[Pennsylvania]:

PRINTED DOCUMENT, COMPLETED IN MANUSCRIPT, APPOINTING A MANAGER OF THE COMPANY ERECTING A BRIDGE OVER THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER: "IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, WHEREAS, IN AND BY AN ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE SAID COMMONWEALTH, PASSED ON THE TENTH DAY OF APRIL, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY SIX. . . AND WHEREAS, THE STATE HOLDS A MOIETY, OR MORE OF THE BONA FIDE STOCK, IN THE COMPANY INCORPORATED BY THE NAME STYLE AND TITLE OF THE PRESIDENT, MANAGERS & COMPANY FOR ERECTING A BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER SUSQUEHANNA AT THE BOROUGH OF WILKESBARRE. NOW KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, THAT I DAVID MANN AUDITOR GENERAL OF ACCOUNTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA HAVE APPOINTED WILLIAM SWETLAND OF LUZERNE COUNTY TO BE MANAGER ON PART OF THE STATE, IN THE AFORESAID COMPANY UNTIL THE FIRST MONDAY IN MARCH, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE. GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND THE SEAL OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF PENNSYLVANIA, THIS 23RD DAY OF FEBRUARY ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY. [signed] DAVID MANN, AUDITOR GENL.

[Harrisburg? 1830. Folio broadside, 13" x 16". Old folds from prior mailing. Addressed on verso to "William Swetland, Wilkesbarre, Luzerne County, PA" with postal rubberstamp of Harrisburg, Penn. Wax seal remnant with small tear in bottom blank margin from opening. Light toning and mild wear. Very Good..

The bridge, known as the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre, had a long history. On April 9, 1807, Governor Thomas McKean authorized incorporation of a company to erect the bridge at Wilkes-Barre. The Company, called the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company, was chartered in March 1816. The bridge opened in 1818, the sides and roof uncompleted. A storm in 1824 destroyed it; rebuilding began in 1825. An 1826 Act regulated election of managers, pursuant to which William Swetland was appointed. In January 1829, the Company announced its first dividends of $1.25 per share. Until 1888, the Bridge was the only crossing of the Susquehanna at Wilkes-Barre. It was replaced by an iron bridge in 1892, and in 1929 by a large concrete structure which remains today.
David Mann [1782-1859], Pennsylvania's Auditor General, served in a variety of State offices during his career. William Swetland [1789-1864], a Luzerne County merchant, was a County Commissioner, Postmaster of the Wyoming Borough, and president of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad. [Bradsby: HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, 1893; HISTORY OF BEDFORD, SOMERSET AND FULTON COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA. . . Chicago: 1884.]. Item #36748

Price: $350.00