121To Alexander Hamilton from Robert Totten, 31 July 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Stamford [ Connecticut ] July 31, 1786 . “Be pleased to inform me what prospect you realy have of softening the present insolvent act of new York, and if you suppose my well known situation may have any claim to … indulgence with the representatives of the state of new York. I am determined not to venture myself into a goal and be at the caprice of a few of my creditors; every thing else I...
122To Alexander Hamilton from Ebenezer Hazard, 1 August 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, August 1, 1786. Requests Hamilton’s opinion on questions concerning a government contract for carrying the mail. Copy, Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives. Hazard was Postmaster General of the United States. This letter was enclosed in a letter Hazard sent to Nathaniel Gorham, September 25, 1786.
123To Alexander Hamilton from Alexander Macaulay, 1 August 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Yorktown, Virginia, August 1, 1786. Has “of this date drawed on you at Ten days sight for … One Hundred pounds currency of New York in favour of Colo. John Jameson.” Requests Hamilton to pay this sum “out of the money arising from Harts Debt.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Malcolm Hart.
124To Alexander Hamilton from Robert Harpur, [2 August 1786] (Hamilton Papers)
At the Request of Genl. Schuyler, We have made a Copy of all the Poll Lists of the Counties of Albany and Montgomery, which copy was to be left with you to be forwarded to him. The Secretary estimated the Expences with which the Genl. was acquain[t]ed previous to the undertaking. And you was to be good enough to disburse the sum—being £10—which be pleased to deliver to the Bearer on your...
125To Alexander Hamilton from Samuel Broome, 18 August 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
New Haven [ Connecticut ] August 18, 1786 . Encloses “an order on The Honble. Nathan Miller Esquire a Delegate in Congress from the State of Rhode Island in your favor for £110.18.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
126To Alexander Hamilton from Nathan Miller, 1 September 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, September 1, 1786. Will pay a bill drawn on Miller by Samuel Broome in Hamilton’s favor in about three weeks. AL , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Miller was a delegate to Congress from Rhode Island. See Samuel Broome to H, August 18, 1786 .
127Thomas Cushing, Francis Dana, and Samuel Breck to Alexander Hamilton and Egbert Benson, 10 September 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Understanding on our arrival in this City last Fryday evening, that you had gone on for the Convention at Annapolis the week past, we take the Liberty to acquaint you and beg you to communicate to the Convention if it should be opened before we arrive there, that we shall set off from this Place to morrow to join them, as Commissioners from the State of Massachusetts, which we hope to do in...
128To Alexander Hamilton from Robert Milligan, 1 October 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Philadelphia, October 1, 1786. “I have your favour of the 26th Septr. Your objection to taking Mr Seixas’s bond is conclusive; his base acknowlegement of the amount of our claim I cannot consent to accept. Let an amicable suit be instituted and judgment confessed by Mr Seixas for the balance, with stay till 1st October 1789.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Letter not found.
129To Alexander Hamilton from Samuel Broome, 2 [October] 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
New Haven [ Connecticut, October ] 2, 1786 . Requests Hamilton to collect the balance of a debt owed to Broome by Nathan Miller. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
130To Alexander Hamilton from David Forman, 18 October 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
[ Auburn, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1786. On November 7, 1786, Forman wrote to Hamilton : “I wrote you from Auburn (near Philada) on the 18th. ult.” Letter not found. ] Brigadier General David Forman of New Jersey who became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Monmouth, New Jersey.
131To Alexander Hamilton from John Sitgreaves, 23 October 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Philadelphia, October 23, 1786. “Your favor of the 17th. was handed me this morning. Mr. Robert Bowne my Attorney … [will] call upon you for the One hundred and sixty Pounds received from Mr. Bostwick.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Letter not found.
132To Alexander Hamilton from Alexander Macaulay, 24 October 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Alexandria, Virginia, October 24, 1786. Is detained at Alexandria. Asks Hamilton’s assistance in settling various financial affairs in New York City. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
133To Alexander Hamilton from Peter Van Schaack, 25 October 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Kinderhook [ New York ] October 25, 1786 . “I enclose you a Case for your Opinion, with a Fee. Tis a confused Business but I hope you will hit upon a clue to lead us through the Labyrinth. I have it also in Charge to retain you on Behalf of the Vandenberghs and Van Vechtens.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. For information on Van Schaack, see H to Angelica Church, August 3, 1785,...
