Fontaine Maury (1761–1824) was the son of TJ’s schoolmaster James Maury (1718–1769) and the brother of his longtime friend James Maury (1746–1840). He served briefly in the Revolutionary War, then moved in the latter part of the 1780s from his native Albemarle County to Fredericksburg, where he managed a family importing enterprise. A Republican, Maury served as the town’s mayor for three one-year terms in the 1790s and as a superintendent of the Fredericksburg branch of the Bank of Richmond. He moved about 1802 to New York City, where he ran a commission business for about six years. By his own account, Maury was reputable but not prosperous, and he unsuccessfully sought appointments as collector for the District of Tappahanock (1811) and as consul at Lisbon (1812). During his longterm but sporadic correspondence with TJ he facilitated the transfer of books and letters between him and James Madison. By 1819 Maury had moved to Washington, where he served as a State Department clerk until his death (WMQ description begins William and Mary Quarterly, 1892–  description ends , 1st ser., 10 [1901]: 122–3; VMHB description begins Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1893–  description ends 27 [1919]: 375–6; Silvanus J. Quinn, The History of the City of Fredericksburg Virginia [1908], 336; Acts of Assembly description begins Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia (cited by session; title varies over time) description ends [1792–93 sess.], 105; PTJ description begins Julian P. Boyd, Charles T. Cullen, John Catanzariti, Barbara B. Oberg, and others, eds., The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, 1950– , 34 vols. description ends , 25:529–30, 26:575, 28:178, 30:351n, 31:480, 553; Longworth’s New York Directory description begins Longworth’s American Almanac, New-York Register, and City Directory. New York, 1796–1842 (title varies; cited by year of publication) description ends [1802], 268; [1807], 259; Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, John C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, 1962– , 31 vols.  Congress. Ser., 17 vols.  Pres. Ser., 6 vols.  Sec. of State Ser., 8 vols description ends , Pres. Ser., 2:390, 3:132n; Maury to James Monroe, 15 Sept. 1812, and supporting documents [DNA: RG 59, LAR, 1809–17]; Maury to TJ, 14 Feb. 1819; Judah Delano, The Washington Directory [1822], 56; Washington Daily National Intelligencer, 29 Jan. 1824).

TJ’s cousin George Jefferson had been weak for some time. On 29 May 1812 he advised Secretary of State James Monroe from Lisbon that his health was so poor “as to render it absolutely necessary that I should return to the U. States. This climate, good as it is generally said to be, certainly not agreeing with my constitution. Nothing short of a conviction, that a longer stay would endanger my life, would have induced me to leave my post, without giving you the proper notice” (DNA: RG 59, LAR, 1809–17).