1From John Jay to John Adams (private), 10 November 1800 (Jay Papers)
Still pressed by public Business occasioned by the late Session, I take up my pen to write you a few Lines before the Mail closes. It very unexpectedly happened that the Antifœderal party succeeded at the last Election in the City of New York, and acquired a decided majority in the assembly. Well knowing their Views & Temper it was not adviseable that the Speech should contain any Matter...
2From John Jay to John Vaughan, 31 July 1797 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with yours of the 11 th . Instant, in which you mention having rec d . from your Brother for me a Portrait of the late President, engraved from a painting of Stewart; and that You had sent it to the Care of M r . Constable— I have since rec d . it and am much obliged by this mark of your Brothers attention, as well as by your Care respecting it. When next you write to your...
3To John Adams from John Jay, 2 January 1801 (Adams Papers)
I have been honored with your Letter of the 19th. ult: informing me that I had been nominated to fill the office of Chief Justice of the united States; and Yesterday I recd. the Commission—this nomination so strongly manifests your Esteem, that it affords me particular Satisfaction— Such was the Temper of the Times, that the Act to establish the judicial courts of the U.S., was in some...
4From John Jay to John Adams, 21 August 1798, enclosing Address of the New York State Legislature to John Adams, 17–20 … (Jay Papers)
I have the Honor of transmitting to You, herewith enclosed, an address from the Senate and assembly of this State which passed and was agreed to by both Houses unanimously— It gives me pleasure to reflect that from this and the numerous other Expressions of the public Sentiment, relative to the reprehensible conduct of France towards this Country, you may rely on the decided co-operation of...
5To John Adams from John Jay, 10 November 1800 (Adams Papers)
Still pressed by public Business occasioned by the late Session, I take up my pen to write you a few Lines before the Mail closes. It very unexpectedly happened that the antifederal party succeeded at the last Election in the City of New York, and acquired a decided Majority in the assembly. Well knowing their Veiws and Temper it was not adviseable that the Speech should contain any Matter...
6From John Jay to John Trumbull, 6 June 1800 (Jay Papers)
From not having rec d . any Letters from you for a considerable Time past, I suspect that mine to You have miscarried. Your last being at Albany I cannot mention their Dates; but I think the last was the one which accompanied the Reports you sent me, and which I read with pleasure. Since that Period Affairs both in Europe and in this Country have undergone great changes; and the most sagacious...
I yesterday informed His Excellency the Governor that on applying for your account against him for the Albany Register, you observed to me that it had been sent (without being charged) to the Governor as a compliment to the first Magistrate of the State. I am directed to signify to you, that the manner in which your Paper frequently treats the National Government and many of our most worthy...
Those Officers who fulfill their Duties in a manner highly satisfactory & useful do honor not only to themselves but to the Governm t . Convinced by repeated and concurring Accounts of the Zeal, Perseverance & Talents by which you have rendered most important services to our suffering fellow Citizens, during the late melancholy season, I think it my duty to express to you my Warmest...
9To John Adams from John Jay, 21 August 1798 (Adams Papers)
I have the Honor of transmitting to You, herewith enclosed, an address from the Senate and assembly of this State, which passed and was agreed to by both Houses unanimously — It gives me pleasure to reflect that from this and the numerous other Expressions of the public Sentiment, relative to the reprehensible Conduct of France towards this country, you may rely on the decided Co-operation of...
10To John Adams from John Jay, 3 January 1799 (Adams Papers)
I this morning laid before the Legislature of this State, your answer to their address: for the kind and honorable mention made of me in it, be pleased to accept my warmest acknowledgments. To be thus laudato Homine laudari , and to recieve such spontaneous and decided manifestations of sincere and cordial Esteem and Friendship, are Events too interesting & pleasing not to excite correspondent...
11To John Adams from John Jay, 26 September 1798 (Adams Papers)
During the late special Session of the Legislature of this State an act was passed for the further defence of this State of which a Copy is herewith enclosed.—The first section of this Act appropriates a Sum not exceeding 150,000 Dollars, towards the defence of the City and port of New York, and provides that the said sum shall be expended under the direction of the President of the United...
12From John Jay to John Drayton, 6 September 1797 (Jay Papers)
on reading The Letter which you was so obliging as to write to me on the 21 July 1795, it appeared however prudent to delay excited no other Surprize than that certain Gentlemen had forgotten the Respect which they owed both to themselves and ^as well as^ to me It was foreseen that any Treaty with Great Britain would be violently opposed by the Debtors to that Country, by the Enemies of the...
