Thomas Jefferson Papers

To Thomas Jefferson from John Brown, 20 April 1804

From John Brown

Frankfort 20th. April 1804

Sir—

You probably may recollect that previous to my leaving Washington I spoke to you in favor of Major John Hunter of this place who wished to obtain the appointment of Commandant of a Post in upper Louisiana. Since my return home Maj’r Hunter has since renewed his applications to me on that subject & informs that it will be perfectly agreeable to him to be transferred to the Army at the expiration of his Services in Louisiana should he be honored with an Appointment. He would prefer a situation high up the Missouri, & will be contented with the rank & emoluments of a Major but would not accept of less. Having resided for some time in Louisiana he possesses some Knowledge of customs, manners, & habits of the People of that Country, & being a man of conciliatory manners Strict integrity, & great attention to Business I think him well qualified to fill the Office he solicits.—

Since the rejection of the Bill providing for the division of the Indiana Territory Mr. Toulmin has directed his views to the Mississipi Territory & is now very anxious to obtain the appointment of additional Judge for that Territory should that office be still vacant. At his request I take the liberty to state his wishes to you & in Justice to his merit will Just observe that I really think him well qualified for that appointment—

This portion of the Union enjoys at present a state of uninterupted peace & tranquility. We have the greatest abundance of the necessaries of Life for home consumption but very little to spare for exportation; a great part of the last Crop of Wheat having been distroyed by the Weevil. Eight or ten Vessels ready for Sea are now lying at the rapids of the Ohio waiting for a rise of the Water to enable them to descend the River—One of them a Ship of about 350 tons built at Pittsburg.

I am with the greatest respect Sir Your very Humble Sert.

J. Brown

RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson Esqe President of the U States”; endorsed by TJ as received 7 May and “Hunter Toulmin} for office” and so recorded in SJL.

On 6 Dec. 1803, the Senate passed a bill providing for the division of the indiana territory into two separate governments, which proposed the formation of a new territory from the land lying north of a line running from the southernmost extreme of Lake Michigan east to Lake Erie and west to the Mississippi River. Two days later the House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee, which issued an unfavorable report on 30 Dec. The House rejected the bill on 21 Feb. (printed bill, 4 Nov., Shaw-Shoemaker description begins Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker, comps., American Bibliography: A Preliminary Checklist for 1801-1819, New York, 1958-63, 22 vols. description ends , No. 5259; JS description begins Journal of the Senate of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1820-21, 5 vols. description ends , 3:306, 321; JHR description begins Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1826, 9 vols. description ends , 4:481, 506, 590-1; Annals description begins Annals of the Congress of the United States: The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States … Compiled from Authentic Materials, Washington, D.C., Gales & Seaton, 1834-56, 42 vols. All editions are undependable and pagination varies from one printing to another. The first two volumes of the set cited here have “Compiled … by Joseph Gales, Senior” on the title page and bear the caption “Gales & Seatons History” on verso and “of Debates in Congress” on recto pages. The remaining volumes bear the caption “History of Congress” on both recto and verso pages. Those using the first two volumes with the latter caption will need to employ the date of the debate or the indexes of debates and speakers. description ends , 13:1040-2; Terr. Papers description begins Clarence E. Carter and John Porter Bloom, eds., The Territorial Papers of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1934-75, 28 vols. description ends , 7:163-4; 10:5-7).

Harry toulmin had expressed his willingness to accept an appointment in the proposed “territory on the lakes” in a letter dated 9 Dec. 1803 from Frankfort, Kentucky, to an unidentified recipient, although he would prefer a position in either Louisiana or Florida (RC in DNA: RG 59, LAR; endorsed by TJ: “Toulman. appmt Detroit”). Toulmin communicated similar sentiments to Madison in a letter dated 20 Dec. from Frankfort, adding that he was interested in a commission to explore Louisiana if no other appointment was forthcoming (same; endorsed by TJ: “Toulmin Harry for appmt Detroit”).

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    Source Project
    Jefferson Papers
    Title
    To Thomas Jefferson from John Brown, 20 April 1804
    Author
    Brown, John (Ky.)
    Recipient
    Jefferson, Thomas
    Date
    20 April 1804

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To Thomas Jefferson from John Brown, 20 April 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-43-02-0234. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 43, 11 March–30 June 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 269–270.]