To James Madison from Thomas Law, 22 December 1823
From Thomas Law
Decr 22nd 1823.
Dear Sir,
Permit me ⟨to⟩ introduce to you Mr. Chapman,1 the son of an old East India friend, who has relations in this Country. He is a British officer much esteemed & is travelling with very favorable impressions for his amusement. Mr: Ralston2 his fellow traveller a Philadelphian bearing a high character, I also take the liberty to introduce—any politeness shewn to them will be a favor conferred upon me. I remain With much esteem & respect yr obliged He St.
Thomas Law
RC (DLC). Enclosed in John James Chapman and Gerald Ralston to JM, 29 Dec. 1823.
1. John James Chapman (d. 1867) entered the army as a gentleman cadet in 1801, was promoted to captain in the Royal Artillery in 1820, and retired on half-pay in 1829. He was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1836 (List of Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery from the Year 1716 to the Present Date [Woolwich, England, 1869], 35; Gentleman’s Magazine, n.s., 5 [1836]: 643).
2. Gerald Ralston (ca. 1798–1873), the fourth son of Philadelphia merchant Robert Ralston, moved to London about 1838, where as a member of the American Colonization Society he promoted settlement in Liberia and served as that country’s consul general in England (Philadelphia Inquirer, 29 Apr. 1873; “Proceedings of the Board of Directors of the A. C. S.,” African Repository, and Colonial Journal 23 [1847]: 94; “Officials of the Liberian Government in Foreign Countries,” ibid. 36 [1860]: 231).