William Cranch to Abigail Adams, 14 June 1798
William Cranch to Abigail Adams
Georgetown June 14th. 1798.—
My dear Madam—
I have just closed a letter to the Prest. on the subject of my Bror. Greenleaf.—1 I do not know whether I have not said too much, but if I had not been restrained by a sense of Propriety I should have beg’d & pleaded that he might have some appointment or other. I consider him as a man of uncommon abilities and attention to Business, & he has no means of exercising his Talents at present, having divested himself of every shilling of property. If his Conduct had not stood the test of the most severe investigation— If his misfortunes had not been merely the Effect of the sanguine temper of a young man—or if I thought his mind impaird by his misfortunes, I would not say a word on the subject. But knowing, as I think I do, the goodness of his heart and the integrity of his morals, I feel myself justified in saying even more than I have yet said.—
Pray have you seen the Fredicksburgh Resolutions, brot. forward by Ker & supported by Mercer, the Pupil, the Diciple, and if we may believe himself the Confidant of Mr. Jefferson. For myself I do believe they contain the pith of the Philosoper’s Creed political & philosophical. The letter to Cabell too is a comment on the same.—2
I am sorry to say that Mrs. Johnson does not enjoy good health. I am very fearful. if she does not Dissapate the Bile by Change of Air, Exercise, and Amusements she will be very sick.—
We all enjoy good health.— I wrote you from Annapolis about the 1st. of June.—
With the most affecte. Respect / I am, your obliged Nephew
W. Cranch.3
RC (Adams Papers).
1. In his 14 June letter to JA, Cranch noted that James Greenleaf would soon be released from debtors’ prison and, defending his brother-in-law’s integrity, strongly recommended Greenleaf for any open government appointment for which he would be qualified (Adams Papers). Greenleaf did not receive a nomination under JA and no reply to Cranch’s letter has been found, but for AA’s reply, see note 3, below.
2. For the resolutions suggested by Dr. David Corbin Ker and supported by Col. John Francis Mercer, see Cranch to AA, 4 June, and note 3, above. Ker (1772–1840) graduated with a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1792 and later served as the mayor of Fredericksburg, Va. The letter to Virginia representative Samuel Jordan Cabell resulted from a 7 May 1798 town meeting in Charlottesville, Va. The letter decried both French and British depredations on American commerce and declared that although inconvenient the current situation was preferable to a state of open war. It also likened JA’s authorization of merchant armament as “tantamount to a declaration of war, as it should be remembered that belligerent nations have rights as well as neutral nations.” Cabell (1756–1818) served in the army during the Revolutionary War and was captured by the British in 1780. He represented Virginia in Congress from 1795 until 1803 (Ludwig M. Deppisch, “Andrew Jackson and American Medical Practice: Old Hickory and His Physicians,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 62:135 [Summer 2003]; S. J. Quinn, The History of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Richmond, Va., 1908, p. 336; Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, 1 June 1798; ).
3. In her reply of [post 17 June], AA explained that Greenleaf could not be appointed to the position of collector of Philadelphia because he was not a native of the state and had been involved in speculation. AA explained the difficulty JA had in making nominations with the number of recommendations he received and described his process: “The Names of all respectable persons offering themselves as canditates for office are placed upon a Book, and attended to when any opening arises for which they are deemed qualified” (Adams Papers).