{"id":474,"date":"2025-09-22T13:19:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/librarycompany.org\/librarycompanypapersproject\/?p=474"},"modified":"2025-09-22T13:19:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T13:19:44","slug":"history-of-share-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/librarycompany.org\/librarycompanypapersproject\/2025\/09\/22\/history-of-share-25\/","title":{"rendered":"History of Share #25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Library Company share #25 was first issued to Benjamin Eastburn (d. 1741)<\/strong> on December 14, 1731.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eastburn was born in England, and apparently came to Philadelphia in 1713. By 1731, he was obviously acquainted with Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and his fellow Junto members. That group drew up their \u201cArticles of Association\u201d on July 1, 1731 to found a library, and Eastburn was among the first group of shares issued over the next six months. These early subscribers each invested forty shillings and \u201cpromised to pay ten shillings a year thereafter to buy books and maintain a shareholder\u2019s library.\u201d[i]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1733, two years after becoming a Library Company shareholder, Eastburn was appointed Surveyor General of the Province of Pennsylvania. He held that role from 1733 until his death in 1741.[ii]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means he was the surveyor in charge at the time of James Logan’s 1737 \u201cwalking purchase\u201d that swindled land from the Delaware Indians, as well as during the 1739 creation of the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. He also drew up the plans for the site of Mikveh Israel Cemetery in 1740, among many other surveys.[iii]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his death, William Peters (1702-1789)<\/strong> acquired the share on March 13, 1742.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peters was a lawyer and land management agent for the Penn family. Peters was also a gentleman architect, and his country home and estate, Belmont, was eventually purchased by the city of Philadelphia for inclusion in Fairmount Park.[iv]<\/p>\n\n\n

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Image<\/em>: William Russell Birch, <\/em>View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters [graphic] \/ Drawn engraved & published by W. Birch Springland near Bristol Pennsylvania<\/a>, [1809]. Gift of Mrs. S. Marguerite Brenner.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belmont Mansion still stands today, and is now open to the public as an underground railroad museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Library Company share #25 was then dormant until it was reissued as share #1350 to Christine F. C. Platt<\/strong> on April 4, 1935. The Library Company\u2019s records provide no other details about Platt except that her share was forfeited on June 3, 1948.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The share was reissued again as Share #25 by 1984.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Share History:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n