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Ink manuscript on vellum, one page only of the indenture. Approx. 70x85 cm (27½x33½").

A portion of the highly important original document formalizing the transfer of East New Jersey to William Penn and fellow Quakers following the death of George Carteret. Soon after the Restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660, the territory of New Jersey was granted as a proprietary colony by the Duke of York (later King James II) to John, Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, as a reward for their loyalty to the newly reestablished throne. Around 1675 Berkeley sold his partial ownership of the colony to a London Quaker group headed John Fenwick, in trust for Edward Byllinge, and his assigns, with William Penn an associate. This Quaker group soon encountered financial difficulties, precipitating the partitioning of the colony, and Carteret was persuaded to accept the Eastern part of New Jersey as his proper share. Carteret himself died in 1680 and his will called for the sale of all his New Jersey property to help settle his debts. The property was ultimately put up for public auction and sold for 3,400 British Pounds to a syndicate of Quakers headed by William Penn. The present portion of the indenture names the province, the principals (including William Penn), and the price paid.