To George Washington from Elizur Goodrich, 1 October 1793
From Elizur Goodrich
New Haven Octr 1 1793
May it please Your Excellency
The office of ⟨mutilated ⟩ in ⟨mutilated ⟩ being vacant by the death of ⟨mutilated ⟩ Esquire I have the honour respectfully to solicit that your Excellency would be pleased to confer on me the appointment to succeed him.1 Should your Excellency consider a complyance with my application, consistent with the public Good I should accept the appointment with unfeigned Gratitude and make it my endeavour to discharge the duties of the office with fidility and for the benefit of my Country. I am with the greatest Veneration and respect your Excellencys humble Servant
Elizur Goodrich
ALS, DLC:GW.
Elizur Goodrich (1761–1849), a graduate of Yale College, was a New Haven lawyer. He served as a Connecticut representative in Congress, 1799–1801, and was reelected to the succeeding Congress but resigned to take an appointment as collector of customs at New Haven. Removed from that office in 1803, he served in the years following as a member of the governor’s council, as a judge, and as mayor of New Haven.
1. The endorsement on this letter indicates that Goodrich was “applying for the Collectors Office ⟨Ne⟩w haven—Connt,” which had recently come open upon the death of Jonathan Fitch.