Thomas Jefferson to Patrick Gibson, 2 January 1816
To Patrick Gibson
Monticello Jan. 2. 16.
Dear Sir
Your favor of Dec. 22. is recieved, and I now return the note with my signature. what you mention of the boat load of 35. barrels of flour mentioned in mine of Oct. 28. not having been delivered; is the first notice I have of that failure, and the 2d time I have been misinformed in the same manner. the tenants of my mill are bound to deliver their rent of fifty odd barrels a quarter at Richmond, and assured me on the former occasion that 55. and on the latter that 35. barrels had actually gone from there to be delivered in Richmond on my account. it seems however that their destination has been changed by the way. my crop flour here has been waiting a rise of the river. [m]r Gilmer is engaged to carry it down, and promises if there is not a rise in a few days he will take it by half loads to Columbia & whole loads from there. this increases the expence of transportation[.] my crop here has been an indifferent one, & that in Bedford worse. should it not enable me to take my whole note out of the bank, it will furnish enough to pay up all the curtailments which the bank may require for the year. being entirely out of wine, I have written to Dr Fernandes of Norfolk for a quarter cask of Lisbon or Port, or Sherry, and have desired him to draw on you for the cost. accept the assurance of my great esteem & respect.
Th: Jefferson
P.S. having got 800. bushels of wheat into the ground here & in Bedford, and aiming at a tolerable crop of tobo there, I hope at length to get freed from the difficulties which embargoes, war, heavy taxes & short crops have kept me laboring under for the last three years. the wine when it comes to your hands must be trusted only to Johnson or Gilmer personally.
PoC (NjMoHP: Lloyd W. Smith Collection); on verso of reused address cover of Peter Derieux to TJ, 12 Dec. 1815; mutilated at seal, with several words rewritten by TJ; adjacent to signature: “mr Gibson”; endorsed by TJ. Enclosure not found.
TJ had previously been misinformed by the tenants of his mill, Thomas Eston Randolph and Thomas Mann Randolph, when they told him that they were sending 213 barrels of flour to Gibson to pay for rent of TJ’s mill. In fact, 67 of the barrels had been delivered elsewhere (Gibson to TJ, 5 July 1815; TJ to Gibson, 28 July 1815; , 2:1310).
Index Entries
- Bank of Virginia (Richmond); TJ’s loan from search
- boats; transfer goods to and from Richmond search
- Columbia (Fluvanna Co.) search
- Embargo Act (1813); TJ on search
- flour; from Poplar Forest search
- flour; transported to Richmond search
- Gibson, Patrick; and TJ’s bank note from Bank of Virginia search
- Gibson, Patrick; and TJ’s flour search
- Gibson, Patrick; letters to search
- Gilmore, Joseph; Milton boatman search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; loan from Bank of Virginia search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; orders wine from J. F. Oliveira Fernandes search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; pays taxes search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Opinions on; Embargo acts search
- Johnson, William (waterman); transports goods from Richmond search
- Monticello (TJ’s estate); flour from search
- Monticello (TJ’s estate); wheat crop at search
- Oliveira Fernandes, John Francisco; and wine for TJ search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); flour from search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); tobacco grown at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); wheat grown at search
- port (wine) search
- Portugal; TJ orders wine from search
- Randolph, Thomas Eston (TJ’s cousin); and Shadwell mills search
- Randolph, Thomas Mann (1768–1828) (TJ’s son-in-law; Martha Jefferson Randolph’s husband); and Shadwell mills search
- Richmond, Va.; flour shipped to search
- Rivanna River; water level of search
- Shadwell mills; and T. E. Randolph search
- Shadwell mills; and T. M. Randolph search
- sherry (wine) search
- taxes; TJ pays search
- tobacco; grown at Poplar Forest search
- War of1812; and economy search
- wheat; at Monticello search
- wheat; at Poplar Forest search
- wine; port search
- wine; Portuguese search
- wine; sherry search
- wine; TJ arranges delivery of search
- wine; TJ orders from J. F. Oliveira Fernandes search