From Thomas Jefferson to Samuel A. Otis, 8 February 1802
To Samuel A. Otis
Feb. 8. 1802.
Th: Jefferson presents his salutations & respects to mr Otis. he observes on examining his press copy of the nominations of Jan. 6. in the 4th. page & 4th. line from the bottom, he miscopied Jonah Thompson, & wrote it Josiah which he prays mr Otis to suffer Capt. Lewis to correct with his pen.
in the same list of justices, John Laird is named instead of Benjamin Moore, the latter having been commissioned, and not the former. perhaps this last error cannot be corrected but by a message, and may therefore stand until he sends one on the subject of these nominations: for he has, within these two days recieved information from the clerk’s office of the county that one of the gentlemen has resigned & three others have never qualified, in whose places therefore it will be necessary to substitute others, so soon as proper persons can be found. he understands the Senate are disposed to let these nominations lie a while.
RC (DNA: RG 46, EPEN, 7th Cong., 1st sess.); addressed: “Mr. Otis”; endorsed by Otis, in part: “Note from The President of the United States correcting a mistake in Message 6th Jany.”
Miscopied Jonah Thompson: see Document VI, note 13, in TJ to the Senate: Interim Appointments, printed at 6 Jan. The change from “Josiah” to “Jonah” was not made in a Senate copy of TJ’s 6 Jan. nominations or in the smooth journal of executive proceedings of the Senate, which was sent to the printer for publication (FC in DNA: RG 46, EPEN, 7th Cong., 1st sess., endorsed: “(Copy) Message—Jan 6. 1802 nom. Albert Gallatin et al.”; smooth journal in DNA: RG 46; , 1:404). A merchant, Jonah Thompson served as mayor of Alexandria from 1805 to 1808. His father-in-law, Francis Peyton, also received an appointment as justice of the peace for the County of Alexandria (, 1:404; , 2:184–5; Vol. 33:271, 674).
TJ sent a message to the Senate on the subject of these nominations on 5 Apr. 1802. TJ learned that Thomas Sim Lee had resigned and Benjamin Stoddert and William H. Dorsey had never qualified for justice of the peace for Washington County. William Fitzhugh, Richard Conway, and Thomas Darne declined qualifying in Alexandria County (, 1:417–18).