1790 Charles Carroll of Carrollton–Related Land Sales Account — Cornelius Howard & the “Rochester” Tract — Possible Carroll Autograph Docket

An original late eighteenth-century manuscript account documenting land sales and payments associated with Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his land agent Cornelius Howard.

Docketed January 8, 1790, the document records sales made during 1788–1789 from the tract called “Rochester,” with subsequent payment entries extending into February 1790. Facing account pages detail purchasers, acreages, prices, cash installments, interest, and bonds. One entry credits a purchaser for 29 days of surveying work.

Purchasers include John Beaver, Abraham Lane, Thomas Janes, David Lovell, and Henry Neff. Abraham Lane’s purchase of 97 acres corresponds with a separately documented Carroll transaction involving the same tract.

The reverse bears an extensive contemporary docket stating that Howard forwarded the purchasers’ bonds with his letter of February 10, 1790, and referencing their entry in “lib. C.C.” at folios 261–262.

Attribution: The reverse docket is possibly in Charles Carroll of Carrollton’s handwriting and carries a later pencil attribution to that effect. This handwriting attribution has not been independently authenticated. No conventional Carroll signature is present.

An informative record of land sales, surveying, and credit arrangements in the early American republic, with a compelling connection to a Declaration signer’s business affairs.

Condition: Light age toning, original folds, minor soiling, and scattered small marks. Manuscript entries remain generally clear and legible.