Beschreibung:

Brenton, Jahleel and William ElleryManuscript map of the "Waldo Patent," principally depicting the land between the Muscongus River and Penobscot Bay (Newport, Rhode Island, 1767)
Manuscript map in ink and wash, on a single folio sheet (480 x 388 mm), docketed on verso "Map of Leverett's Patent alias Muscongus"; old folds with one or two splits, very small holes not affecting text or image. [With:] Three manuscript documents, dated: Boston, Massachusetts, 19 May 1787; Providence, Rhode Island, 30 May 1787; and Boston, Massachusetts, 28 March 1768. All three documents relate to the lands depicted on the map, and the half-page document being the opening portion of a longer letter.
A historically significant manuscript map of Colonial Maine: heavily annotated by William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who made claims on some of the lands depicted on the map.
The map was drawn by British Rear-Admiral Jahleel Brenton, who commanded the HMS Queen during the Revolution, and whose family lost much of its property as a result of the conflict. The map is skillfully rendered, depicting the coastline from the Damariscotta River in the southwest to the Penobscot River in the northeast, including many islands of the Bay, as well as inlets, harbors, rivers and ponds. The location of a fort and settlements have also been added. This information was all supplied by Ellery, who explains in a manuscript note in the lower right corner of the map (dated at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1767): "This map of Leverett's Patent &c was copied from a copy, by Jahleel Brenton Esq., one of the Proprietors; and presented by his son Samuel Brenton to William Ellery who wrote the References, Names of Places, &c. William Ellery." In the upper left corner of the sheet Ellery has added a long manuscript note explaining the survey and the boundaries of Leverett's Patent, as depicted on the map. The map and the accompanying manuscript documents were found among Ellery's papers, and were part of Ellery and his brother Benjamin's attempts to claim lands in Maine that they believed belonged to their family.
"Leverett's Patent," also known as the Waldo Patent or the Muscongus Patent, was issued in 1629 to Thomas Leverett and John Beauchamp. It granted land and trading rights for a thirty-six square mile area along the Penobscot Bay in present-day Maine, between the Muscongus River and Penobscot River. According to the documents present here, Leverett inherited the full patent upon Beauchamp's death, and at his own death divided the grant among his ten children, who then divided the land again among the next generation. Around 1720 General Samuel Waldo of Boston acquired a large portion of the patent, and began recruiting immigrants from Germany to settle the area. The letter fragment present here (dated 28 March 1768, and addressed to the Ellery brothers) asserts that the Ellerys have an "undoubted right to a half share" of the Muscongus lands, as a result of a purchase made by their grandfather. The unidentified author of the letter goes on to describe the Waldo heirs as "exceeding difficult to deal with." Also present are two manuscripts, one being a 1787 copy of the original 1629 grant of the Muscongus Patent from the Council of Plymouth, the other being a manuscript deed of sale signed by James Green for a portion of the original patent.
Significant manuscript maps of this early date are rare on the market.