1From John Adams to Peter Stephen Duponceau, 5 July 1819 (Adams Papers)
Your favour of 28th. June has given me more pleasure than you can imagin; I am delighted to find a Gentleman in America who ever knew Court my friend Court, he was introduced to me in 1778 and I continued to enjoy his friendship till his death, he has mentioned me more than once in his Works, he was a kind of Walking Alexandrian Library And as modest amiable and unassuming as he was learned—if...
2From John Adams to Peter Stephen Duponceau, 23 June 1819 (Adams Papers)
Moriturus te Salutat! this pathetick Saluation I am sure will engage your humanity to pardon a question which I acknowledge to be impertinent and might be Offensive from any-other than a dying Man— Have you examined Bryants Annalysis of Ancient Mythology Court De Gebelin’s Monde Primitif—in nine ponderous Volum’s—and Dupuis’s Culte Universal—the two former of these appear to be Christian...
3From John Adams to Peter Stephen Duponceau, 24 July 1821 (Adams Papers)
I had I not been poison’d almost to the loss of my sight, by a rare fever or a blossom cold, I should have long since thanked you for, your discourse, and to have acknowledged to have read it with all that delight—which I always receive from the productions of your pen—The History of Pensylvania is an interesting subject not only to her Citizens but to all America and to all the World—The...
4Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 7 July 1820 (Jefferson Papers)
I have lately had an opportunity of procuring a copy of a Vocabulary of the Nottoway tribe of Indians . these with the Pamunkies and Mattaponies were component parts of the great Powhatan confederacy which covered all the lower part of this state , and probably spoke the general language of the Powhatans. this vocabulary was taken by mr John Wood formerly professor of mathematics in W m & Mary...
5Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 31 March 1821 (Jefferson Papers)
Your favor of the 23 d is recieved. the acquaintance I had the pleasure of forming with mr Vanuxem while he favored me with a visit gave me a very high sense of his merit and qualifications. in addition to this your recommendations and those of D r Cooper place him on very high ground but I fear we are as yet far from the time at which we may turn our attention to the choice of Professors. our...
6Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 14 March [1819] (Jefferson Papers)
I thank you, dear Sir, for the valuable volume of your historical transactions which you have been so kind as to send me, and I rejoice to see that the history of our aborigines is so ably commenced before their final extinction, or their amalgamation with us. wishing it may continue to engage the exertion of talents so competent to it I salute you with friendship & respect. RC ( PPAmP :...
7Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 6 November 1817 (Jefferson Papers)
The long delay of the MS. of Col o Byrd which you were so kind as to send me , needs apology. on the 26 th of June I wrote to mr Benjamin Harrison of Berkley from whom the other had been borrowed, to ask permission to send it to the Philosophical society with a view to it’s publication. the following is an extract from his answer of July 11.
8Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 7 November 1817 (Jefferson Papers)
A part of the information of which the expedition of Lewis and Clarke was the object has been communicated to the world by the publication of their journal; but much & valuable matter remains yet uncommunicated. the correction of the longitudes of their map is essential to it’s value; to which purpose their observations of the Lunar distances are to be calculated & applied. the new subjects...
9Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 30 December 1817 (Jefferson Papers)
An absence of 6. weeks has occasioned your letters of the 5 th & 11 th inst to lie thus long unacknoleged. after I had sent off the two other Westover MSS. I recieved a 3 d of the same journal. on perusing it, I am not sensible, by memory, of any thing not contained in the former, except 8. pages of a preliminary account of the abridgment of our limits by successive charters to other colonies....
10From Thomas Jefferson to Peter Stephen Duponceau, 16 November 1825 (Jefferson Papers)
Th: Jefferson returns his thanks to the Board of Directors of the society for the Commemoration of the landing of W m Penn on the American shore. he learns with sincere pleasure that a day will at length be annually set apart for rendering the honors so justly due to the greatest lawgiver the world has produced, the first in either antient or modern times who has laid the foundation of govmt...
11Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 28 December 1820 (Jefferson Papers)
This letter is strictly confidential. some time ago a mr John Sanderson , of Philada , addressed a letter to me , informing me he was engaged in a biographical work which embraced the life of our late Chancellor Wythe , of whom however his materials were scanty, & requesting me to supply him. of the Mentor of my youth I felt the duty of bearing witnesses to his virtues, and furnished what I...
12Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 17 January 1818 (Jefferson Papers)
Your favors of the 5 th & 6 th are recieved, and I am sorry it is not in my power to interest any of the Indian agents for you & particularly those of the 4. Southern tribes . these are all new men to me. mr Meigs Agent with the Cherokees would be the most likely to be useful to you. I recieved last night a letter from mr Harrison , who had been so kind as to give me the pocket MS. of Westover...
13Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 7 November 1817 (Jefferson Papers)
Th: Jefferson presents his compliments to M r Duponceau , & his thanks for his pamphlet on Phonology. he supposes, with him, that all sud d en reformation of our orthography is as desperate as it would be inconvenient. he presumes the slow process of amendment will continue, which has been going on for ages; that this may in time reduce the power of the letters to greater uniformity, as has...
14Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 19 February 1818 (Jefferson Papers)
your favor of Jan. 24. was duly recieved, and I now inclose you the supplements for the three hiatuses in your MS. all your references were found satisfactorily except that of March 9 th to the words ‘bush, which is a beautiful evergreen, & may be cut into any shape.’ I found no such words under that date in the folio MS. and therefore had the whole of that day copied. it is the only instance...
15James Madison to Peter S. Duponceau, 7 February 1835 (Madison Papers)
I have received the Copy of Mr. Tyson’s "Discourse before the Young Men’s Colonization Society in Pensylvania, forwarded by you at his request; and I take the liberty of returning through the same Channel, my thanks, for a publication, so valuable and appropriate. It gives me great pleasure to find that the parent society has gained such an auxiliary as that in question, which has commenced...
16James Madison to Peter S. Duponceau, 30 October 1828 (Madison Papers)
I have received yours of the 25th. and have the pleasure of inclosing a Copy of the paper which is the subject of it. Permit me to accompany it with renewed assurances of my great & cordial esteem, and the sincere return from Mrs. Madison of your kind remembrances. RC ( OClWHi ); draft (DLC) ; letterbook copy (PHi: Peter S. Duponceau Letterbook, 1777-1839) .
17James Madison to Peter Stephen Duponceau, 30 November 1832 (Madison Papers)
J. Madison, with his respects & regards to Mr. DuPonceau thanks him for the Copy of his Historical Discourse commemorating the 150th. anniversary of the Landing of Wm. Penn. J M has read with much pleasure, a performance which must afford pleasure to all readers, by the appositeness of its plan, and by the interesting and impressive manner which characterize the execution of it FC (DLC) .
18James Madison to Peter S. Duponceau, 28 January 1830 (Madison Papers)
J Madison has recd. the copy of "Essays on American Silk," with which Mr. Duponceau has obligingly favored him. Silk and Wine are precious staples to be added to the stock already possessed by our Country; and whoever contributes to the introduction & establishment of either, by such valuable instruction as distinguishes the "Essays" has a just claim on all, for the thanks which an individual...