13From John Jay to John Marshall, 2 January 1801 (Jay Papers)
I rec d . Yesterday the polite Letter w h . you did me the Honor to write on the 22 d . Ult: enclosing a Commission whereby the Presid t ., with the advice and Consent of the Senate, has been pleased to appoint me ch. Justice of the United States. I am very Sensible of the Honor done ^me^ by this appointm t . but (independent of other Considerations) the Incompetency of my Health to the...
14From John Jay to John Lathrop, 3 March 1801 (Jay Papers)
Accept my thanks for your obliging Letter of the 9 th ult: and the interesting Discourse w h . accompanied it. The 18 th Century has indeed been distinguished, as you observe, by great Events. There are some among them so [ illegible ] singular and apparently so ominous, that the present Century will probably not be less signal than the last: especially as whole Nations are suffering...
15From John Jay to John Oothout, 4 October 1798 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with yours of the 24. Ult. and should have written to you frequently had anything sufficiently interesting occurred. All accounts from New York represent the City as being in a Melancholy situation; and great credit is to those who like you and others are doing every thing in their power to mitigate the common calamity. Altho the Fever will probably cease before the middle...
16To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 20 September 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
[ Albany, September 20, 1798. On the back of a letter that Hamilton wrote to Jay on September 17, 1798, Jay wrote : “ansd. 20 Sep. 1798.” Letter not found. ]
17From John Jay to John Trumbull, 27 October 1797 (Jay Papers)
I rec d . three Days ago by the post, your Letter of the 7 August, in which was a Copy of the one you had written on the 20 July, and the original of which I had recieved and read with Pleasure. The Difficulty and Delicacy of your Task my good Friend! are obvious, and ^but^ I flatter myself the Reputation to be derived from it, will soften the Trouble & anxiety it gives You. It was not to be...
18From John Jay to John Sinclair, 12 July 1797 (Jay Papers)
I was Yesterday fav d . with yours of 29 March last enclosing three Copies of your account of the origin &c a . of the Board of agriculture—for w h accept my Thanks This Publication is in many Respects interesting— It shews how much may be accomplished by the Talents Zeal & Perseverance of patriotic Individuals; and how much ^greatly^ the Success of the best Institutions depends of on the...
19From John Jay to John Adams, 3 January 1799 (Jay Papers)
I this morning laid before the Legislature of this State, your answer to their address: for the kind and honorable mention made of me in it, be pleased to accept my warmest acknowledgments. To be thus laudato Homine laudari, and to recieve such spontaneous and decided manifestations of sincere and cordial Esteem and Friendship, are Events too interesting & pleasing not to excite correspondent...
20From John Jay to John Adams, 2 January 1801 (Jay Papers)
I have been honored with your Letter of the 19 th . ult: informing me that I had been nominated to fill the office of Chief Justice of the united States; and Yesterday I rec d . the Commission— this nomination so strongly manifests your Esteem, that it affords me particular Satisfaction— Such was the Temper of the Times, that the Act to establish the judicial courts of the U.S. was in some...
21To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 7 February 1800. (Hamilton Papers)
[ Albany, February 7, 1800. Letter not found. ] “List of Letters from Mr. Jay …” to H, Columbia University Libraries.
22From John Jay to John Eliot, 8 October 1799 (Jay Papers)
On reading the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society for the Year 1798, which you was so obliging as to send me, I observe a mistake, which I will take the Liberty of mentioning. The Report of a Committee of the Board of Correspondents of the Scots Society for propagating Christian Knowledge, who visited the Oneida and Mohekunuk Indians in 1796, is one of the Papers published in...
23To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, [3 August 1798] (Hamilton Papers)
[ Albany, August 3, 1798. Letter not found. ] “List of Letters from Mr. Jay …” to H, Columbia University Libraries.
24To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 10 March 1800 (Hamilton Papers)
[ Albany, March 10, 1800. Jay’s endorsement on Hamilton’s letter to him of March 4, 1800, reads: “4 March and. 10 1800.” Letter not found. ]
25From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 27 November 1798 (Jay Papers)
I take the Liberty of requesting the favor of you to give the enclosed Letter to M r . King, a place among your next Dispatches to him; it contains a Copy of one I wrote to him in September last, authorizing and requesting him to purchase three thousand musquets and Bayonets for this State— Accept my thanks for the interesting Pamphlet you was so obliging as to send me. The Fate of Geneva...
26From John Jay to Joshua Mersereau, 6 August 1800 (Jay Papers)
M r . Matthews yesterday delivered to me your very friendly Letter of the 15 th . of last month, for which accept my Thanks— The Repairs and addition making to the House on my farm in west Chester County, have, with other Circumstances, naturally led to the opinion you mention; that I was preparing to retire to private Life. The operation of this opinion renders it expedient that my Intentions...
