George Washington Papers
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To George Washington from William Allen, 10 June 1790

From William Allen

Providence [R.I.] 10th June 1790.

May it please your Excellency

The Convention of this State having Ratified the new Constitution by which happy event the Union of the whole is Compleated; and as it is more than Probable that the Laws of the Union will Speedily embrace this State in common with the rest, I beg Leave Sir, with the greatest deference to Present my Self to your Excellency as a Candidate for the Office of Surveyor of the Customs at this Port.

I am aware Sir, that applications for the Same Office may have long Since Reached you, but on my part, till this State had joined the Union I dared not to offer this address, as I was fully persuaded that such application would be considered by your Excellency as Premature.

having had the Honor of Serving through a long and perilous war under your excellencys orders with out censure; Let me hope Sir, so far to engage your Favourable notice, as to induce your excellency to enquire my Character as a Citizen Since the establishment of Peace. I have the Honor, to be Sir with the most lively Sentiments of Respect and esteem you[r] excellencys Most Obt and Humbl. Servant

William Allen

N.B. the Ratification comes on by this Post

ALS, DLC:GW.

William Allen served as an officer in the Continental army from 1776 to 1783, rising from lieutenant to brevet major (Heitman, Historical Register, description begins Francis B. Heitman. Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April, 1775, to December, 1783. 1893. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C., 1914. description ends 62). John Brown and John Francis recommended Allen for surveyor as a man “Deserving of the Publick Confidence” (John Brown and John Francis to GW, 11 June 1790, DLC:GW). In the John Carter Brown Library, Providence, R.I., there are unsigned drafts of two letters, one dated 11 June 1790, recommending Allen. The endorsement indicates they were to be sent to the president. Allen received no appointment from GW.

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    Washington Papers
    Title
    To George Washington from William Allen, 10 June 1790
    Author
    Allen, William
    Recipient
    Washington, George
    Date
    10 June 1790

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To George Washington from William Allen, 10 June 1790,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-05-02-0315. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 5, 16 January 1790 – 30 June 1790, ed. Dorothy Twohig, Mark A. Mastromarino, and Jack D. Warren. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996, pp. 506–507.]