The Sussex Declaration. West Sussex Record Office (Photo: Danielle Allen/Sussex County Council)
Lucy Maguire in the conservation department with a copy of the original copy (Photo: Kate Shemilt/JPress)
Posted on 07/04/2018 10:52:29 AM PDT by TaxPayer2000
One of only two ceremonial parchment copies of the American Declaration of Independence has been found in Sussex.
The rare artefact was discovered neatly folded away in the West Sussex Records Office in Chicester, where it had been stored for more than 50 years before it was tracked down by Harvard University academics.
After rigorous testing, the parchment has been certified as authentic – just in time for the 242nd anniversary of its signing on 4 July 1776.
‘Terrific news’
“This is such terrific news about the Sussex Declaration,” Louise Goldsmith, leader of West Sussex County Council, said.
“We have all been waiting to hear what the experts have been able to discover for us and now we know!
“Our Records Office holds many fascinating treasures – but this treasure of a document is very, very special indeed.
“So we very much welcome this interest in the West Sussex archives and the work of the Record Office, which acts as the custodian for thousands of documents with a West Sussex link stretching back to 780.”
‘Sussex Declaration’
Non-invasive testing by researchers revealed a date beneath an erasure on the document which reads either “July 4, 178” or “July 4, 179”.
According to conservation scientists, it is impossible to say whether there was originally a fourth digit in the year.
The Sussex Declaration, as it is now known, is believed to have been held originally by the Third Duke of Richmond. He was known as the “Radical Duke” for his support of the Americans during the Revolution.
Despite its new name, the parchment is undeniably American, most likely to have been produced in New York or Philadelphia. Researchers are still trying to work out how it found its way to the UK – let alone ended up folded away in Chichester.
The Harvard team believe the unusual listing is reflective of the views of its most likely commissioner, James Wilson, who argued the authority of the Declaration rested on a unitary national people, and not on a federation of states.
‘A fascinating document’
DNA testing also revealed the parchment was prepared from sheepskin, rather than more expensive calfskin. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) capture showed high iron content in holes in the corner of the parchment, possibly due to iron nails that were used to hang the parchment.
“We are extremely excited to hear that Harvard’s research and the scientific analyses confirms the historical significance and importance of this archive,” West Sussex County Archivist Wendy Walker said.
“It is a fascinating document and it has been fantastic for us to work with colleagues at Harvard, the Library of Congress and the British Library to find out more about the story that surrounds it.”
The discoveries are set to be published by Harvard academics Danielle Allen and Emily Sneff in their paper, “The Sussex Declaration,” in the Proceedings of the Bibliographic Society of America this autumn.
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/american-declarationf-independence-sussex/
Wonder why it was in England when that is who we were at war with and trying to get our independence from?
When you’re breaking up with someone, you have to send them a copy of the breakup letter, or they won’t know you’re breaking up.
Somebody did that with a quill pen and ink. By hand. And it’s beautiful. I couldn’t come close, and I’ve tried.
“Scribe” was still a profession then, and for good reason. I’m thinking they got a good one for that.
It’s hard to compete with a lifetime of professional practice.
So, does it have secret encoded messages on the back that only appear when one is wearing specially-colored lenses designed by Benjamin Franklin?
The script doesn’t contain the “long s” (appears as an “f”) I’ve seen in printed documents of that period.
Thanks TaxPayer2000.
So, does it have secret encoded messages on the back that only appear when one is wearing specially-colored lenses designed by Benjamin Franklin?
= = =
Like “Confiscate all guns”, and “Execute all Christians”.
This correct interpretation will be heralded by all Dems.
Declaration from American Colonies sent to the King in England. Purpose of the document
This is a hand-written duplicate and not an exact copy. The original is in long-hand cursive - this appears to be printed in block letters. Not sure if the block letters had the goofy “S” or not. But I imagine not - based on all of the other testing they have done on the document.
In looking at it I came across an article that says that “somebody” added a period after the “...pursuit of happiness...”
After that sentence the Declaration reads “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men....”
The claim being that without the period, like they claim it was originally, the framers “knew” that government is integral to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!
The information may carry special meaning to Americans reading it on this July 4, 2018.
At the beginning, the Irish sought freedom and opportunity, as is illustrated by the following summary from PRONI records regarding a particular examble.
At the web site of PRONI can be found inspiring words about Irish emigrants to the U. S.
Of special note are the words of John Dunlap, who was responsible for the printing of the Declaraiton of Independence and wrote to his brother-in-law, Robert Rutherford, in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, extolling the advantages of the New World, on 12 May 1785. First, he referred to his brother, James Dunlap, who was likewise in America:
"... my brother James left this (sic) for Kentucky a few weeks ago; I expect him back in the summer; then perhaps he may take a trip to Ireland. The account he gives of the soil is pleasing but the difficulty of going to it from this is great; indeed the distance is not less than a thousand miles. I was there last year and must confess that although the journey is a difficult one I did not begrudge the time and labour it cost me. We are told the parliament of Ireland means to lay restrictions on those who want to come from that country to this; time will tell whether or no this will answer the purpose they intend. People with a family advanced in life find great difficulties in emigration but the young men of Ireland who wish to be free and happy should leave it and come here as quick as possible; there is no place in the world where a man meets so rich a reward for good conduct and industry as in America ... "
Also excerpted from the PRONI site is the following observation from the DUNLAP/DELAP PAPERS Introduction at: "John Dunlap's is not an untypical life story of many who 'went west' from County Tyrone in the 18th century to make a new life and create a new country to which they then encouraged and assisted others to migrate. One went and succeeded and therefore others followed. By the time he died, on 27 November 1812, aged 66, John Dunlap had amassed a large fortune and had subscribed £4,000 in 1780 to the National Bank formed to supply the American Army, and he held 98,000 acres in Virginia and the adjoining counties of Kentucky. He also owned the land on which Utica, Ohio, stands.
"He had played his part in military affairs during the War of Independence, as a founder in 1774 of the 1st Troop of Philadelphia City Cavalry; as a cornet he accompanied this command in the campaign of 1776-1777, taking part in actions at Princeton and Trenton. After the war, from 1789 to 1792, he was a member of the Common Council of Philadelphia. In 1812 he was buried at Christ Church, Philadelphia.
"The site of his birth at Meetinghouse Street, Strabane, is marked by a plaque erected by Strabane Urban District Council in 1965."
Article says maybe 3rd Duke of Richmond, a rebel sympathizer
Bet his family wishes they held onto his papers
It was in England because it belonged to the “radical” Duke who favored the American cause.
There were people in England who empathized with the colony effort like Edmund Burke.
Looks like Anna Khoo has no clue how many "Sussexes" there are in the world in at least a half dozen different countries.
Would it be that much trouble to identify which Country?
Seems to me that determining how it got there would reveal useful historical facts, if nothing else.
Considering the writer and the publication are British it’s understandable why you’d be upset.
!
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