To Thomas Jefferson from Calvin Goddard, 16 February 1805
From Calvin Goddard
Washington Feb. 16. 1805—
Sir,
Being requested by Mr. Elisha Avery formerly of Pomfret in the State of Connecticut to state my knowledge of him, & his connexions I cheerfully say that I was acquainted with Mr. Avery prior to his leaving this Country for Europe, perhaps six years ago—That he then sustained a fair character, & was reputed to be an active, enterprizing young man, well acquainted with business—Mr Avery’s Mother was the daughter of the late Majr. Genl. Israel Putnam, & all his family connexions, with whom I am acquainted, are very reputable—
I have not had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Avery or knowing any thing respecting him, since he left this Country, untill this day, but to his merits & respectability at the Time above refered to, I cheerfully bear testimony—
With Sentiments of respect I have the honor to be Sir your Obdt & very Hble Servt
Calvin Goddard
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); endorsed by TJ as received 16 Feb. and “Avery Elisha to be Marshall of Michigan” and so recorded in SJL, connected by a brace with William Eustis’s letter of the same day.
Calvin Goddard (1768-1842) was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1786, and practiced law in Plainfield, Connecticut. After serving in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1795 to 1801, he was elected as a Federalist to the Seventh Congress. He resigned in 1805. Upon returning to Connecticut he once again served as a state representative, and resumed his legal practice. Later in life he was a delegate to the Hartford Convention, a superior court judge, and mayor of Norwich ().
Mother: Eunice Putnam Avery was the fifth of Israel Putnam’s eight surviving children (Eben Putnam, A History of the Putnam Family in England and America, 2 vols. [Salem, Mass., 1891-1908], 1:88, 184).