From John Jay to George Clinton, 25 April 1781
To George Clinton
Madrid 25 Ap. 1781
Dear Sir
Where you live, whether still at Poghkeepsie,1 or at Kingston or elsewhere— Whether any of my Letters have reached you, & whether you have been too sick, too busy, or too lazy to answer any of them—2 how Mrs. Clinton & her little Family does?3 Whether Vermont is to be or not to be &c &c.4 are points of which I am as ignorant as if I resided among the ten Tribes, whose Habitations no Travellers have hitherto found—& yet these & many others are points on which I wish now & then to recieve a little Information from you. I am determined not to write you another long Letter till I recieve at least a short one from you. Mrs. Jay presents her Compliments to Mrs. Clinton, to which be pleased to add mine, & desire her to remind you sometimes how much pleasure a few Lines from you would give your Friend & Servt.
John Jay
P.S. Be pleased to forward the Letters herewith enclosed—5
ALS, NNC. DftS, NNC (EJ: 7622).
1. The Clinton home during 1777–83 was in Poughkeepsie, in New York’s Dutchess County. See E. Wilder Spaulding, His Excellency George Clinton, Critic of the Constitution (New York, 1938), 99–100.
2. See JJ to Robert R. Livingston, 6 Oct. 1780, above, and note 17.
3. The children of Governor and Cornelia Tappen Clinton (1744–1800) were Catharine (1770–1811), Cornelia (1774–1810), George Washington (1778–1813), and Elizabeth (1780–1825).
4. Clinton’s 6 Apr. 1781 letter contained a brief reference to the Vermont dispute: “The Controversy with the Inhabitants of the Grants is yet undecided but my last advices from our Delegates give me Reason to hope for a speedy and just Decision. The Completion of the Confederation (on which I cordially congratulate you) will facilitate this Business.” The governor omitted all reference to his recent role in postponing a decision on the Vermont lands. On 22 Feb. 1781 the New York Senate agreed to appoint commissioners to make a settlement with Vermont commissioners, which would virtually have conceded Vermont statehood. On 27 Feb., Clinton sent a message to the assembly reminding that body that, as the senate resolution reversed earlier legislation, their concurrence would necessitate his proroguing the assembly. See Clinton to JJ, 6 Apr. 1781, ALS, NNC (EJ: 5524); JJ to Philip Schuyler, April 1781, Dft, NNC (EJ: 9352); : 554, 687–96, 702–4; , 6: 430–37, 642–44, 741–45; Hiland Hall, The History of Vermont (New York, 1868), 329–36; John P. Kaminski, George Clinton: Yeoman Politician of the New Republic (New York, 1993), 71–73.