To James Madison from David Parish, 13 May 1810
From David Parish
Philada. the 13th May 1810.
Sir
Agreably to the Conversation I had the honor of holding with You some months ago, I beg leave to inform You that I shall embark for Europe in Eight or ten days, & be glad to take Charge of the Deeds you wish to transmit to General LaFayette with whom I propose spending Some days at La Grange in July or August.1
It will give me real pleasure to execute any Commands you may have for England Holland & France.
I beg you will accept my best thanks for the Attention & Civility I have experienced from you during my Stay in America, & beleive me to remain with the highest Regard Sir, Your most obedt. & very hble Servt.
David Parish2
RC (DLC).
1. Parish carried JM’s 18 and 19 May 1810 letters to Lafayette.
2. David Parish (d. 1826), the son of a former American consul in Hamburg, John Parish, became involved in banking and land speculation on a large scale while affiliated with the Dutch firm of Hope and Company. He served the firm in Philadelphia, 1806–10, and helped negotiate a loan for Lafayette with Baring Brothers, the London bankers. He promoted the sale of Lafayette’s Louisiana claims to the Barings and to his father in Amsterdam. Parish returned to America in 1811 and arranged a critical war loan to the U.S. in 1813 (Lutz, “Lafayette’s Louisiana Estate,” La. Studies, 6 [1967]: 358; , pp. 242, 319; Philip G. Walters and Raymond Walters, Jr., “The American Career of David Parish,” Journal of Economic History, 4 [1944]: 150–54, 157, 160–61).