Thomas Jefferson Papers
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From Thomas Jefferson to John Barnes, 15 October 1799

To John Barnes

Monticello Oct. 15. 99.

Dear Sir

Your last at hand was of Aug. 25. mine of Sep. 16. which I hope you recieved safely. it contained advice of a draught in favor of mr Roberts, on which subject he wrote me the 28th. of Sep. before mine to him of this 16th. had got to his hands. I hope that mine will have anticipated his [desire].—I recieved under cover from you a letter from a mr Griffiths No. 4. Pine street. I take the liberty therefore of putting the answer under your cover[; &] the rather as he probably left town on the late dispersion, and I know not how to direct to him. be so good as to hold up the letter till you can put it into his own hands. by the last papers recieved here the number of deaths appeared to have abated greatly; & as the season of frost is now arrived we presume you are all flocking back to the city. I hope you will not do it prematurely. a prudent man tho’ a [fearless] one is inexcusable for uselessly exposing himself to danger. our neighbors the Trists have occasion to lament this in the case of the late mr Brown. I have not written to you on the subject of Genl. Kosciuszko’s dividends: I rely that you will remit them of course as they are drawn to Messrs. Van Staphorsts & Hubbard on account of the General. during the present dispersion it is [useless?] to ask the price of tobo. but [it is] […], [as] […]. mr Randolph [&] I have 50. M on hand unsold, […] into the house. I am with great esteem Dear Sir

Your friend & servt

Th: Jefferson

PrC (CSmH); faint; at foot of text: “Mr. Barnes”; endorsed by TJ in ink on verso. Enclosure: TJ to Elijah Griffiths, this date, recorded in SJL but not found.

See TJ’s letter of 16 Sep. for Barnes’s letter of 25 Aug. and the one that TJ sent to Joseph Roberts, Jr., on 16 Sep. The reply from Roberts of 28 Sep., which is recorded in SJL as received on 11 Oct., is missing, as is a letter that TJ wrote to Roberts on this day.

Clement C. Brown, deputy collector for the port of Philadelphia and the father of Mary Brown Trist, Hore Browse Trist’s wife, had died in the city on 27 Sep. (Philadelphia Gazette, 29 Apr., 27 Sep. 1799; ANB, description begins John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography, New York and Oxford, 1999, 24 vols. description ends 21:832).

A letter from Barnes to TJ, written 10 Oct. and received from Philadelphia on the 24th, is recorded in SJL but has not been found.

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