To Thomas Jefferson from John Tyler, 1 April 1781
From John Tyler
Charles City April 1st 1781
Sir
I beg leave to inform you that in consequence of being solicited to represent this County again, and my consent thereto, I have declin’d taking a Seat in Council. I confess this determination discovers a degree of versatility in me, but since I have not withdrawn my small services from the public, I hope you will not think me reprehensible. I have many good reasons in addition to the above (which perhaps have no right to a place here) that induce me to make this resignation of my Seat in Council.
I am with due respect yr. Excellency’s most obedient Sert:
John Tyler
RC (Vi); addressed and endorsed.
This appears to be a resignation of a seat in Council to which Tyler had been elected, not a response to a nomination or invitation to serve. Yet there is no evidence that Tyler had previously served; nor that he had been elected at the March 1781 session of the Assembly (of which he was one of the most active members); nor that the present resignation was acted upon by the Council or replied to by TJ. See John Beckley to TJ, 12 June 1781; see also Tyler to TJ, 3 Feb. 1781.