To Thomas Jefferson from Daniel Carroll, 2 July 1791
From Daniel Carroll
Georgetown, 2 July 1791. Mr. Wederstrandt, whose enclosed letter solicits consulship in Isle of France for his son, is a native of France who came to Maryland before the Revolution, married into a very respectable Eastern Shore family, was employed by the state or Congress during the war, and has “a very fair Character.” The young gentleman is not yet of age but will be soon after Congress meets. He served apprenticeship with Messrs. Zacharie Coopman & Co., merchants of character in Baltimore. He may be the bearer of this letter, and TJ will make use of it with the President as he “may see occasion.”
RC (DLC: Washington Papers); endorsed by TJ as received 13 July 1791 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosures: (1) Wederstrandt to Carroll, 27 June 1791, asking him to recommend his son to the Secretary of State and permit him to deliver the letter himself; (2) Zacharie Coopman & Co. to Wederstrandt, 20 June 1791 (enclosed in the foregoing), stating the apprentice served with irreproachable fidelity for five years and displayed assiduity in business, docility of temper, and good character (same).
The father, Conrad T. Wederstrandt, was not employed by Congress but served as commissary of purchases for Maryland during the war (, xix, 179). The French consul in Baltimore, Charles François D’Anmours, also gave young Wederstrandt a letter of introduction and recommendation to TJ, saying that he had known him since infancy and that he had deserved the applause and esteem of all acquainted with him (D’Anmours to TJ, 8 July 1791, RC in DLC: Washington Papers; endorsed by TJ as received 13 July 1791 and so recorded in SJL). Young Wederstrandt did not get the appointment.