{"product_id":"1794-pennsylvania-bucks-counts-fox-bounty-order-signed-by-thomas-long","title":"1794 Pennsylvania Bucks Counts Fox Bounty Order Signed By Thomas Long","description":"\u003cp\u003e1794 Bucks County, Pennsylvania bounty certificate\/order for payment, signed by Thomas Long, relating to the destruction of a wolf. Long was an  (1740–1814?) early Durham Township settler and progenitor of the Long family of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdentification\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe document reads approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"To the Treasurer of Bucks County\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePay Michael Fraley two shillings for killing a red fox in Northampton Township, in said County of Bucks, he having given satisfactory proof thereof...\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSigned: Thomas Long\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDurham, February 26, 1794\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReverse endorsement:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"May 5, 1795 Received the contents of the within order for Michael Fraley\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esigned by Philip Frist (or similar)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a county-issued bounty order rewarding a resident for eliminating a predator\/vermin animal. Such payments were common in late 18th-century Pennsylvania and provide a fascinating glimpse into frontier agricultural life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorical Interest\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe document has several desirable features:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDated 1794, during the Washington administration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBucks County, Pennsylvania.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDurham and Northampton Township references.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSigned county official.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNamed recipient (Michael Fraley).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAgricultural\/frontier history subject.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAttractive, highly legible penmanship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eComplete payment endorsement on reverse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePredator bounty documents are collected by those interested in:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEarly American rural life\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePennsylvania history\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHunting and trapping history\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrontier economics\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBucks County genealogy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn excellent example of early American county government and predator bounty regulation, documenting the payment of a reward for destroying agricultural pests in post-Revolutionary Pennsylvania.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccording to a Bucks County history account, Thomas Long was:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn in Ireland in 1740\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImmigrated to Pennsylvania and first settled in present-day Northampton County\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoved to the Durham area around 1775–1776\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEstablished what became known as the Long homestead in Durham Township\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarried Rachel Morgan around 1766\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecame the progenitor of a long-established Bucks County family whose descendants remained prominent in the area for generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is dated Durham, Bucks County, February 26, 1794\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt concerns a county bounty payment for killing a fox\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThomas Long is issuing an order to the Bucks County Treasurer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuch certificates were commonly signed by township officials, assessors, or justices who certified the claim\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe wording of the document suggests Long was acting in an official local capacity—possibly as a township officer, county-appointed certifier, or justice involved in administering bounty claims.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eCondition: Folded as issued with expected age toning and minor wear. Reverse endorsement present. Please review all photographs carefully.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52348740305178,"sku":"EB-327209827495","price":475.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/57_143eda6c-9d25-4cb5-a5ae-0757310e1f67.jpg?v=1781349399","url":"https:\/\/princetonaudubonprints.com\/products\/1794-pennsylvania-bucks-counts-fox-bounty-order-signed-by-thomas-long","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}