List of Nominations from Jacob Wagner, 9 December 1803
List of Nominations from Jacob Wagner
[before 9 Dec. 1803]
| Jacob Ridgway of Pennsylvania— | Antwerp. Note a blank commission for this port was sent to Mr. Livingston at Paris with authority to fill it up. This happened many months ago: and lately the offer has been made to Mr. Barnet to take his choice of it and Havre. |
| Francis Coffin (a Frenchman) | of Dunkirk was formerly our Consul there. Quer. is he intended? |
| Henry Wilson of Maryland— | Ostend. |
| Wm. Foster jr. | Morlaix |
| John Leonard of New Jersey— | Barcelona |
| Lawson Alexander of Maryland— | Rotterdam |
| John M. Forbes of New York | to be Consul for such parts of the Circle of Lower Saxony as may be nearer to Hamburg than to the Residence of any other Consul or Vice Consul of the U. States. Note this limitation may be necessary to prevent him from superseding the Consul at Bremen &c. |
MS (DNA: RG 59, MCL); undated, but see TJ to the Senate, 9 Dec.; entirely in Wagner’s hand; endorsed by TJ: “Consuls. list of Dec. 1803.”
Isaac Cox Barnet recommended Jacob Ridgway as commercial agent at antwerp when Barnet decided to accept the position at Le Havre (see Vol. 40:719n).
For Fulwar Skipwith’s recommendation of Francis Coffyn, who had long cared for U.S. commercial interests at dunkirk, see Vol. 41:159, 160n.
For the earlier appointment of William Foster, Jr., as commercial agent at morlaix, see Vol. 36:400. In 1803, Foster sought the consulship at Nantes. TJ did not submit his nomination to the Senate at this time (, Sec. of State Ser., 4:275; TJ to the Senate, 9 Dec.).
For the appointment of John Leonard as vice consul at barcelona, see Vol. 41:698, 700n, 702.
When Joseph Forman submitted his resignation in December 1802, he recommended Lawson Alexander as commercial agent at rotterdam in his place and appointed Alexander to act as consular agent (, Sec. of State Ser., 4:209). In a letter written at Amsterdam on 29 Dec. 1803 to an unnamed recipient, Sylvanus Bourne advised that Alexander was suffering from health issues, “his mind being in disorder.” Unaware that TJ had appointed William Clark of Massachusetts to another position, Bourne recommended Clark to take over at Rotterdam (DNA: RG 59, LAR, possibly intended as a duplicate of Bourne to Madison, 29 Dec., endorsed by TJ: “Clarke Wm to be consul Rotterdam”; , Sec. of State Ser., 6:244-5; TJ to the Senate, 9 Dec.).
For the appointment of John M. Forbes as consul at hamburg, see Vol. 36:608-9. consul at bremen: Frederick Jacob Wichelhausen (, Sec. of State Ser., 5:506-7; Vol. 35:407).