From John Jay to Edward Bancroft, 30 October 1795
To Edward Bancroft
New York 30 Octr. 1795
Dear Sir
On my Return two Days ago from a little Excursion into the Country I had the pleasure of recieving your Letter of the 24 of Augt. last;1 and thank you very sincerely for the friendly congratulations and Sentiments expressed in it—
Your Son soon after his arrival at Philadelphia, and also Mr. J. Vaughan wrote to me relative to the object of his coming to this Country;2 but the State of the Health of this City was then such, as to render it prudent for him to postpone his Journey here until the prevailing Disorder should so far abate as to leave no Room for just apprehensions of Danger. within these ten Days past, it has been rapidly diminishing, and in the course of another week will probably disappear—
It will I assure you always give me pleasure to have opportunities of being useful to any of your Family. The Profession which your Son had chosen is a good one; and one that will always find an ample and tolerably fertile field in the united States. I believe however that in all of them it is overstocked,—in this it certainly is—but that obstacle is not insuperable by a man of Talents Prudence and Industry—3
The opposition and Ferment excited here was not unexpected; but the Treaty presented only the occasion not the motive for it. French Influence & Intrigues had long been strenuously operating to plunge us into the war— The Debtors wished for them to give them Receipts in full—and the anti-fedœralists enlisted and were enlisted by both. These Parties are combined, and will make every Effort to acquire an ascendancy in the House of Representatives at the ensuing Session of congress— The President is firm and wise, and much is to be expected from the good Sense of the majority of the People.
Peace in Europe would be useful to us, and so would the Establishment of any Tolerable Constitution in France. In these Times it is difficult to predict what will happen, from what has happened—but Providence governs the world & we have only to do our Duty— Mrs. Jay and my Son are on a Visit to my Brother at Rye— I am &ca.—
LbkC, NNC:JJ Lbk. 10 (EJ: 12873).
1. Edward Bancroft to JJ, 24 Aug. 1795, not found, but see Bancroft’s letter to John Vaughan, 15 Aug. 1795, E, NNC (EJ: 08151), which was probably enclosed in John Vaughan to JJ, 17 Oct., ALS, NNC (EJ: 08152).
2. Samuel Bancroft to JJ, 15 Oct., not found, but referenced in JJ to Samuel Bancroft, 16 Oct. 1795, ALS, MHi: Waterston (EJ: 04767); Dft, NNC (EJ: 08946). JJ’s draft correspondence contains the following note at the bottom of the letter: “Govr. Jay presents his Compts. To Mr J[ohn]. Vaughan, and agreeable to the Request of Mr. S[amuel] Bancroft takes the Liberty of committing the enclosed Letter for Gentleman to Mr. Vaughans Care NYork 16 Octr 1795”.
3. Samuel Forrester Bancroft (1775–99), the second son of Edward Bancroft, attended Dr. William Rose’s London academy, alongside his elder brother, Edward Nathaniel (1772–1842). Continuing his education, Samuel enrolled in science courses at the University of Montpellier and eventually earned a degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. Samuel settled on law for his future vocation, and his father consulted with JJ about the feasibility of his studying and setting up a practice in the United States. Although Edward wanted AH to direct Samuel’s legal training, he feared that his twenty-year-old son would succumb to profligacy and dissipation if situated in a large city. Edward therefore favored a rural environment for Samuel, and specifically requested that Tapping Reeve (1744–1823), who founded a law school in Litchfield, Conn., oversee his preparation for the bar.
JJ found young Bancroft to possess an imprudent character and agreed with his friend’s assessment that Samuel should train under Reeve, free from the distractions of New York and Philadelphia. Samuel’s name, however, does not appear on the student register of the Litchfield School, so it is doubtful that he attended. Regardless, Samuel’s legal aspirations proved short-lived as he was soon transformed into a criminal fugitive. Accused of raping a young girl in Philadelphia in December 1796, Samuel fled the United States, eventually reaching the safety of England the following year. See Edward Bancroft to John Vaughan, 15 Aug. 1795, E, NNC (EJ: 08151); JJ to Samuel Bancroft, 16 Oct., ALS, MHi (EJ: 04767); Dft, NNC (EJ: 08946); Vaughan to JJ, 17 Oct., ALS, NNC (EJ: 08152); 7 Nov. 1795, ALS, NNC (EJ: 08153); JJ to Vaughan, 21 Jan. 1796, below; JJ to Edward Bancroft, 22 Apr. 1796, NNC, Dft (EJ: 08954); and JJ to the New York State Officers of Justice, 15 Dec. 1796, below. See also , 241, 243–44.