27To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 5 November 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
On the 24 ult. I had the pleasure of writing to you on the Subject of fortifying the port of New York, and the measures preparatory to a Plan for it. Presuming that it has come to your Hands, it will only be necessary for me to inform you, that pursuant to an Intimation contained in it, I shall provide for the Expenses of perfecting the Survey, by immediately writing to Genl. Clarkson, and...
28From John Jay to Richard Peters, 11 September 1799 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with your’s of the 23 Ult: and have conversed fully with the Comptroller on the Subject of the Claim of the State to quit Rent on your Land; and on the Reasons why you should be considered as a bona fide purchasor of the State, and therefore not liable to pay it. From his Statement it would seem that the State did no more relative to the Land than aid you in obtaining the...
29To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 22 September 1800 (Hamilton Papers)
On my Return to this place on Friday last, I was favored with yours of the 3d. Instant. It seems that contradictory Reports still prevail respecting our negociations at Paris. I am not yet persuaded that Buonaparte has adopted in all its Extent, the System of Domination which the preceding Rulers of France attempted to execute; and therefore I presume that a Treaty of peace with America on...
30From John Jay to Alexander Hamilton, 25 August 1800 (Jay Papers)
I was this moment fav d . with yours of the 19 th Instant; requesting Copies of the Instructions, and of the Letter mentioned in it. I shall without Delay look for those papers. I presume that I have preserved them, but am not certain. When I removed from my House in the Broadway to the Gov t . House, all such of my Papers as were not in use or which did not respect Property, were packed up...
31From John Jay to Matthew Clarkson, 14 June 1798 (Jay Papers)
I was this morning fav d . with yours of no date in which as Chairman of the Committees lately appointed by the Citizens of New York you communicate to me their request that the Legislature of the State be speedily convened. There certainly is much weight in the reasons you assign for this request, and I am persuaded that it originates in the best motives— The policy of keeping our City & Port...
32From John Jay to Rufus King, 14 November 1797 (Jay Papers)
Since my last of the 7 th . Inst: I have been fav d . with your’s of the 9 th . Sept r . with the two Pamphlets which you was so obliging as to send with it, and for which accept my thank’s. The one by M r . Burke I have read, and find Remarks in it which will deserve attention—The other I had seen— A late arrival has brought Intelligence of the Explosion at Paris— it opens a wide Field for...
33From John Jay to Alexander Hamilton, 27 August 1800 (Jay Papers)
I rec d . and answered your Letter of the 19 Inst: on Monday— Yesterday I found the Instructions, & immediately wrote to you a Letter containing a Copy of the Paragraph in question. My Search for the Letter of which I made the use you mention, was fruitless until this morning, when I found it, and now enclose a Copy— It does not quite answer your Expectation as to the Opinion— But I know and...
34To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 30 August 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
I was this morning favd. with yours of the 27 Inst: I regret the circumstances which prevented our seeing each other when you was here. There are several Topics on which I wish to converse with you, & particularly respecting military arrangements at N York. The Riffle Corps & a few of the new Light Infantry Companies are established—there were Reasons, which I shall mention when we meet, which...
35To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 25 January 1799 (Hamilton Papers)
I have hitherto postponed making any Communications to our Legislature on the Subject of fortifying the Port of New York, in Expectation of receiving the Result of your proceedings relative to that object. Be pleased to inform me when I may expect it. Since your letter to me of the 19th. of November last, & which I answered on the 26th. of that month, none from you on the Subject in question...
36To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 19 April 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
I have this Instant recd. a Letter dated the 14th. Instant from Judge Hobart, resigning his Seat in the Senate of the united States, and as our Legislature is not now in Session, it hath become my Duty to appoint a Senator to succeed him and take his place, untill the next Meeting of the Legislature. The present delicate State of our public affairs, and the evident Expediency of filling this...
37From John Jay to Grenville, 4 June 1797 (Jay Papers)
A long Interval has passed between the Date of my last Letter, and that of this— they would have been more frequent, had they been exposed to less Risque of Interception. My Respect and Esteem for your Lordship remain unabated; and I yet flatter myself with the pleasure of becoming a better Correspondent. It will give you satisfaction to know that Letters I have rec d . from M r . King and M r...
38To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 11 April 1800 (Hamilton Papers)
Benjn. Cornwell and John Coles both of Schoharie, privates in capt. Andrew Whites Compy. of the 12 Regt. have just been with me, and with much Indignation complain of their officers. Cornwell says that he was enlisted by Lt. Tobias B. Cuyler or Schuyler (I am not certain which) about last new Year—that he was promised 12 Dollrs. Bounty on arriving at the place of Rendevous, Stillwater—that he...
