Aaron Burr issued to Pennsylvania Population Co. 1794 dated Stock Certificate - Signed by John Nicholson and Tench Francis Jr.

This stock is dated March 29, 1794. Certificate for one share issued to Aaron Burr, not signed. Serial #1812. No 1785. Few exist of this type. This company was formed about 1792 by John Nicholson, comptroller general of Pennsylvania 1782-1794 and an important land speculator. Nicholson was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in the country. With other investors, he formed the company as a cover for their monopoly of land in the Erie Triangle area. He bought 202,000 acres from the U.S. government in 1792, and also obtained warrants covering all the rest of that area (a total of some 500,000 acres). All the land was capitalized into the Pennsylvania Population Company. Nicholson was however impeached in 1794 for defrauding the state government, but continued his land speculation. However, land prices fell before he could resell the land, and in 1799 he was consigned to the debtor’s prison. The state acquired the land, and the company was doubtless dissolved. Nicholson himself died in prison in 1800.

The share is signed by Nicholson as President. Counter signed by Tench Francis as Treasurer. Most interestingly, this stock was issued to Aaron Burr. Burr (1756-1836) is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. and served as third vicepresident of the United States during Thomas Jefferson's first term (1801-1805). Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexander Hamilton that culminated in Burr killing Hamilton in a duel in 1804. A highlight piece, partly because two big names in American history are found on this single share (issued to Aaron Burr, signed as president by J. Nicholson) and partly because of its age of course. Also the company business - property development on a huge scale - is exemplary for the USA at that time: a country that still had to discover, populate and develop much of its territory.

Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 during Thomas Jefferson's first presidential term. He founded the Manhattan Company on September 1, 1799. Burr is remembered for his famous personal and political conflict with Alexander Hamilton, which culminated in the Burr–Hamilton duel in Weehawken, New Jersey on July 11, 1804. Burr mortally wounded Hamilton, who died from his wounds the following day. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Burr

Tench Francis Jr. (1731–1800) was an American merchant, lawyer and agent for the family of William Penn and the first cashier of the Bank of North America. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tench_Francis_Jr.

John Nicholson (d. 1800), financier, businessman, comptroller general of Pennsylvania, anti-Federalist pamphleteer, land speculator, and publisher. Nicholson was born in Wales, emigrated to Philadelphia prior to the American Revolution, and engaged in a variety of business enterprises, including button, iron, and glass manufacturing and real estate developments. He later became the partner of Robert Morris in land speculation and development. With Morris he promoted the development of Washington, D.C., and formed the Asylum Company involving hundreds of thousands of acres on the Susquehanna as a haven for French refugees.

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