134To Alexander Hamilton from John Lansing, Junior, 28 October 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Albany, October 28, 1786. States that the sheriff of Montgomery County who “has been attached for a Contempt in proceeding to the Sale of Croghan’s Land,” wishes Hamilton “to take the necessary Steps to defend him.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
135To Alexander Hamilton from David Forman, 7 November 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Middle Town Point [ New Jersey ] November 7, 1786 . “I wrote you from Auburn (near Philada) on the 18th. ult.” Asks when “the Monies from Robt. Cocks would probably be Recd. &c.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Letter not found.
136Moses Myers to Nicholas Low, Daniel Ludlow, and Alexander Hamilton, 23 November 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Philadelphia, November 23, 1786. Describes his efforts in Baltimore and Philadelphia to collect money to cover his firm’s debts. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. For background to this letter, see “Conveyance. Isaac Moses, Nicholas Low, Daniel Ludlow, and Alexander Hamilton to Alexander Macomb,” February 15, 1786, note 1 (printed in this volume).
137To Alexander Hamilton from Francis Upton, 6–7 December 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
London, December 6–7, 1786. Asks if Hamilton received Upton’s “letters of December and June last.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. See Upton to H, December 6, 1785 and June 5, 1786 .
138To Alexander Hamilton from John Chaloner, 13 December 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Yours of the 1st Inst covering Mr Whites Bill & Protest I reced the 10th Inst since which no Oppo has offerd by which I could send you the money. I shall embrace the first. Did the money I sent you by Mr Lawry come safe to hand? Our Assembly is now on the subject of the Bank & a proposition before them to restore the old Charter. Mr Morris is opposed to any alteration least it should...
139To Alexander Hamilton from John Chaloner, 16 December 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Since my last the Assembly has adopted the Report of the Committee and have ordered a Bill to be brot in to Restore the Charter of the Bank restricting its duration and Capital; the time and sum is not yet mentioned. This displeasing a number of Stockholders has occasioned a petition to be preferd to the House praying that the Bank may be organized and put on a similar footing with respect to...
140To Alexander Hamilton from Jacob Hardenbergh, 16 December 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
New Brunswick [ New Jersey ] December 16, 1786 . Wishes to retain Hamilton as an attorney in an ejection suit against a tenant. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
141To Alexander Hamilton from Thomas McKean, 26 December 1786 (Hamilton Papers)
Philadelphia, December 26, 1786. Requests Hamilton to collect a debt of £50 owed McKean by Richard Dowdle. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. McKean was chief justice of Pennsylvania.
142Horatio Gates to Alexander Hamilton, James Duane, and William Duer, 5 February 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
I received The packet you Honoured me with by The Bearer Mr. J. Nourse, and immediately forwarded your Letter with The Books to the State Secretary T. Merriwether Esqr. at Richmond, with a Letter from myself, requesting him to Present it to The Committee, that is appointed to attend The General Meeting in Philadelphia. Previous to my receiving your Letter, I had The Honour to receive a packet...
143To Alexander Hamilton from Paul Bascom, 8 February 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Turks-Island , February 8, 1787 . “I wrote you in July last … respecting the Business of Mrs. Place’s Children, with the Estates of Paul & Stephen Richards at New-York.” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Presumably Paul Bascom of Bermuda who had been a searcher of the customs there. Turks-Island is located in the British West Indies. Letter not found.
144To Alexander Hamilton from Israel Beach, 13 February 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Newark [ New Jersey ] February 13, 1787 . Requests advice on the payment of certain bonds. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
145To Alexander Hamilton from Robert R. Livingston, 3 March 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
I recd. your favor with the Barrons papers in hand, by the post, the letters you mention to have sent by a private hand never reached me. I enclose a letter to the Baron containing my opinion Tho I confess to you that I think that in publishing (as he told me he proposed) he will shew more resentment that prudence. He will provoke replies, he will be called upon to shew what he has lost, the...
146To Alexander Hamilton from David Beekman, 7 March 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
St. Croix, March 7, 1787. Requests Hamilton’s opinion on Beekman’s liability for a bail bond he signed with Gilbert Woodward. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Beekman was a partner in the St. Croix firm of Beekman and Cruger.
