Enclosure: Thomas Jefferson’s Account with William Bentley, 26 January 1810
Enclosure
Account with William Bentley
Copy of the statement of paiments furnished by Colo Bentley.
‘the following paiments have been made to mr Hanson, as pr statement given by him to the Commissioners, & by one of them to me.
£ s d | ||
1797. | Aug. 5. then recd through the hands of Andrew Ronald | 384– 0–2 |
Dec. 4. then recd of Wm Bentley in cash | 150– | |
1798. | Dec. 13. then recd of Wm Bentley in tobo | 198– 1–8 |
1799. | Apr. 5. then recd of Wm Wiseham as exr of Andrew Ronald | 191–13–8 |
the above statement was taken from mr Hanson’s furnished to me
11. May 1801. (copy)1 Thomas Rector’2
Calculation on the above paiments.
£ s d | |||
Amount of decree | 717– 6– 8 | ||
deduct for deficiency of 34. as by stipulation £34. sterl. | 45– 6– 8 | ||
1790. | Oct. 5. | 672– 0– 0 | |
1797. | Aug. 5. | interest 6 Y–10 M | 229–12– 0 |
901–12 | |||
By then paid | 384– 0– 2 | ||
517–11–103 | |||
Dec. 4. | interest 4. Mo. | 8–12– 6 | |
526– 4– 4 | |||
then paid. | 150– | ||
376– 4– 4 | |||
1798. | Dec. 13. | interest 1 Y–0 M–9 D | 19– 5– 6 |
395– 9–10 | |||
then paid. | 198– 1– 8 | ||
197– 8– 2 | |||
1799. | Apr. 5. | interest 3 M–23 D | 3– 2– |
200–10– 2 | |||
then paid. | 191–13– 8 | ||
Balance remaining due | 8–16– 6 | ||
Int. on do from 1799. Apr. 5. till paid |
Th: Jefferson
PoC (MHi); entirely in TJ’s hand; undated; on verso of PoC of covering letter.
William Bentley (d. after 1819) rose from second lieutenant to captain in Virginia regiments of the Continental army and represented Powhatan County in the Virginia House of Delegates, 1791–96. On the recommendation of George Washington, President John Adams appointed him a lieutenant colonel commanding a regiment stationed in Richmond as part of an army expansion intended to meet the growing threat of war with France, and he served from early in 1799 until his unit was disbanded in June 1800 (The Pension Roll of 1835 [1835; indexed ed., 1992], 3:728; , 1:213; ; , Retirement Ser., 3:228, 240; , 1:299, 305 [31 Dec. 1798, 10 Jan. 1799]).
Bentley’s relations with TJ grew out of his role as administrator of the estate and guardian of the children of William Ronald (d. 1793). In 1790 Ronald bought TJ’s 1,076-acre Willis Creek property in Cumberland County. Bentley later purchased the tract from Ronald’s estate, and delays in paying the money due to TJ eventually led to a lawsuit in the Virginia High Court of Chancery. The court awarded TJ a favorable decision in 1797 and Bentley paid the bulk of what he owed by 1799, but the account was not completely settled until 1822 (
, 17:569–71 [mistakenly entitled “Agreement of Sale for Elk Hill”], 29:476–8; , 1:767–8, 2:1051, 1384; , 8:209–16).1. Omitted closing parenthesis editorially supplied.
2. Omitted closing quotation mark editorially supplied.
3. Manuscript: “507–11–10.” TJ based his subsequent calculations on the correct figure.
Index Entries
- Bentley, William (of Virginia); account with TJ search
- Bentley, William (of Virginia); identified search
- Farell & Jones (British firm); TJ’s payments to search
- Hanson, Richard; attorney for Farell & Jones search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with W. Bentley search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; sells Willis Creek tract search
- Rector, Thomas search
- Ronald, Andrew search
- Ronald, William; estate of search
- Ronald, William; purchases land from TJ search
- Willis Creek tract (Cumberland Co.); title to lands at search
- Wiseham, William; and W. Ronald’s estate search