Thomas Jefferson Papers
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Cérès de Montcarel to Thomas Jefferson, 24 November 1818

From Cérès de Montcarel

Richmond 24 9bre 1818

Monsieur,

Retirée depuis quelques mois a la Campagne pour raison de Santé Je n’ai appris que fort tard qu’il S’élevoit, Sous votre protection, une maison d’éducation près Charlotteville; Nous ignorons S’il y a quelqu’un de nommé pour être à la tête de L’instruction de cette maison C’est pourquoi, malgré que nous n’ayons pas L’honneur d’être connus de Vous Monsieur, nous nous empressons mon mari et moi de vous offrir nos Services, vous priant d’avoir la bonté de nous faire Savoir le plus promptement possible Si nous pouvons nous flatter de L’esperance de réussir.

Nous croyons pouvoir vous assurer Sans être taxés de trop d’amour propre, que la place que nous demandons n’est pas au dessus de nos moyens; nous avons tenus ici, pendant 2 ans une Maison d’éducation que le mauvais état de ma Santé, Seul, nous a obligé de quitter. la bienveillance que nous ont Conservé les personnes les plus distinguées de cette ville, est une preuve que nous avons mis tous nos Soins a remplir leurs intentions Sur leurs enfans.

Nous n’oserions pas à la vérité nous charger d’enseigner la langue Anglaise, nous Sentons trop bien qu’une prononciation parfaite est une chose absolument nécessaire, Nos conditions Seroient donc, de maintenir un ordre exact dans la maison, d’enseigner par nous même, la langue françoise, l’histoire, la géographie, l’écriture et le dessin, les talens de mon mari dans cette partie Sont assez Connus a Richmond ayant fait des portraits chez Mrss Wickham, Dr Adams et quelqulautres personnes de cette ville.

Nous prenons la liberté de vous adresser une des lettres de recommandation que nous a donné Mr Lee lors de notre départ de france, il était alors Consul a Bordeaux. Nous ne voulons pas importuner nos amis pour en obtenir d’autres amoins que nous n’ayons espoir de Succès et que Vous n’en desiriez; nous Sommes persuadés d’avance que Mrss Wickham, Adams, Chevalier, Girardin, Wm Mayo et quelqulautres avec qui nous Sommes liés nous en donneront de Satisfaisantes.

Ce que nous nous permettrions de demander mon mari et moi, pour La Surveillance de L’école, L’enseignement de L’écriture, du dessin, du françois de L’histoire et de La géographie, Seroit d’être Logés, chauffés, éclairés, d’avoir mille dollars de fixe et un maitre payé par la maison pour enseigner aux jeunes personnes a lire et la grammaire Anglaise; mon mari demanderoit aussi la permission de donner des Leçons au dehors et de faire des portraits dans Ses momens de loisir.

Veuillez Croire, Monsieur, que nous mettrons tous nos Soins a remplir avec zèle la place de Confiance que nous demandons et a mériter l’approbation de L’homme illustre dont nous Sollicitons aujourd’huy La protection.

Recevez Monsieur L’assurance de notre respect et de notre parfait dévouement

Cérès de Montcarel

Je joins ici, un de nos prospectus pour vous montrer que notre école a été ouverte Sous les auspices de personnes respectables et par qui nous Serons1 encore recommandés Si la chose est nécessaire.

Notre adresse est a Mr Alex de Montcarel a Richmond

Editors’ Translation

Richmond 24 November 1818

Sir,

Having withdrawn to the country for a few months due to my health, I learned only quite lately that an educational establishment is being erected in Charlottesville under your protection. We do not know if anyone has been named as its head of instruction. This is why, although we do not have the honor of being known by you, Sir, my husband and I hasten to offer you our services, asking you to be so kind as to let us know as soon as possible whether we can flatter ourselves with the hope of success.

We believe we can assure you, without being charged with too much pride, that the position we are requesting is not above our abilities. We have kept here, for 2 years, an educational establishment that only the poor state of my health forced us to abandon. The benevolence that the most distinguished people in this city have maintained toward us proves that we have taken every pain to fulfill their intentions with regard to their children.

To be sure, because we feel very strongly that perfect pronunciation is absolutely necessary, we would not dare take charge of teaching the English language. Therefore, we would be responsible for maintaining strict order in the house and teaching French, history, geography, penmanship, and drawing. My husband’s talents in this last field are known rather well in Richmond, as he has done portraits at the homes of Mr. Wickham, Dr. Adams, and some other people here.

We take the liberty of sending you one of the letters of recommendation Mr. Lee gave us when we left France. He was then consul at Bordeaux. We do not wish to trouble our friends for additional letters of recommendation unless you want them and we have a chance of success. We are already quite certain that Messrs. Wickham, Adams, Chevalier, Girardin, William Mayo, and other people with whom we are on good terms will give us satisfactory ones.