147To Alexander Hamilton from Jacob Le Roy and Sons, 10 March 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, March 10, 1787. Request Hamilton to collect debts owed by several individuals to Broome and Platt, a firm indebted to Le Roy and Sons. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
148To Alexander Hamilton from Theodorick Bland, 20 March 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Richmond, March 20, 1787. Acknowledges receipt of a circular letter from Hamilton, James Duane, and William Duer concerning proposed alterations in the “Institution” of the Society of the Cincinnati and states that it will be reported to the next meeting of the state society. ALS , New-York Historical Society, New York City. Bland wrote in his capacity as vice president of the Virginia Society...
149To Alexander Hamilton from Daniel Coxe, 4 April 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
London, April 4, 1787. “… Interested as I am in a large landed Property in the State of New Yorke; under former Grants of the Crown, and which not having been confiscated, is considered to be secure to me in virtue of the Treaty, I am anxious to be informed, from a Gentleman of your high Professional merit, whether or not, and how far, the Principle of Alienism , is adopted seriously by your...
150To Alexander Hamilton from Marquis de Lafayette, 12 April 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
It is an Age since I Heard from you. Of you I Hear By some of our friends, and in the News Papers. But altho I Have a Right to Complain, I want to let you know the proceedings of our Assembly, which as it is Unusual in France, May Raise Your Curiosity. Our Constitution is pretty much what it was in England Before it Had Been fairly writen down, and Minutely preserved; so that we Have great...
151To Alexander Hamilton from Mary Bryant, 23 April 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, April 23, 1787. Asks Hamilton’s assistance in securing a disputed legacy left to her by her husband. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Mary Bryant was the widow of Dr. William Bryant of Trenton, New Jersey.
152To Alexander Hamilton from Catherine Bayard, 24 April 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, April 24, 1787. “I wish you Could so Much advance the Settlement of My affairs as to Make Me Receive of the Trustees of Bayards Estate a Sum Sufficient to Provide for My Urgent Expences during your Absence and Reimburse you what you so Obliginly have Sent to Me.…” ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. Catherine Bayard was the widow of Samuel Bayard.
153To Alexander Hamilton from Augustus Van Cortlandt, 29 April 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Yonkers, New York, April 29, 1787. Requests that Hamilton take legal steps to secure the payment of money owed Van Cortlandt. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
154To Alexander Hamilton from John Jay, 2 May 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
[ New York, May 2, 1787. On May 3, 1787, Hamilton wrote to Jay : “I this morning received your letter of yesterday.” Letter not found. ]
155To Alexander Hamilton from P. I. More, 12 May 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Charleston, South Carolina, May 12, 1787. Requests Hamilton to collect a debt owed More by “Mr. John Tayleur formerly Merchant in this Place, now keeping a Jeweller’s Shop in Queen Street near the Coffee house in New York.” LS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress. More was a Charleston physician.
156Constitutional Convention. Appointment to Committee for Establishing Rules for the Constitutional Convention, 25 May … (Hamilton Papers)
Philadelphia, May 25, 1787. On this date, Hamilton, George Wythe of Virginia, and Charles Pinckney of South Carolina were appointed a committee to prepare “standing rules & orders” for the Constitutional Convention. Hunt and Scott, Debates Gaillard Hunt and James Brown Scott, eds., The Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Which Framed the Constitution of the United States of America....
157To Alexander Hamilton from Jacob Sarly, 26 May 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Delaware Mills near Trenton, May 26, 1787. “On my arrival at Newyork your Letter was handed me.… I will endeavour to fulfill the proposition I made of paying the Remainder due on the Bond I gave, previous to my leaving Newyork for England which will be in the Course of the next Month; for the Ballance which will satisfy one half of the Debt, I will put such Security in your hands as I trust...
158To Alexander Hamilton from George Washington, 10 July 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
I thank you for your communication of the 3d. When I refer you to the State of the Councils which prevailed at the period you left this City—and add, that they are now, if possible, in a worse train than ever; you willfind that little ground on which the hope of a good establishment can be formed. In a word, I almost dispair of seeing a favourable issue to the proceedings of the Convention,...
159To Alexander Hamilton from Thomas Mullett, 23 July 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
New York, July 23, 1787. Advises Hamilton to accept the settlement which has been arranged in a cause pending between Samuel Brailsford and Thomas Wooldrige. ALS , Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
160To Alexander Hamilton from Baron von Steuben, [August–September 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
Mon Cher Ami. L’amour pour la justice, autant que L’Amitié dont Vous m’avez honoré depuis dix ans Vous a induit d’acquiescer à ma Sollicitation & de Vous charger de ma demande Envers les E: U: Vous Ayant Exposé les titres sur lesquelles ma pretention est fondé, Votre Opinion joint a Ceux de Mr: Douane, Chancellier Livingston et Mr: jay, etoit Unanime, que la stipulation fait entre les E:U: et...
