List of John Adams’s Appointments, 23 February 1801
List of John Adams’s Appointments
Feb. 23
qu. | Thos. Bee. chief judge | 5th Circ. | |
qu. | John Sitgreaves of N.C. distr. judge | ||
+ | Joseph Clay. of Georgia | ||
+ | Wm. Mc.lung: Kentuky. to be circuit judge of 6th. | ||
qu. | Jacob Read. judge of distr. of S.C. vice Bee | ||
qu. | Wm. H. Hill. distr. judge of N.C. vice Sitgreaves | ||
— | Saml. Blackburn. Atty for Western distr. Virga | ||
— | Rob. Grattan. of Staunton. marshall of W. distr. Virga | ||
+ | Thos Gray. atty E. distr. Tennissee | ||
+ | Chas J. Porter. to be marsh. of E. distr. Tennissee | ||
— | Wm. Pitt Beers. of Albany Atty distr. Albany | ||
— | James Dole. marsh. distr. Alby. | ||
— | J. C. Mountflorence. of N.C. commerl agent Paris. |
MS (DNA: RG 59, MCL); entirely in TJ’s hand, with symbols and “qu.” added at a later date, in pencil.
In a letter dated 21 Feb., President Adams sent the nominations on the list above to the Senate. They were presented and read on Monday, 23 Feb., and approved the next day. Both Thomas Bee and John Sitgreaves declined their appointments, leaving Senator Jacob Read and Congressman William H. Hill without judicial positions ( , 1:383–5, 401).
Adams’s nominees of 28 Feb. were listed by TJ on a scrap of paper torn from an address sheet with a partial postmark. The president appointed Thomas Johnson, James M. Marshall, and William Cranch—TJ wrote simply “Cranch”—as judges of the District of Columbia, “Swan of Alexa—Atty” and “Lingan of G. Town—marshal.” They were confirmed on 3 Mch., but TJ did not add marks beside the names as he had done on his other lists (MS in DNA: RG 59, MCL, entirely in TJ’s hand; (
, 1:386–7, 389).