DEED
CultureBritish
Date1794
Dimensions43.5 x 55.5 x 2 cm (17 1/8 x 21 7/8 x 13/16 in.)
Object numberHF.2022.13.1
DescriptionA paper document outlining the grant of land on St. John’s Island. The deed consists of black type font with sections of cursive hand writing. In the top left corner is a large coat of arms above which says “Island of Saint John”. The coat of arms has a circle at the center divided into four sections: top left has three horizontal rows of small lions with larger lion to the right. Top right has what looks like three fleur-de-lises. Bottom left has a harp. Bottom right has four animals. Around the outside of the circle is “Honi SoitQui Mal Y Pense”. Above the circle is a crown. To the left of the circle is a lion wearing a crown. To the right is a unicorn with a crown around its neck and a chain around its middle. Below the lion and unicorn are scrolls with French: “Dieu Et / Mon Droit”.
In the top left corner in large type font is “To all to whom these PRESENTS shall come, / I Edmund Fanning, LL. D. Lieutenant Governor / and Commander in Chief in and over his Majesty’s Island of Saint John, and the / Territories thereunto adjacent, Chancellor of the same, etc., etc. etc., send greeting.” Below and covering the center, and right side of the deed is small type font outlining the agreement between Edmund Fanning and John Murray for 500 acres of land. The deed references previous agreements between Murray and Walter Patterson, the previous governor. Along the left side of the deed are six rows of cursive writing
marking names and dates associated with the content of the deed.
Document is framed in a wooded frame with clear glass and a dark brown stain. Paper covers the back and there is a thin metal wire horizontally attached across the top centre.
