NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN

New Copy of Declaration of Independence Found

Historical document found in England.

Harvard researchers have recovered a parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence at a records office in southern England. The researchers, Emily Sneff and Danielle Allen, said the document is thought to have belonged to the Duke of Richmond, who was a steadfast supporter of the American colonists during the Revolutionary War. The document, which is a copy of the original declaration that currently sits at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., was made in either New York or Philadelphia, they said, adding that James Wilson, one of the original Supreme Court justices, likely commissioned the document’s production.