whole interest in the North American Land Company” to Robert Morris and John Nicholson less than two years after the company’s founding. Overextended with western lands they were unable to sell after a multi-year purchasing spree in the early 1790s, Robert Morris John Nicholson and James Greenleaf concocted a final, desperate gambit to raise funds by forming the North American Land Company. Backed by claims on more than six million acres of land stretching from New York to Georgia, the trio attempted to sell shares in the company to raise cash, but the only buyers they could find were optimistic creditors willing to accept shares to settle existing debts. To make matters worse, James Greenleaf, who had bragged of unlimited financing from Holland that never materialized, was completely broke. In May 1796, Greenleaf sold to Morris and Nicholson his entire interest in the North American Land company, as detailed in the present document: “...The said Greenleaf sells to the said Morris and Nicholson...equally divided between them as Tenants in common his whole interest in the North American Land Company consisting of ten thousand shares for the sum of One million, one hundred and fifty thousand Dollars payable in negotiable orders of the said Morris and Nicholson...” In light of Morris’s financial situation, the “negotiable orders” were essentially worthless as they were backed by no more than dubious personal credit of Morris and Nicholson. The sale marked the beginning of a downward spiral for all three men. Before the close of the 1790s, all three would find themselves in debtor’s prison.
MORRIS, Robert (1734-1806) Document signed (“Robt Morris”) with several emendations in Morris’ hand, [Philadelphia], 28 May 1796, additionally signed by John NICHOLSON (“Jno Nicholson”) and James Greenleaf (“James Greenleaf”). 3 pages, folio (335 x 205 mm), somewhat weak at folds.
MORRIS, Robert (1734-1806) Document signed (“Robt Morris”) with several emendations in Morris’ hand, [Philadelphia], 28 May 1796, additionally signed by John NICHOLSON (“Jno Nicholson”) and James Greenleaf (“James Greenleaf”). 3 pages, folio (335 x 205 mm), somewhat weak at folds. Facing bankruptcy, James Greenleaf agrees to sell his “whole interest in the North American Land Company” to Robert Morris and John Nicholson less than two years after the company’s founding. Overextended with western lands they were unable to sell after a multi-year purchasing spree in the early 1790s, Robert Morris John Nicholson and James Greenleaf concocted a final, desperate gambit to raise funds by forming the North American Land Company. Backed by claims on more than six million acres of land stretching from New York to Georgia, the trio attempted to sell shares in the company to raise cash, but the only buyers they could find were optimistic creditors willing to accept shares to settle existing debts. To make matters worse, James Greenleaf, who had bragged of unlimited financing from Holland that never materialized, was completely broke. In May 1796, Greenleaf sold to Morris and Nicholson his entire interest in the North American Land company, as detailed in the present document: “...The said Greenleaf sells to the said Morris and Nicholson...equally divided between them as Tenants in common his whole interest in the North American Land Company consisting of ten thousand shares for the sum of One million, one hundred and fifty thousand Dollars payable in negotiable orders of the said Morris and Nicholson...” In light of Morris’s financial situation, the “negotiable orders” were essentially worthless as they were backed by no more than dubious personal credit of Morris and Nicholson. The sale marked the beginning of a downward spiral for all three men. Before the close of the 1790s, all three would find themselves in debtor’s prison.
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