Subject: American Revolution

This handwritten royal contract, issued by King George III, concerns the delivery of war provisions to British troops stationed onboard ships heading to Martinique, supporting troop movements in Jamaica and Havana during the Seven Years’ War. The document details the agreement to pay a consortium led by Moses Franks, Arnold Nesbitt, and George Colebrooke for these supplies. It specifies a sum due for provisions. The contract was approved by Lord North and Lord Bute and signed by King George III. Visual features include period handwritten script on paper, with visible folds and two small repairs on the right margin affecting a few letters, typical of 18th-century official documents.

CONTINENTAL CURRENCY - South Carolina November 15, 1775 15s PMG Choice Fine 15 Net..."We last sold this note in 2002; over two decades ago. Our description at the time is still completely appropriate: "This is one of the best-looking examples we've seen of this issue and denomination, and the note has considerable added importance as it bears the bold signature of F. Salvador as one of the three signers. Francis Salvador was the first person of the Jewish faith to be elected to public office in America, when he was elected to the Provincial Congress of South Carolina in 1774. According to Newman, he was the first soldier of the Jewish faith to be killed in combat in the American Revolution. Our understanding of the same story was that George Washington had personally requested that he meet with the local Indians in an effort to make a peace treaty with them. While on this mission, he was killed by the Indians. This is the finest Salvador signature that we can recall seeing, and his signature is one of the most highly prized and elusive of all Jewish-American historical figures." The note faces up very nicely, with PMG noting a restoration that has repaired two splits and a centerfold." The historic tract of land known as "Jew's Land" was established in 1755 when Joseph Salvador, a wealthy Sephardic Jewish merchant from London, purchased 100,000 acres in the remote Ninety-Six District of South Carolina. Salvador and his business partners originally envisioned the massive backcountry property as a structured agricultural sanctuary where impoverished European Jews, facing severe legal and social restrictions at home, could achieve financial self-sufficiency. However, this grand humanitarian plan was derailed when the catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake and subsequent British East India Company failures decimated the Salvador family's European fortune, forcing them to treat the frontier wilderness as a critical financial life raft rather than a philanthropic colony. To monetize the investment, the family began subdividing the tract, which paved the way for Joseph's nephew, Francis Salvador, to immigrate to South Carolina in 1773 and claim 7,000 acres of the land along Coronaca Creek. There, Francis established a highly successful indigo plantation utilizing the labor of approximately thirty enslaved people. This agricultural venture aligned with the broader rise of the colony's indigo industry, heavily championed by Moses Lindo, a fellow Jewish merchant who served as South Carolina's Inspector-General of Indigo. Because of its location in the highly fractured backcountry, "Jew's Land" quickly became a focal point of geopolitical tension during the American Revolution. It was on this very plantation that Francis Salvador learned of British-allied Cherokee attacks on July 1, 1776, prompting his historic 30-mile ride to rally the local Patriot militia before he was ultimately ambushed and killed exactly one month later. Following the Revolutionary War and Francis's tragic death, the vast estate slipped from the family's control and became embroiled in decades of legal turmoil. Because the original property titles belonged to British-based heirs, local frontier settlers began squatting on the land, triggering landmark real estate lawsuits in the Abbeville District courts during the early 1800s that helped launch the careers of prominent Southern lawyers like future Vice President John C. Calhoun. Despite these ownership shifts, the name "Jew's Land" remained a fixture of local identity for generations, frequently appearing in 19th- and 20th-century property deeds, estate sales, and local obituaries. Today, while the original plantations have dissolved into the modern landscapes of Greenwood and Abbeville counties, the legacy of this pioneering settlement is preserved through historical archives and the nearby Ninety Six National Historic Site. In July 1776, Salvador earned the nickname "Southern Paul Revere" when he rode over 30 miles to warn militia units in the backcountry of South Carolina of an Indian attack. Over a month later, Salvador led a group of militiamen towards the Keowee River, where British and Native Americans were camped and were ambushed by the group on August 1st, 1776. During the fight, Salvador was wounded and scalped by the Native American soldiers, and he died of his wounds. He was 29 years old at the time of his death. Note: he was listed as a subscriber for First Siddur Translated into English for Jews of England,London, 1770

This legal document is an estate bond for the deceased Solomon Solomons. Mordecai Sheftall, identified as a Savannah merchant, along with Levi Sheftall and Samuel Savory, a Savannah gentleman, are bound to the Governor and Ordinaries of Georgia for the sum of Two Thousand Pounds Sterling. Mordecai Sheftall is obligated as the administrator to submit a full inventory of Solomon Solomons' estate by March 29, 1770, and an account of sales by September 29, 1770. The document is partly printed with handwritten insertions for names, dates, and signatures. It exhibits characteristic signs of age, including foxing, moderate wear, and partial separations along the folds, typical of late 18th-century legal papers.