To Thomas Jefferson from Richard Peters, 28 January 1792
From Richard Peters
Saturday 28. Jany. 1792
Dear Sir
I thank you for the friendly Attention you paid to my Request of witholding the Commission ’till this Time. I had fixed the Matter so as to resign the Chair of the Senate on Tuesday Morning but I will do it on Monday Afternoon. On Tuesday the House will of Course choose a Speaker and when this is done I will resign my Seat as a Senator which cannot be done before the Senate is perfect in its Organization. So soon as I am free from my present State Situation I will write to the President and I pray you to let me know any Step I ought to take as to taking the Qualifications, I should rather say Oaths of Office; for as to the former I must double my Diligence to acquire them.—Yours with sincere Esteem,
Richard Peters
RC (DNA: RG 59, MLR); endorsed by TJ as received 28 Jan. 1792 and so recorded in SJL. A letter from Peters of 24 Jan. 1792, recorded in SJL as received on that day, has not been found, but see Peters to TJ, 14 Jan. 1792.
Peters signified his acceptance of his appointment as federal district judge in Pennsylvania in a letter to the President written two days after the present one to TJ (Peters to Washington, 30 Jan. 1792, DNA: RG 59, MLR). Peters finally resigned from the Pennsylvania Senate on 1 Feb. 1792, the day after he was replaced as speaker of that body by Samuel Powel (Journal of the Senate of … Pennsylvania, commencing … the sixth Day of December [1791] [Philadelphia, 1792], p. 80–1).