To James Madison from John Adams, 22 February 1816
From John Adams
Quincy Feb 22nd. 1816
Dear Sir
I am informed, that General Dearborne, Mr. Morton & other gentlemen have recommended Mr. Winthrop for a Consulate abroad, and I am requested to add my testimony to theirs, in his favour.1
My acquaintance with him, has been only general, but his father and Grand Father, his name, and family, have been esteemed & venerated, all my days; his education was publick, he has travelled in Europe, & his moral character, is without reproach. His Father, his Uncles, his connections in general, men of property and learning, have been remarkably, steadily and disinterestedly, attached to the republican Administrations both of the national and State Governments. I have the honour to be with great esteem, Sir your most obedient Servant
John Adams
Letterbook copy (MHi: Adams Papers).
1. John Winthrop of Boston, nephew of the prominent Antifederalist and Republican judge James Winthrop, was seeking an appointment as American consul in Bremen to replace Frederick Jacob Wichelhausen, who was rumored to be in financial difficulty (John Winthrop to James Monroe, 17 Feb. 1816 [DNA: RG 59, LAR, 1809–17, filed under “Winthrop”]).