To James Madison from Thomas Jefferson, 30 November 1819
From Thomas Jefferson
Monticello Nov. 30. 19.
Dear Sir
A visit of the ladies of our family to mrs. Madison gives me an opportunity of sending you our correspondence with Dr. Cooper1 & of recieving it back again safely. It is necessary to observe that our first letter & his first crossed each other on the road, so that each party had expressed their mind before knowing that of the other. On the whole this embarrassed transaction ends well enough, except as we have been led by it to ensure 7000.D. in two years, when 4000. would have satisfied him. Ever & affectionately Your’s.
Th: Jefferson
RC (ViU: Thomas Jefferson Letters).
1. The enclosures have not been identified, but there were four letters from Cooper, including one of 22 Oct. 1819, and at least two from Jefferson, writing for the Board of Visitors (see Jefferson to John Hartwell Cocke, 5 Nov. 1819 [DLC: Jefferson Papers]; DLC: Jefferson Papers, Chronological Index). The visitors had decided in their 4 October meeting that, as the university would not open in spring 1820, Cooper’s arrival in Charlottesville, initially slated for April 1820, would have to be postponed. Cooper was distressed by this announcement and took a one-year position at South Carolina College, which was subsequently made permanent (Malone, Public Life of Thomas Cooper [1961 reprint], 241–43).