Adams Papers
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Thomas Boylston Adams to William Smith Shaw, 13 October 1799

Thomas Boylston Adams to William Smith Shaw

Germantown. 13th: October—99

Dear William

I must beg you to congratulate the President & yourself from me, on your safe arrival in our neighborhood. Your journey was, I apprehend, more favorable in point of weather than my mother’s is likely to be, for we have had very heavy rains & dull skies all the last week more or less— Even on Tuesday, the all important 8th:, of October, big with the fate of Pennsylvania, we had in the morning a very unpromising prospect of weather, but it fortunately cleared away before noon & left a chance for a fair trial of strength on both sides. I was present on the election ground a considerable part of the day, & retired with stronger hopes of success than I went. The Demo’s however mustered strong after dark & poured in their numbers beyond calculation, so that we came off with only a small majority in the City.1 It was however larger than I expected, and the federal candidate yet keeps his competitor at a respectful distance. I am in better hopes than I was prior to the Election, but not by any means confident of success—

It will give me great pleasure to see you here, though I cannot promise to accompany you back to Trenton, very speedily. If it should be in my power however, without inconvenience to make the excursion, I will give you timely notice. If you meet, as you cannot fail, I think, with the Lay preacher, return him my best thanks for his recent remembrance of me, communicated by my friends Ross & Simpson.2

Your letters of the 20th: 29th: ulto: & 11th: instt: came in course;3 If you could have acquainted me with the time of your intended departure, it would have been acceptable, as I wanted some books put into my trunk, which is coming round by water. I shall not go into the City to stay sooner than the 1st: November, about which time we expect the public Offices will return.

I have a letter from JQA, of July 16th: the latest from him, & but a few lines— From Consul Pitcairn I got the precis des événemens militaires Nos 2 & 3. with a line to the 10th: August; no, news—4

Present me kindly to my father & believe me / Your’s sincerely

T. B. Adams.5

PS. I have the key of the President’s house, remember!—

RC (MWA:Adams Family Letters); addressed: “William Smith Shaw / Secretary to the P U S / Trenton”; endorsed: “Germantown 13th Oct / T B Adams / Ansd.”

1On 8 Oct. between 10 A.M. and 1 P.M. the citizens of Philadelphia gathered at the State House to vote for governor and other state officials. Freemen aged 21 or over who had resided in the state for at least two years and paid taxes for the previous six months were eligible to vote, as were foreigners who had been naturalized before 26 March 1790. The final city tally in the race for governor was 1,611 for Federalist James Ross and 1,136 for Democratic-Republican Thomas McKean, the statewide victor. In addition to the governor’s office, Democratic-Republicans also took control of the state house of representatives, winning 41 seats to the Federalists’ 35. Federalists, however, maintained a majority in the state senate, 13 seats to 11. The results laid the groundwork for a deadlock in the selection of presidential electors, for which see TBA to JQA, 25 Feb. 1800, and note 8, below (Philadelphia American Daily Advertiser, 7 Oct. 1799; Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania, from the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred, to the Sixteenth Day of June, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Six, 5th edn., Phila., 1837, p. 307–308; Philadelphia Universal Gazette, 10 Oct.; Newman, Fries’s Rebellion description begins Paul Douglas Newman, Fries’s Rebellion: The Enduring Struggle for the American Revolution, Philadelphia, 2004. description ends , p. 194; William Bruce Wheeler, “Pennsylvania and the Presidential Election of 1800: Republican Acceptance of the 8–7 Compromise,” Pennsylvania History, 36:424 [Oct. 1969]).

2That is, Joseph Dennie Jr., author of the “Lay Preacher” essays. TBA’s friends were Philadelphia merchants Charles Ross and John Simson (ca. 1768–1818), who operated an imported goods store at 121 South Front Street (vol. 12:69, 113–114; LCA, D&A description begins Diary and Autobiographical Writings of Louisa Catherine Adams, ed. Judith S. Graham and others, Cambridge, 2013; 2 vols. description ends , 1:54; Philadelphia Directory description begins Philadelphia Directory [title varies], issued annually with varying imprints. description ends , 1799, p. 120, Evans, description begins Charles Evans and others, American Bibliography: A Chronological Dictionary of All Books, Pamphlets and Periodical Publications Printed in the United States of America [1639–1800], Chicago and Worcester, Mass., 1903–1959; 14 vols.; rev. edn., www.readex.com. description ends No. 36353; Philadelphia Gazette of the United States, 7 Oct.; Philadelphia City Archives: Philadelphia Death Certificates, John Simson, 1818).

3Not found.

4In a brief letter of 16 July (Adams Papers), JQA thanked TBA for the oversight of his financial affairs and enclosed an order to Timothy Pickering allowing TBA to draw $1,000 upon his salary. Joseph Pitcairn’s letter to TBA has not been found, but with it Pitcairn sent two numbers of Comte Guillaume Mathieu Dumas’ periodical Précis des évènemens militaires, Hamburg, 1799, which was published in two volumes of six numbers each (TBA to Pitcairn, 31 May 1800, and note 1, below).

5In a second letter to Shaw of 13 Oct. 1799, TBA wrote that he had forwarded letters to Quincy before learning that Shaw had already departed, and TBA noted that he might travel to Eastchester, N.Y., to escort AA to Trenton, N.J. (MWA:Adams Family Letters).

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