Hancock family.

Ebenezer Hancock (1741-1819), John Hancock's younger brother, operated a general goods store in Boston in partnership with Edward Blanchard in the 1760's, was later appointed Deputy Paymaster General of the Continental Army, and resumed shopkeeping after the war. John Hancock, the wealthiest man in Massachusetts before the Revolution, died intestate in 1793 and 1/3 of his estate passed automatically to his brother Ebenezer and included the Hancock House on Beacon Hill in Boston. Presumably this collection of papers was kept in the Hancock desk by family members.