161To Alexander Hamilton from Jeremiah Wadsworth, 26 August 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
I recd your favor this day with the inclosed Copy of a letter said to be circulating in this State. Some time since a Paragraph in the New Haven Paper hinted at such a letter, & appeared to be written to scare the antifederal Party or alarm them—and I believed it was well intended as it seemed to be meant to prepare them to comply with the doings of the convention, least worse befell them—but...
162To Alexander Hamilton from David Humphreys, 1 September 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Our friend Col Wadsworth has communicated to me a letter in which you made enquiries respecting a political letter that has lately circulated in this State. I arrived in this Town yesterday & have since conversed with several intelligent persons on the subject. It appears to have been printed in a Fairfield Paper as long ago as the 25th of July. I have not been able to trace it to its source....
163To Alexander Hamilton from Ezekiel Forman, 24 September 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Philadelphia, September 24, 1787. “… I wish to know if the process against Mr. Livingston was served and return made to the … July Term and if any thing more is wanted for the effectual prosecution of that suit. Please to look over the papers I left, and judge, if the accts. stated by the sheriff, and the writing thereon be not sufficient to empower me to carry on a suit.…” ALS , Hamilton...
164To Alexander Hamilton from Samuel Brailsford, 25 September 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Charleston, South Carolina, September 25, 1787. “Mr Mullett lately transmited me Copy of your Letter to him of the 22d July, together with his answer, which I approve, tho’ he was mistaken in saying that the terms on which Wooldridge has been liberated, were all that I required; as there was another matter of great importance that I wished to accomplish previous to that event, & on which I...
165To Alexander Hamilton from Angelica Church, [2 October 1787] (Hamilton Papers)
You had every right my dear brother to believe that I was very inattentive not to have answered your letter; but I could not relinquish the hopes that you would be tempted to ask the reason of my Silence, which would be a certain means of obtaining the second letter when perhaps had I answered the first, I should have lost all the fine things contained in the Latter. Indeed my dear, Sir if my...
166To Alexander Hamilton from Marquis de Lafayette, 15 October 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
While you Have Been Attending your Most Important Convention, debates were also Going on in france Respecting the Constitutional Rights, and Matters of that kind. Great Reforms are taking place at Court. The Parliaments are Remonstrating, and our provincial Assemblies Begin to pop out. Amidst Many things that were not Much to the purpose, some Good principles Have Been laid out, and altho our...
167To Alexander Hamilton from George Washington, 18 October 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
Your favor without date came to my hand by the last Post. It is with unfeigned concern I perceive that a political dispute has arisen between Governor Clinton and yourself. For both of you I have the highest esteem and regard. But as you say it is insinuated by some of your political adversaries, and may obtain credit, “that you palmed yourself upon me, and was dismissed from my family;” and...
168To Alexander Hamilton from Gaspard Joseph Amand Ducher, 26 October 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
je suis arrivé ici apres bien des fatigues et des dangers; je me Repose et j’en ai grand Besoin. Rappelles vous, je vous prie, que vous m’aves promis Deux pièces Relatives à La nouvelle constitution; je les attends avec Le plus grand empressement et je vous scaurai gré de me faire passer tous les pamphlets qui seront imprimés sur ce sujet. mes Respects je vous prie à Madame hamilton. jai...
169To Alexander Hamilton from Marquis de Lafayette, 26 October [1787] (Hamilton Papers)
As I am writing By a Gentleman Who goes through England and Carries my letter Himself, I shall Content Myself with inclosing the Copy of Some favourable Arrangemens of Commerce —and Reminding You of Your loving, grateful, and devoted am My dear Hamilton Yours for Ever My Best Respects to Mrs Hamilton. ALS , The Sol Feinstone Collection, Library of the American Philosophical Society,...
170To Alexander Hamilton from George Washington, 10 November 1787 (Hamilton Papers)
I thank you for the Pamphlet, and for the Gazette contained in your letter of the 30th. Ulto. For the remaining numbers of Publius, I shall acknowledge myself obliged as I am persuaded the subject will be well handled by the Author. The new Constitution has, as the public prints will have informed you, been handed to the people of this state by an unanimous vote of the Assembly; but it is not...