From James Madison to Daniel D. Tompkins, 11 November 1815
To Daniel D. Tompkins
Washington Novr 11. 1815
Dear Sir
I have recd. a letter from Genl. La Fayette1 from which the inclosed is an extract, recommending, as you will see, the bearer, Mr. Surville, as possessing talents which may be usefully employed in this Country.2 I am persuaded that without a real merit such a recommendation would not have been received from that quarter; and I could not but take a pleasure in promoting an object, which combines usefulness to the public with a reward of personal talents. As there are however neither canals nor bridges, on which they could be employed under the authority of the U.S, I can not do less than to aid Mr. Surville in addressing his views elsewhere. And I know of no theatre where the improvements in question are more likely to be in contemplation than the State of N. York to which I find his thoughts are more particularly directed, nor any patronage more likely to be afforded, to talents & merit, if an opportunity should permit, than that of your Excellency. With this apology for the liberty taken, I ask the favor of your attention, and friendly advice, to this young Gentleman. Be pleased to accept Sir, assurances of my high esteem and best respects
James Madison
Draft (NjP: Andre De Coppet Collection). Filed with the draft is a cover sheet addressed by JM to Tompkins, and marked “Mr. Surville.” For enclosure, see n. 2.
1. Letter not found.
2. The extract (not found) from Lafayette’s letter evidently recommended Eugène Midy de la Greneraye Surville (1790–1866), an illegitimate son of Auguste Midy de la Greneraye, who died eight months before his son’s birth, and actress Catherine Allain, whose stage name was de Surville. His half sister, Théodore Lasalle, was born in 1797. Eugène Surville enrolled at the École Polytechnique in 1808 and entered its school of bridges and roads in 1810. In 1813 he was named a junior engineer in the Imperial Corps of Bridges and Highways, and commenced service in what is now the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, on the Canal de l’Ourcq. Two years later, after a quarrel with a manager who accused him of extortion, embezzlement, and living openly with a prostitute, Surville requested leave to travel to the United States. In addition to seeking connections through JM, he worked with Benjamin Henry Latrobe for several months before returning to France. In 1820 he married Laure de Balzac, sister of the novelist Honoré de Balzac. Surville continued in the employ of the Department of Bridges and Roads until 1829, whereafter he independently pursued a number of unprofitable engineering schemes (Henri Troyat, Balzac [Paris, 1995], 58–59; Anne-Marie Meininger, “Eugène Surville: ‘Modèle reparaissant’ de La Comédie Humaine,” L’Année Balzacienne 1963: 197–205, 236–41; Benjamin Henry Latrobe to JM, 8 Apr. 1816).