From Benjamin Franklin to C. F. d’Inarre, 10 November 1784
To C. F. d’Inarre9
AL (draft) and press copy of LS:1 American Philosophical Society
Passy, Nov. 10. 1784
Sir
I receiv’d the Letter you did me the honour of writing to me the 22d of last Month, requesting my Advice as to your Removal to America. The enclos’d Pamphlet2 will answer most of your Questions. Understanding Agriculture there is no doubt of your being able to live comfortably in Pensylvania, where there are many wealthy German Families who began with less Money than you will possess. Yet at your time of Life, & with a Family, if you can live tolerably in your own Country I should hardly advise your undertaking so long a Voyage to establish yourself among Strangers. Wishing your Determination whatever it is may be best for your Interest, I have the honour to be Sir
9. In answer to a letter of Oct. 22, in which d’Inarre, signing himself as “avocat au Conseil Souverain d’alsace a francfort Sur le Meyn,” inquires about emigrating to America. Will 100 louis, his entire fortune, be enough to live on? He has read the work of the abbé Raynal and thinks that South Carolina will suit his constitution, though he knows nothing about its government. He wishes to become a “planteur.” Can he acquire land? Will he be subject to constant attacks by Indians? How much would 1,000 acres cost? He believes that there are sufficient Negroes in that province, but how much would they cost? He was an officer in the Royal Nassau regiment during the Seven Years’ War. He has studied law; knows Latin, French, and German; is especially interested in physics; and has a wife, who will accompany him. What would BF do in his place? He adds, in a postscript, that his age is 43 years and 4 months. APS.
D’Inarre does not mention that in 1783 and 1784 he published four books. Their topics were electricity, general physics, meteorology (including earthquakes and volcanoes), and balloons: Georg Christoph Hamberger and Johann Georg Meusel, Das gelehrte Teutschland, oder Lexikon der jetzt lebenden teutschen Schriftsteller (4th ed.; 22 vols., Lemgo, Germany, 1783–1823), VI, 158.
1. The LS is a faithful French translation in L’Air de Lamotte’s hand and is also dated Nov. 10.
2. “Information to Those Who Would Remove to America”: XLI, 597–608.