To James Madison from Abraham Baldwin, 5 January 1805 (Abstract)
§ From Abraham Baldwin1
5 January 1805, Washington. “Mr Henry Hill informs me he has made application for the appointment of Consul at Havannah and wishes to obtain such testimonials as are within his power to accompany his application. He is introduced to me by Mr Dennis a respectable merchant of Savannah now in Philadelphia in whom I have great confidence. I take the liberty to inclose his letter.2 Mr Hill and myself are natives of the same town, I am well acquainted with his family and connexions, they are generally among the most worthy and respectable in that part of the country.”
RC and enclosure (DNA: RG 59, LAR, 1801–9, filed under “Hill”). RC 1 p. Misdated 5 Jan. 1804 by Baldwin; date assigned here by comparison with the enclosure (see n. 2) and with Henry Hill Jr. to JM, 12 Jan. 1805.
1. Revolutionary War veteran, minister, and lawyer Abraham Baldwin (1754–1807), the brother of Ruth Baldwin Barlow, was born in North Guilford, Connecticut, graduated from Yale, and moved to Georgia in 1784, where he held several state offices. He was a member of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention of 1787, was elected as a Federalist to the first five Congresses (1789–99), and served in the Senate from 1799 until his death.
2. The enclosure is Richard Dennis to Baldwin, 27 Dec. 1804 (1 p.), introducing and recommending Henry Hill of Connecticut.