Thomas Jefferson Papers
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https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-16-02-0013

James Gibbon to Thomas Jefferson, 12 June 1820

From James Gibbon

Custom House Richmond June 12. 1820

Sir

The inclos’d came to my hand only a few minutees since—the vessall in which the package of seed, is said to be, is now at Wowick having enterd here early in the last week in ballast—on examineg her manifest, I find no such box: this the Capt may have omitted as I have & shall retain the bill of loading which was within the letter & shall send on board the vessall for the purpose of having it forwarded according to Mr Beasleys desire if on board—   Im Sir

very Respc Yo Mo Ob
J Gibbon
 Collc

RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 16 June 1820 and so recorded in SJL. RC (DLC); address cover only; with PoC of TJ to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 7 July 1820, on verso; addressed: “Tho Jefferson Esqe Monticello near Charotts Ville”; franked; postmarked Richmond, 12 June. Enclosure: Reuben G. Beasley to the Customs Collector at City Point or Norfolk, American Consulate, Le Havre, 25 Mar. 1820, which reads “Be pleased to receive and to forward the small Box ‘for which you have Bill Lading’ herewith for mr Jefferson which contains seeds from the Royal Garden of Plants in Paris. It is important that it get to hand early” (RC in DLC; addressed: “To the Collector of the Customs at City Point or Norfolk Val’Agnes”; redirected in an unidentified hand to “the port of Richmond”; stamped; postmarked Hampton, 26 May, and Norfolk, 10 June; with possibly unrelated notation by Beasley on address leaf: “Havre, March 23rd 1820”).

Warwick (wowick) was located on the James River about five miles below Richmond.

The bill of loading, which eventually found its way to TJ, stated that on 25 Mar. 1820 the shipmaster Dumont Pallier received from Beasley a shipment to be carried from Le Havre to Richmond on the brig Agnes, consisting of a box of seeds addressed to TJ at Monticello, with Pallier due to receive from the customs collector in Virginia a total of five francs for carriage from Paris and customhouse and shipping fees, plus fifty cents in freight charges (MS in MHi; printed form, with blanks filled in by an unidentified hand and signed by Pallier; in English).

Index Entries

  • Agnes (brig) search
  • Beasley, Reuben Gaunt; and seeds for TJ search
  • boats; cost of transportation by search
  • gardens; Jardin des Plantes (Paris) search
  • Gibbon, James; and seeds for TJ search
  • Gibbon, James; letters from search
  • Jardin des plantes et Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; seeds from search
  • Pallier, Dumont (ship captain) search
  • seeds; sent to TJ search
  • taxes; customs search