For supervising the school and teaching penmanship, drawing, French, history, and geography, my husband and I would dare to ask for housing, heat, lighting, a thousand dollars in fixed income, and a master paid by the school to teach the young people reading and English grammar. My husband would also request permission to give lessons outside of the establishment and to execute portraits in his spare time.

Please believe, Sir, that we will do our best to fill with zeal the position of trust we are requesting and to deserve the approbation of the illustrious man whose protection we solicit today.

Please receive, Sir, the assurance of our respect and perfect devotion

Cérès de Montcarel

I enclose a prospectus to show you that our school was opened under the auspices of respectable people, by whom we will be recommended if necessary.

Our address is Mr. Alex de Montcarel in Richmond

RC (MHi); endorsed by TJ as received 28 Nov. 1818 and so recorded in SJL. Translation by Dr. Genevieve Moene. Enclosure: prospectus, dated Richmond, 18 Sept. 1816, in English, advertising a boarding school for young ladies in Richmond to be operated by Cérès de Montcarel; listing as the curriculum a variety of academic subjects and artistic skills; specifying that she will teach French and her husband will offer training in drawing and painting; noting that an American man will provide instruction in academic subjects, a professor of dancing will be hired, and a French woman will give music lessons while also assisting with the French classes; giving the cost of boarding and courses, with separate prices for day students; naming Richard Channing Moore, John Wickham, Robert Pollard, Joseph Marx, and James Brown Jr. as references; and concluding that the schoolroom will be the one recently vacated by Louis H. Girardin in the house of Mr. Revalain near the corner of 9th and H streets (TJ’s copy of broadside in MHi). Other enclosure not found.

Cérès de Montcarel, educator, was a widowed schoolteacher known as Cérès Duvernay when she married Alexandre Jacques René Le Goueslier de Montcarel (1771–1822) in Paris in 1809. She had been living there since at least 1805 and had a relationship for several years with the poet Adelbert von Chamisso prior to her marriage to de Montcarel. At the time of their wedding the groom was seeking a position as an auditor in Paris. The de Montcarels subsequently immigrated to the United States and by 1816 were living in Richmond, where he worked as a miniaturist and cameo artist and she operated a school for young ladies. They were still in Richmond in 1820, but at the time of his death Alexandre de Montcarel was a wholesale grocer in New Orleans and a partner in the firm of Baudry & Montcarel (Revue des Deux Mondes 39 [1907]: 463; Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, ed., Briefe von Chamisso … [1867], 1:150–79; Nicolas Viton de Saint-Allais and others, eds., Nobiliaire universel de France [1872–77], 12:75; R. Lewis Wright, Artists in Virginia before 1900: An Annotated Checklist [1983], 42; Joseph C. Cabell to TJ, 12 Mar. 1819; DNA: RG 29, CS, Richmond, 1820; Commercial Directory [Philadelphia, 1823], 227, 230; gravestone inscription for Alexandre de Montcarel in St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery, Destrehan, La.).

1Manuscript: “Seron.”

Index Entries

  • Adams, John (of Richmond); as character reference search
  • Brown, James, Jr. (of Richmond); as character reference search
  • Chevalier, Mr. (of Richmond); as character reference search
  • de Montcarel, Alexandre Jacques René Le Goueslier; as portraitist search
  • de Montcarel, Alexandre Jacques René Le Goueslier; identified search
  • de Montcarel, Alexandre Jacques René Le Goueslier; seeks position at University of Virginia search
  • de Montcarel, Cérès; identified search
  • de Montcarel, Cérès; letter from search
  • de Montcarel, Cérès; school of search
  • de Montcarel, Cérès; seeks position at University of Virginia search
  • drawing; instructors for University of Virginia search
  • French language; applicants to teach at University of Virginia search
  • French language; letters in, from; C. de Montcarel search
  • geography; applicants to teach at University of Virginia search
  • Girardin, Louis Hue; as character reference search
  • history; applicants to teach at University of Virginia search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Correspondence; letters of application and recommendation to search
  • Lee, William (1772–1840); recommends A. and C. de Montcarel search
  • Marx, Joseph; as character reference search
  • Mayo, William; as character reference search
  • Moore, Richard Channing; as character reference search
  • patronage; letters of application and recommendation to TJ search
  • penmanship; instructors of for University of Virginia search
  • Pollard, Robert; as character reference search
  • Richmond, Va.; schools in search
  • schools and colleges; C. de Montcarel’s Richmond school search
  • Virginia, University of; Faculty and Curriculum; faculty applicants search
  • Wickham, John; as character reference search
  • women; letters from; C. de Montcarel search