To James Madison from St. George Tucker, 11 March 1818
From St. George Tucker
Williamsburg March 11th. 1818.
Dear Sir
Having at the request of Mr. Joseph Delaplaine prepar’d a Sketch of the Life of the late most excellent General Thomas Nelson,1 I recieved a Letter from him by the last post, requesting that I would enclose it to you, & that you would forward it to him. I have in consequence of that Letter taken the Liberty to do so; If I have err’d in so doing be so kind as to excuse me. As some small Atonement for the trouble I am about to give you. I have left the Cover unseal’d, and without direction, that you may, if so disposed peruse the Sketch; should you meet with any thing objectionable in it, I would thank you to point it out to me, and return the pamphlet.
I avail myself of this opportunity of offering to yourself & Mrs. Madison the best wishes of Mrs. Tucker and myself, for your health and happiness; and beg leave to add assurances of my most cordial esteem & friendship, as well as my grateful acknowledgements for the proofs I have recieved of yours. I am respectfully, Dear Sir, Yours,
St: G: Tucker2
RC (DLC). Docketed by JM.
1. Thomas Nelson (1738–1789), revolutionary patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was governor of Virginia in 1781. He supported the revolutionary effort with his private fortune and was beggared as a consequence. Tucker’s biographical essay of Nelson was probably intended to be a part of the fourth half-volume of Joseph Delaplaine’s Repository of the Lives and Portraits of Distinguished American Characters, which never was published.
2. St. George Tucker (1752–1827) was a Bermuda-born Virginian and graduate of the College of William and Mary who served in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War. He taught law at his alma mater from 1800 and was elected in 1803 to the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. In 1813 JM appointed him judge of the federal district court in Virginia, where he served until near his death.