Thomas Jefferson Papers
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To Thomas Jefferson from Richard O’Brien, 8 October 1803

From Richard O’Brien

Algiers The 8th. of October 1803.

Most Esteemed Sir

By The return of The american Ship Betsy Walk Captain Riddick from Algiers for Norfolk I take The liberty to send your Excellency an Antelope a few Algerine Pigions & doves, a bottle of otto of roses, & a Burnuce or Moorish Ladies Cloak allso a few of the large breed of Constantine fowls and 2 Measures of Algerine wheat which I hope your Excellency will please to accept of—

from Sir Your most Obt Servt.

Richd. OBrien

RC (MHi); at foot of text: “Excellency Thomas Jefferson President of The United States”; endorsed by TJ as received 20 Dec. and so recorded in SJL.

The ship betsy walk of Norfolk, commanded by Mills (Miles) riddick, had been chartered by the Navy Department to carry naval stores to Algiers and provisions to the Mediterranean squadron (NDBW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Washington, D.C., 1939-44, 6 vols. and Register of Officer Personnel and Ships’ Data, 1801-1807, Washington, D.C., 1945 description ends , 2:395, 432, 437, 448, 452; 3:142, 496; Madison, Papers, Sec. of State Ser., 5:486, 502, 548).

otto of roses: or attar of roses, “A very fragrant, volatile, essential oil obtained from the petals of the rose” (OED description begins J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner, eds., The Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford, 1989, 20 vols. description ends ).

burnuce: that is, a burnous, “A mantle or cloak with a hood, an upper garment extensively worn by Arabs and Moors” (OED description begins J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner, eds., The Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford, 1989, 20 vols. description ends ).

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    Source Project
    Jefferson Papers
    Title
    To Thomas Jefferson from Richard O’Brien, 8 October 1803
    Author
    O’Brien, Richard
    Recipient
    Jefferson, Thomas
    Date
    8 October 1803

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To Thomas Jefferson from Richard O’Brien, 8 October 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0361. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 July–15 November 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 483.]