To Thomas Jefferson from John Dawson, 13 May 1804
From John Dawson
Bristol. May 13. 1804
Dear Sir
Our old friend McElory is here and has the principles of 75—he is much hurt at the conduct of his son Archibald—and at the situation in which he has been plac’d in consequence thereof—
May I request that you will look into his case and do to him that justice due to his country, and which will afford much pleasure to a parent who is a good republican.
health & friendly salutations!
J Dawson.
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 17 May and so recorded in SJL.
mcelory: probably Pennsylvania innkeeper Archibald McElroy, proprietor of the Cross Keys tavern in Bristol. TJ patronized McElroy’s establishment in 1783 and 1798 (, 1:538; 2:983; Aurora, 27 Feb. 1806). In 1797, the State Department informed McElroy that his son Archibald, who had been impressed by the Royal Navy, had subsequently accepted the king’s bounty and was a petty officer on a British warship. The son later served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Quasi-War with France, but was discharged under the Peace Establishment Act in 1801. The following year, he made an unsuccessful application to TJ for reappointment (Jacob Wagner to McElroy, 15 Nov. 1797, in Frederick S. Allis, ed., Timothy Pickering Papers, microfilm ed., 69 reels [Boston, 1966], 7:438; Vol. 34:296, 300n).