Thomas Jefferson Papers
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Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Milligan, 27 October 1815

To Joseph Milligan

Monticello Oct. 27. 15.

Dr Sir

The answers to letters which had accumulated during a seven weeks1 absence in Bedford, and the daily calls of my affairs here have delayed longer than I expected the examination promised in my letter of the 5th into the paiment I beleived I had made for the early volumes of Wilson’s ornithology. I was led astray too in my researches by an idea that that paiment had been made while I lived at Washn or soon after, and I bewildered myself in the old2 accounts of Dufief, Conrad, Duane, Rapine Etc and at length finding it in none of these I recurred3 to yours where I at length found it. in an account rendered by you embracing from 1809. June 17. to 1811. May 14. you will find the last article to be ‘To 3. vols American Ornithology 36.D.’ the amount of the acct including that is 65. D 12½. C and in my letter of Mar. 16. 12. to you you will find it stated that I had desired Gibson & Jefferson to remit a sum to mr Barnes, out of which I had requested mr Barnes to pay you 65. D 12½ C which you will certainly find to have been done. these 36.D. with the 92. D last remitted, making 128.D being deducted from the 264.75 amount of your last account leave a balance of 136.75 D which sum by a letter of this day I desire messrs Gibson & Jefferson to remit you.

I set out for Bedford the day after tomorrow, shall be back the last week in4 November, and will then immediately begin the revisal of the translation of Tracy & forward5 it to you faster than you can print it. I shall be engaged in Bedford in making a geometrical admeasurement of the Peaks of Otter which has never been done yet, altho deemed the highest mountains of our ranges.6 for this work Hutton’s tables were extremely necessary; but they are not come and I shall be much distressed by the want of them. I blame you for this but still remain

Your friend & servt

Th: Jefferson

Dft (DLC); on verso of reused address cover of Charles Yancey to TJ, 26 Sept. 1815; at foot of text: “Mr Joseph Millegen”; endorsed by TJ.

The account rendered by Milligan is printed above at 2 Dec. 1811, where it was enclosed to TJ. TJ’s letter to Patrick gibson requesting that $200 be remitted to John barnes and his letter directing Barnes to pay Milligan out of those funds are both dated 15 Mar. 1812. TJ wrote Gibson authorizing the payment to Milligan of $136.75 in a letter of 28 Oct. 1815 rather than in one of this day.

1Preceding two words interlined in place of “two months.”

2Word interlined.

3Word interlined in place of “turned.”

4TJ here canceled “December.”

5Manuscript: “foward.”

6Preceding nine words interlined.

Index Entries

  • altitude; calculations for Peaks of Otter search
  • American Ornithology (A. Wilson) search
  • A Treatise on Political Economy (Destutt de Tracy) search
  • Barnes, John; handles financial transactions search
  • books; purchased from J. Milligan search
  • books; sent by J. Milligan search
  • C. & A. Conrad & Company (Philadelphia firm); account with TJ search
  • Destutt de Tracy, Antoine Louis Claude; A Treatise on Political Economy search
  • Duane, William; TJ’s account with search
  • Dufief, Nicolas Gouin; bookseller search
  • Gibson, Patrick; payments made for TJ search
  • Gibson & Jefferson (Richmond firm); payments made for TJ search
  • Hutton, Charles; Mathematical Tables search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with C. & A. Conrad & Company search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with J. Milligan search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with N. G. Dufief search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with W. Duane search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Travels; to Peaks of Otter search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Writings; translates Destutt de Tracy’s works search
  • Mathematical Tables (C. Hutton) search
  • Milligan, Joseph; account with TJ search
  • Milligan, Joseph; letters to search
  • Peaks of Otter, Va.; altitude of search
  • Peaks of Otter, Va.; TJ visits search
  • Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); TJ visits search
  • Rapine, Daniel; bookseller search
  • Wilson, Alexander; American Ornithology search