39To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 31 July 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
Mr. David Jones, the Son of the Comptroller, wishes for the Honor of being one of your aids; and (with his fathers approbation) purposes on his arrival at N. York, to wait upon you on the Subject. This young Gentleman has been my private Secretary, and I do him no more than Justice in assuring you, that while with me I was not only satisfied but pleased with his Temper Disposition & Behaviour,...
40From John Jay to Alexander Hamilton, 13 March 1800 (Jay Papers)
M r Coleman, who was Yesterday appointed Cl[er] k . of the NYork Circuits, will be the Bearer of this. M r . Skinner was first nominated, for where Character and qualifications for office are admitted, the Candidate who has age Standing and prior public Services on his Side, should I think take the lead; unless perhaps in Cases peculiarly circumstanced— M r . Skinner did not succeed. M r...
41To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 3 August 1799 (Hamilton Papers)
I was this morning favored with yours of the 29 ulto. requesting to be informed, whether the Sum appropriated by the Legislature of this State, will come in aid of the completion of the works in the vicinity of New York? The act passed the 3d. of april last, for the paymt. of certain officers of governmt. and other contingent Expences, contains the following clause—it is the third from the End...
42From John Jay to James Morris, 18 January 1799 (Jay Papers)
It gives me pleasure to find by various and concurrent acc ts . from ^New^ York that your appointment has given general Satisfaction, and excited sanguine Expectations ^that the^ office ^will be executed^ in an exemplary manner. My Sollicitude that ^you may derive no less Honor than Proffit from it, urges^ me to take the Liberty of observing, that in my opinion—— your Deputies should be...
To the Inhabitants of Washington County who convened at Hartford by public notice on the 9 Aug t 1798 The address with which you have honored me by your chairman and secretary contains Congratulations & Assurances which I recieve with Gratitude. I view the Conduct of France the French D France ^The french Directory^ towards this Country in the same Light that You do; and observe with pleasure...
44To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 15 February 1801 (Hamilton Papers)
At present I have not Leisure to mention more on the subject, than that the Gentleman who was thought of for a certain Employment, declines it—nor does he know of any Person who wd. probably be willing and also well qualified to execute what would be expected from him as necessary to ensure Success to the Plan. Yours ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. In JCHW John C. Hamilton, ed.,...
45To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 26 August 1800 (Hamilton Papers)
Yesterday I recd. and answd. yours of the 19 Instant. I have found a Copy of the Instructions, made by Wm. T. Franklin who was our Secy. They contain the following, verbatim —vizt. “You are to make the most candid and confidential communications upon all Subjects, to the ministers of our generous ally the King of France, to undertake nothing in the negociation for peace or Truce without their...
46To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 28 July 1798 (Hamilton Papers)
Since I left N York I have had the Satisfaction of seeing your late appointment announced in the Papers; but I have seen nothing that decides your Rank in Relation to other Majr. Generals. Doubts on such a point ought not to remain. Many will doubtless apply for Commands in the army, & it is to be wished that a judicious Selection may be made. There is a Gentleman (who for your Information I...
47From John Jay to Benjamin Vaughan, 31 August 1797 (Jay Papers)
I had this afternoon the pleasure of recieving your favor of the 18 Inst.— M rs . Jay joins with me in sincerely congratulating you & your amiable Family on your arrival in this Country— May your Expectations of Happiness in it be perfectly realized. The Reasons which have determined you to settle on the Kennebeck, I can easily concieve are cogent; but I flatter myself you will sometimes find...
48From John Jay to Timothy Pickering, 11 September 1797 (Jay Papers)
I was this morning fav d . with yours of the 9 Inst. and have just finished reading your answer to the Chevaliers indiscreet & improper Letter— If no Faction hostile to the true Interests of this Country existed in it, I presume that the proper way to treat that Gentleman would be to insist on his Recall and to refuse to do Business with him— under present Circumstances, Prudence requires that...
49From John Jay to Matthew Clarkson, 18 April 1799 (Jay Papers)
The enclosed is an extract from a letter which M r . King wrote to me on the 7 th . Day of dec r . last, but which I did not recieve untill last month, in answer to one from me, requesting him to procure and ship three thousand musquets and bayonets for the Use of this State and promising to make him the necessary remittances. You will perceive from his answer, that, not being able to obtain...
50From John Jay to Richard Varick, 3 October 1798 (Jay Papers)
I have been fav d . with yours of the 28 th. ult. and am much obliged to You for the Information contained in that, & in your preceding Letters. Yesterday Cap t . Benson rec d . a letter from his Brother Rob t . from which there appears Reason to hope that Violence of the fever at New York begins to abate— The Removal of the Sheriff from the City is in my opinion improper— be so obliging as to...