From John Jay to Peter Augustus Jay, 26 January 1799
To Peter Augustus Jay
Albany 26 Jany 1799
Dear Peter
I this Day recd. yours of the 22d. Inst:—1 one of my late Letters contains a paragraph relative to the Coach—2 You have doubtless by this Time recd. it—I had no Idea of authorizing Mr Hallet3 to sell the Coach for any price, nor did I expect that a conclusive Bargain would have been undertaken, without previously consulting me and obtaining my approbation— I owe Mr Hallet about one hundred pounds or something more— pay him one hundred pounds on account. I will look among my papers for his account—and after ascertaining the Ballance, will in a future Letter mention and desire you to pay it—4
I shall shew attentions to Mr McGilvary,5 as any other Gentleman whom you may recommend me.
Have you done any thing with Phillis?6 I think with your Mama that to liberate her immediately would be of evil Example to the others, considering what her Behaviour has been— but I am not anxious about the price—I think it wd. be prudent to sell her for not more than two Years, taking a Covenant from the purchaser to manumit her at the Expiration of that Term—I should be satisfied with fifteen or twenty pounds— I fear lest we should be chargeable with her maintenance during Life—and there is little prospect of her being good for much, considering her Habits— We are all well, except W[illia]m. who has a Cold and a little Fever— I am Dr. Peter your affte. Father
John Jay
Peter Augustus Jay Esqr
ALS, NyKaJJH (EJ: 09978).
2. PAJ’s letter of 22 Jan. mentions that he had received two letters from JJ dated 16 and 18 Jan., neither of which has been found.
3. James Hallet, a coachmaker in New York City. Daily Advertiser (New York), 23 Feb. 1792; New-York Gazette, 5 Aug. 1797. JJ had maintained a running account with Hallet for nearly a decade, paying him sums of £40 on 7 Jan., £20 on 16 Mar., and £49.17.3 on 10 Oct. 1791, £19.9.6 on 18 Jan. 1794, £10.14.6 on 20 Nov. 1795, $250.00 on 25 Nov. 1796, and £100 on 10 Aug. 1797. John Jay Receipt Book, 1789–1802, D, NNC (EJ: 12487). JJ instructed PAJ to sell his coach following the gubernatorial election of 1798, explaining that his stable in Albany “is too small to receive that & the other carriages.” JJ to PAJ, 16 Apr. 1798, ALS, Frederick Jay Wells (EJ: 07347).
4. See JJ to PAJ, 10 Feb. 1799, ALS, NyKaJJH (EJ: 09979), containing an enclosure from JJ to John Jones, 7 Feb. 1799, marked “copy”.
5. PAJ mentioned in his letter that he had provided a “Mr. McGillivray” with a letter of introduction for JJ. This individual possibly refers to William McGillivray (1764–1825), of Montreal. A native of Scotland and fur trader in British Canada, McGillivray served as a leading figure in the North West Company and helped to establish a branch in New York City. Dictionary of Canadian Biography http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mcgillivray_william_6E.html.
6. Phillis was an enslaved woman living in New York City. JJ had previously attempted to sell Phillis when his family moved to Albany in the fall of 1797. See Inventory of John Jay’s Property, [8–9 Nov. 1798], , 6: 706, 709n2; Horton, Listening for Clarinda, 92.
7. Possibly the land agent and investor James Wadsworth (1768–1844), of Geneseo, N.Y., a Connecticut native who developed settlements in the Genesee Valley.
9. Letter not found.