To George Washington from John Conrad Zollickoffer, 17 October 1796
From John Conrad Zollickoffer
Baltimore Oct. 17th 1796
May it please Your Excellence!
Sir!
If my Family Business would permit my absance from home, I should have concured to the wishes of my Cozen Mr Rd Valltravers; I should myself have do me the Honor to wait upon Your Excellence with this Inclosed letter & Sundry other Papers, which (as he maintion to me) are Copy’s of his Correspondance with You Sir, Mr Lear Your former Secretary, Mr Jefferson presidt of the Philadelphia Accademy of Arts & Siences, as also to Mr Adam vice presidt.1
He forward to me in Main time a New Work of his, Called the Universal House Cathechisme for the Instruction of Mankind of All Denomination &c. to be Delivered to your Excellence’s Examination et Patronage.2
I know that my Cozen is a Strong republican being a Helvetion, born in the Canton of Bern in Schwizerland, and his utmost Embition was at any time, to be Useful to a free, & Independent Nation, therefore wishes that his former, & repeated Offers of Servises, in our republic the remainder of his Life, in any public Station, as Agent, as Consul in any part of the Globe would be accepted; he must certainly be well acquaint’d of any of these Carracters having been during 12 years as public Resident & Counsellar of Ambasy for the Courts of Manheim, Munich, & Florence, & being a Member of Mostly all the Accademy of Siences in Europe.3
I should look upon it as the most particular favour, if Your Excellency would be pleased to Order to his Secretary; to acquaint me of the recept of the Inclos’d papers, as also Your Opinion upon his new House Catechisme, & should Your Excellency not accept of him, or think it unworthy of Publication to return him to my Direction, that I may forward him to my Cozen again with Your Excellancy reflection thereof.
Should I know when Your Excellancy passes traugh this Town, I should be happy to wait upon, & to learn from Your Excellency ownself, what Expectation my Cozen may have far his further Exertion.4 I have the honour to be Your Excellency, Most faitful Subject, & Devoted humble Servt
John Conrad Zollickoffer
ALS, DLC:GW.
John Conrad Zollickoffer (1742–1797) of St. Gallen, Switzerland, came to North Carolina during the Revolutionary War and was commissioned a captain in that state’s forces. By 1783 he moved to Baltimore, where he partnered with Henry Messonier in a mercantile business and was later involved in chimney sweeping. Zollickoffer died in January 1797 at his residence at 105 Hanover St. in Baltimore (see Dorothy A. Zollickoffer, Genealogy of John Conrad Zollickoffer [Westminster, Md., 1993], n.p.).
1. The enclosed copies of Johann Rodolph (Rodolf) von Valltravers’s correspondence with GW, Tobias Lear, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, have not been identified. Vall-travers previously had written to GW on 20 March, 3 and 21 July, 1 and 17 Aug., and 19 and 30 Nov. 1791; 6 June, 12 Nov., and 10 and 29 Dec. 1792; and 28 Feb. and 15–29 March 1793. During his tenure as secretary of state, Jefferson occasionally had written Valltravers on GW’s behalf. Valltravers in May and September 1795 sent letters to Jefferson, a former vice president and later president of the American Philosophical Society (see Valltravers to GW, 6 June 1792, and n.7; see also , 23:366–67; 28:363–65, 469–71).
Zollickoffer also enclosed Valltravers’s letter to GW of 15 June 1796, written from “Altona & Hamburg, Grund, No. 72”: “A Letter, (lately received from the american Post-Office, newly established at Hamburg, dated from Baltimore, March 25th, dispatched by my Friend & Relation, Mr J. Conrad Zollikofer, Merchant, Bearer of this,) informs me, to my great Satisfaction; that Your Excellence has vouchaved to honor a manuscript Work of mine, in 3. Quartô-Volumes, describing the present mercantile State of the European Establishments in the East-Indies, from Eshelscrown’s autentic Materials, of with your kind Acceptance, when delivered in my Name, by Captain [Frederick] Folger, a Relation of my immortal Friend, Dr Benjn Franklin; on the 6th of February 1792. along with my Letter, dated from Rotterdam, July 21. 1791. Whether published, or reserved for occasional Use, I hope it will answer my well meant Intention. It will clearly show the Magnitude of the late british naval Conquests & unprovoked Invasions of the Dutch Setlements in both the East & West-Indies. The right Time, I trust, is now approaching, when it will behove yr confederate States, to join the oppressed Seafaring Powers, in Setting some Bounds to so universal & tyrannical a Dictatorship over all the Seas and commercial World. Your consummate Wisdom has made yr Infant-States prudently gain Time, and forbear revenging your accumulating Injuries, till sufficiently prepared & enabled effectuallÿ to repell them; whilst your Ennemy is exhausting his Strength, in his vain Attempts to crush the french assertors of their natural Rights to legal Liberty & Independence.
“My worthy Friend & Cozen, Mr Zollikofer, Merchant at Baltimore will have the Honor to lay before Yr Excellcy another Work of mine, lately composed, for the Instruction of all Ranks of People, & religious Worships. It would for Yr Excellce’s Approbation; before it be put to the Press.
“No answer having, as yet come to hand to my several Communications & humble Offers, I much doubt of their having reached Yr Exce. in Safety. I therefore beg Leave to add Copies of most of them; humbly craving the Favor of being informed of Yr Will & Pleasure in Regard to my further Exertions, & Kind Acceptance of mÿ good Will.
“Messrs Lotz & Soltau, merchants at Hambg is the best Direction, I can give at present for recieving & forwarding mÿ Letters; without troubling Mr [John] Parish, yr Consul, overloaded with all Sorts of Business & Engagements” (ALS, DLC:GW).
The letter of 25 March from Zollickoffer to Valltravers has not been identified.
For Valltravers’s manuscript work on the East Indies, which he had transmitted to GW, see his letter to GW of 21 July 1791, and n.2 to that document; see also Valltravers to GW, 6 June 1792.
2. The catechism has not been identified. No religious work authored by Valltravers was in GW’s library at the time of his death.
3. For Valltravers’s diplomatic positions and memberships in various scientific societies, see his letter to GW, 20 March 1791, and the source note to that document.
4. No reply from GW to Zollickoffer or Valltravers has been found.
GW passed through Baltimore on 28 Oct., on his return to Philadelphia from Mount Vernon. There is no evidence that he met with Zollickoffer ().