From Thomas Jefferson to William Short, 18 October 1802
To William Short
Oct. 18. 1802.
Th: Jefferson with his friendly salutations to mr Short sends him by his servant the bundle of papers relative to his affairs which Th:J. had kept with him at the seat of government, because they have been written or recieved there. this with the bundle communicated to him at Monticello contains every thing relative to mr Short’s affairs which are in the hands of Th:J. in this bundle particularly are the assignment of the decree by E. Randolph to mr Short, a mortgage from Th:J. to mr Short, and all the original certificates of the stock of mr Short which were not delivered at Monticello. of the certificates of stock delivered at Monticello & those now sent in the bundle, Th:J. will thank mr Short for a list by way of Voucher of the delivery in the event of mr Short’s death, in which case Th:J. might be called on for proofs of the delivery.—the two last of the letters of Th:J. to mr Short he could not have recieved before he left France.
RC (DLC: Short Papers); endorsed by Short as received at Georgetown on 18 Oct.
While Short was at Georgetown in October and November, he asked Gallatin and Madison if his salary claim against the State Department could be separated from the government’s suit against Edmund RANDOLPH and settled on its own merits. He also volunteered to accept the surety that Randolph had offered him, not in expectation that he would receive payment from Randolph, but as a means of securing that part of the government’s claim against the former secretary of state. Gallatin and Madison agreed that Short’s claim should be paid, and Madison authorized the payment to include not only salary, but also diplomatic outfits, travel expenses, and interest. As part of the payment, in November the Treasury Department transferred to Short 28 shares of eight percent stock, worth a total of $2,800, that had been subscribed at Timothy Pickering’s direction in the expectation that it would ultimately go to Short (Gallatin to Short, 28 Oct., Gallatin to Richard Harrison, 10 Nov., and Short’s list of stock certificates, 16 Apr. 1803, in DLC: Short Papers; , 4:37, 82–3, 86–7, 105–7, 108, 133).
TJ had drawn up a MORTGAGE on his Bedford County lands in 1800 to cover the money he owed Short (Vol. 31:503).
According to a memorandum Short made for his files, the CERTIFICATES that TJ conveyed to him in October 1802 were for “stock which stood in my name on the books at Washington.” The value of the certificates was $11,256.63 in three percent stock; $15,324.18 in “old” six percent stock; $6,000 in deferred stock; and $5,700 in eight percent stock. Short gave TJ a receipt for the certificates, at Georgetown on 20 Oct. (list of stock certificates, 16 Apr. 1803, in DLC: Short Papers).
TWO LAST OF THE LETTERS: probably TJ to Short, 16 and 19 July.