Highlights Include Hancock’s Rare Yale Diploma and an Unpublished Family Biography of His Wife, Dorothy Quincy Hancock, Describing Her Experiences During the Battle of Lexington, Her Wedding, and More
The Raab Collection recently discovered and acquired remarkable historical documents from the heirs of John Hancock–the first Governor of Massachusetts and the President of the Continental Congress during the signing of the Declaration of Independence–and his wife, Dorothy Quincy Hancock. They had been passed down through generations of the Quincy family, unseen by the public, unstudied by scholars, and never before offered for sale.
Hancock’s Yale Diploma
John Hancock’s original diploma from Yale University is a unique artifact that we at Raab consider one of our most important discoveries, for several reasons. First, we are unaware of any diploma of a Founding Father ever having reached the market.
Second, Hancock was well known to be a Harvard graduate, and yet he requested and received this Master of Arts degree “ad eundem gradum” (“at the same degree”) from Yale in 1769. This document manifests his drive for educational and professional prominence.
Third, this happens to be a pivotal year, during which Hancock employs John Adams–a lawyer who would go on to become the first Vice-President and the second President of the United States–to represent him in a protracted legal case taken up against him by the British Crown.
To learn more about the diploma, an audio interview with Nathan Raab is available here.
Family History Manuscript
Hancock’s Quincy heirs were also in possession of an undated 26-page manuscript that presents a biography of Founding Mother Dorothy Quincy Hancock, with tales of her courtship and marriage, adventures during the Revolution, and the Hancocks’ home life. It was written by a great-grandniece, Anna Quincy Blanchard, likely in the early 20th century, and is based on stories handed down through the generations.
The narrative is both historical and personal, including major events, such as the Battle of Lexington, as well as details related to the clothing worn by the Hancocks and the food they served to the Count D’Estaing and his officers, for example. It is apparently unpublished.
Like the diploma, this manuscript is not only unique but unknown to have existed, having remained with the family for more than a century.
About John Hancock and Dorothy Quincy Hancock
John Hancock and Dorothy Quincy hailed from the Boston/Braintree area of Massachusetts, and they met through family connections in the 1770s. They were married at an incredible moment in American history: August 28, 1775–between the Battles of Concord and Lexington, which Dorothy witnessed on April 19, 1775, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which was presided over by Hancock as President of the Congress. The Hancocks entertained and collaborated with the other Revolutionary War leaders, including George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, the Marquis de Lafayette, and others.
Neither of the Hancocks’ two children lived into adulthood, and many of their family papers and treasures were handed down through Dorothy’s family upon her death in 1830. While substantial parts of the Hancock archive have been placed in institutional collections, including the Massachusetts Historical Society, some pieces have remained with the family centuries on. Both the diploma and the biography of Dorothy fall into this latter category.
