George Washington Papers
Documents filtered by: Date="1791-02-25"
sorted by: date (ascending)
Permanent link for this document:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-07-02-0256

From George Washington to the United States Senate, 25 February 1791

To the United States Senate

United States February 25th 1791.

Gentlemen of the Senate,

I nominate Joseph Anderson, of the State of Delaware, to be one of the Judges in the Territory of the United States south of the Ohio, in place of William Peery who has declined his Appointment.1 and

William Murry, of Kentucky, to be Attorney for the United States, in the District of Kentucky, in place of James Brown who has declined his appointment.2

Go: Washington

LS, DNA: RG 46, First Congress, 1789–1791, Records of Executive Proceedings, President’s Messages—Executive Nominations; LB, DLC:GW.

1. For the background to Anderson’s nomination, see Anderson to GW, 11 June 1790 and 7 Jan. and 23 Feb. 1791. The Senate confirmed Anderson’s appointment on 26 Feb. 1791 (DHFC, description begins Linda Grant De Pauw et al., eds. Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789-March 3, 1791. 20 vols. to date. Baltimore, 1972–. description ends 2:121–22); subsequent revelations about Anderson’s private financial affairs led GW to reconsider the appointment before the delivery of Anderson’s commission (see Joseph Anderson to GW, 1 Mar. 1791). GW referred the case to Jefferson, who advised the president to issue the commission (see Jefferson to GW, 4 Mar. 1791).

2. James Brown (1766–1835) a leading lawyer in Lexington, Ky., had been appointed U.S. attorney by GW in March 1790; he apparently informed Jefferson of his decision to decline the appointment in a letter dated 1 Oct. 1790 (see Jefferson to GW, 22 Dec. 1790). William Murray (d. 1805), a Lexington, Ky, lawyer and local Federalist leader, accepted the post and served until 1792 (Clay, Papers description begins James F. Hopkins et al., eds. The Papers of Henry Clay. 11 vols. Lexington, Ky., 1959–92. description ends , 1:90, n.1).

Index Entries

    You Are Looking At

    Source Project
    Washington Papers
    Title
    From George Washington to the United States Senate, 25 February 1791
    Author
    Washington, George
    Recipient
    United States Senate
    Date
    25 February 1791

    Reference

    Cite as
    “From George Washington to the United States Senate, 25 February 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-07-02-0256. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 7, 1 December 1790 – 21 March 1791, ed. Jack D. Warren, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, pp. 462–463.]

    More between these correspondents