Thomas Jefferson Papers
Documents filtered by: Author="Short, William" AND Period="post-Madison Presidency" AND Period="post-Madison Presidency"
sorted by: editorial placement
Permanent link for this document:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-12-02-0094

William Short to Thomas Jefferson, 23 October 1817

From William Short

Philada Octob: 23. 1817

Dear sir

On the 6th inst: I wrote to you at Mal Grouchys request, to state his intention of being at Monticello about the 20th—Since then I have seen Mr Harris who informed me your intention was to go to Bedford at the end of the month. The fear therefore that you might wait unnecesarily for Grouchy, induces me to give you this trouble, seeing that his journey is defeated by the indisposition of his son—He has been siezed with a gald & a stricture on the breast & some other symptoms1 of alarm that have forced him to give up his fixed intention of visiting Monticello. He sat out however notwithstanding this, & proceeded as far as Wilmington in the hope the change of air might be serviceable & enable him to proceed—but he has been disappointed & returned to this City—He tells me that he wrote to you as soon as he found his project stopped by this circumstance—but for greater caution I write to you also, lest under the information of my former letter you may be expecting Grouchy (if his letter shd not reach you) when you might be wishing to2 proceed to Bedford—   As this letter has no other object, I have only to pray God to have you in his holy keeping—

faithfully yours

W: short

RC (MHi); endorsed by TJ as received 29 Oct. 1817 and so recorded in SJL. RC (MHi); address cover only; with PoC of TJ to Joel Yancey, 11 Jan. 1818, on verso; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson Monticello Mail to Milton virginia”; stamp canceled; franked; postmarked Philadelphia, 23 Oct.

Short’s previous letter was dated 5 Oct. 1817, not the 6th. A gald is a gall or skin sore (OED description begins James A. H. Murray, J. A. Simpson, E. S. C. Weiner, and others, eds., The Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed., 1989, 20 vols. description ends ).

1Manuscript: “symptons.”

2Manuscript: “to to.”

Index Entries

  • Grouchy, Alphonse Frédéric Emmanuel; illness of search
  • Grouchy, Alphonse Frédéric Emmanuel; plans visit to Monticello search
  • Grouchy, Emmanuel, marquis de; plans visit to Monticello search
  • Harris, Levett; mentioned search
  • health; breast constriction search
  • health; gall search
  • Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); TJ plans visits to search
  • Short, William; and E. Grouchy search
  • Short, William; letters from search