Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Collection of two documents pertaining to forged permission to marry [Decimalized .01-.02]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.034 Author/Creator: Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Header Record Date: 23 April 1777 - 24 April 1777 Pagination: 2 items Order a Copy

It was customary for a soldier to get permission for marriage and this soldier had "imagination." He faked Hancock's name to a document for this. Most unusual.

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