To Thomas Jefferson from Jacob Wagner, 6 February 1802
From Jacob Wagner
6 Feby. 1802
J: Wagner presents his best respects to the President of the U. States and has the honor to enclose a list of the Justices for Washington County. Mr. Moore’s name being inserted on an erasure of the original commission, it is probable, that he was substituted for Mr. Law, and J:W. thinks he remembers that Mr. Stoddert was substituted for Mr. Laird
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR, 8:0412). Enclosure not found.
For a printed copy of the original commission, dated 16 Mch. 1801, in which the 15 justices of the peace for Washington County were named, including Benjamin More and Benjamin Stoddert, see , 5 [1902], 266.
On this date Wagner also wrote Meriwether Lewis. He had recently alerted the president’s secretary about a discrepancy he had found in the “transcript of the Minutes of the Senate” of 6 Jan. regarding the appointments for Washington County, observing “that the name of Benjamin Moore, appointed a justice of the peace for this county, in the recess, was omitted in the nominations.” After a further examination, Wagner found that John Laird, who was not appointed during the recess, was on TJ’s 6 Jan. list of interim appointments. He also noted that “Jonah Thompson” appeared on the 6 Jan. list as “Josiah Thompson” (DNA: RG 59, LAR, 8:0413–14). See TJ to the Senate: Interim Appointments, 6 Jan., especially Documents II and III.