Bernard Peyton to Thomas Jefferson, 22 August 1822 (1st letter)
From Bernard Peyton
Richd 22 Augt 1822
Dear Sir,
I hand herewith ℀ sales your ten Hhds: Tobacco, at the best prices I could obtain, in presence of a large company of purchasers—
Except1 Nos 2. & 4. of the T.H. Tobacco, every Hhd: was too soft, & had a funky smell, the Tobacco was also short, with the above exception, & some of it poor, & deficient in substance—the B.C.’s were by no means as well managed as the TH’s, but neither as well assorted as they might have been, but still there is a great improvement upon last year, & I hope by the next crop, there will be no fault in management or order.
I forwarded by a Waggon yesterday, to the Care of Messrs: Wolfe & Raphael charlottesville, a bundle of Books from Mr Ritchie of this City, which I wish safe to hand.
The Canal is now so low that an empty boat cannot pass—
B. Peyton
RC (MHi); on a sheet folded to form four pages, with enclosure on p. 1, letter on p. 3, and address on p. 4; addressed: “Mr Thomas Jefferson Monticello Charlottesville”; franked; postmarked Richmond, 22 Aug.; endorsed by TJ as received 25 Aug. 1822 and so recorded in SJL.
The tobacco came from TJ’s Tomahawk (t.h.) and Bear Creek (b.c.’s) plantations at Poplar Forest.
Martha Jefferson Randolph reported to Nicholas P. Trist from Monticello on 1 Sept. 1822 that TJ “will make this year from 30 to 40 hogshead of tobacco at Poplar forest, which untill this year the first of Jefferson’s [i.e., Thomas Jefferson Randolph’s] superintendance has regularly brought him in debt. the drought in this neighbourhood [i.e., Monticello] has been so dreadfull that many people will not make bread, but we have not suffered as much I believe as our neighbours although the crops are very short” (RC in NcU: NPT).
1. Manuscript: “Eccept.”
Index Entries
- agriculture; and weather search
- Bear Creek plantation (part of TJ’s Poplar Forest estate); tobacco at search
- boats; carriage to and from Richmond search
- bread; scarcity of search
- canals; on James River search
- food; bread search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; works sent to search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; sells tobacco search
- Peyton, Bernard; and books for TJ search
- Peyton, Bernard; and TJ’s tobacco search
- Peyton, Bernard; letters from search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); tobacco grown at search
- Randolph, Martha Jefferson (Patsy; TJ’s daughter; Thomas Mann Randolph’s wife); and N. P. Trist search
- Randolph, Thomas Jefferson (1792–1875) (TJ’s grandson; Jane Hollins Nicholas Randolph’s husband); as manager of Poplar Forest search
- Richmond, Va.; boat carriage to and from search
- Richmond, Va.; TJ’s tobacco sold at search
- Richmond, Va.; wagon carriage to and from search
- Ritchie, Thomas; and works for TJ search
- tobacco; grown at Poplar Forest search
- tobacco; sale of search
- Tomahawk plantation (part of TJ’s Poplar Forest estate); tobacco grown at search
- Trist, Nicholas Philip; correspondence with M. J. Randolph search
- wagons; transport goods to and from Richmond search
- weather; drought search
- weather; effect on crops search
- Wolfe & Raphael (Charlottesville firm); and packages for TJ search