Lot 8

1861 PRE-CIVIL WAR PROMISSORY NOTE â New Orleans, Signed by George Hancock to Benj. Roach

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Lot 8
1861 PRE-CIVIL WAR PROMISSORY NOTE â New Orleans, Signed by George Hancock to Benj. Roach

1861 PRE-CIVIL WAR PROMISSORY NOTE â New Orleans, Signed by George Hancock to Benj. Roach

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Estimate: $100 - $200

Starting Bid: $50

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by East Coast Books
August 6, 2026 3:00 PM EDT
Timed Auction
PO Box 849
Wells, ME, US 04090

A handwritten antebellum promissory note dated January 10, 1861, executed in New Orleans, Louisiana. The document records a substantial financial transaction on the absolute brink of the American Civil War. Signed by George Hancock, the note promises to pay $325.12 (plus ten percent interest) to Benjamin Roach, a member of the elite class of wealthy cotton planters who held vast plantation estates across the Mississippi Delta and extensive commercial ties to New Orleans. The note features a bold, fluid, and ornate fountain pen signature at the conclusion: "Geo. Hancock". The date of this documentâJanuary 10, 1861âinfuses it with deep historical resonance. This transaction took place during the tense "Secession Winter," exactly sixteen days before Louisiana officially seceded from the United States on January 26, 1861. Financial artifacts from this precise, volatile window in New Orleans offer a fascinating glimpse into commerce continuing uninterrupted on the very eve of the Confederacy's formation. The signer of this promissory note was Colonel George Hancock (1798â1875), a prominent 19th-century Virginia-born aristocratic planter, veteran, and agricultural leader who spent much of his prominent adult life in the Louisville and New Orleans regions. Hancock served as a military officer, notably acting as an aide to General Zachary Taylor (who later became President of the United States). Benjamin Roach (1812â1886) was an exceptionally wealthy, elite antebellum merchant and cotton planter. He operated major plantation estates in Mississippi and Louisiana and maintained heavy commercial banking ties to New Orleans. This document is approx. 7-3/4 x 4 in. VG

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