To John Jay from John Marsden Pintard, 19 April 1783
From John Marsden Pintard1
Madeira 19 April 1783
Sir
Having been directed by my worthy uncle Elias Boudinot Esqr (now Presidt. of Congress) to appeal in Behalf of, and render every assistance to americans who by the Fortune of War were brought to this Place, I accordingly on every occasion, when any of my unfortunate Countrymen were brought in here, assisted them, not only with my advice but likewise my Purse; particularly in the Case of Capt. Stewart of belonging to Baltimore in Maryland, who was taken & put on Shore here, together with his whole Crew consisting of 12 Men, who applyed to the french Consul at this Place to support them, and procure them a Passage to Lisbon, but he told them he could not do any thing of the Kind unless they entered into the french Service; which Proposition as much surprized me as Capt. Stewart. I then told him not to make himself uneasy—that I would support him and his Men while they were here, and would undertake to procure them a Passage to Lisbon, which I accordingly did; altho very much thwarted by the English Consul at this Place, who I must say behaved with a Degree of Venom on this occasion, which ought & I hope will be remembered by every honest american, who may have occasion to view the Particulars of this Transaction I wrote to the President & to his Excy. Mr. Franklin, to which Letters I have as yet recd. no answers but am in daily Expectation of recieving them: together with the appointmt. of Consul from the United States of America at this Place which my good uncle Mr. Boudinot in his last Letter dated the 15th. of Novr. last informs me that he will apply for, and he has not the least doubt that it will be obtained for me.
The Friendship which has always subsisted between the two Families flatters me that, I will have your Excellencys Influence in this affair. Provided there could not be a Consul appointed by Congress at this Place until an alliance or Treaty of Commerce should take place between the united States and Portugal, I most earnestly request the Favor of your Excellency, in Conjunction with your Brother Commissioners, to appoint me acting Consul at this Island of Madeira, until that Treaty or alliance should take Place, when I have almost a Certainty of that appointmt. from Congress. From an application made me a few Days ago by the Capt. of an American Vessel, who came in here in his Way from Nantes to America, to procure for him his necessary Papers & Clearances, which it is the Duty of a Consul to do. His Excellency the Governor of this Island was pleased to nominate me Consul for the Time being, which office I am now executing according to the best of my abilities, and hope that Congress will think fit to give me that appointment, and of which I make but little Doubt as I flatter myself that your Excellency’s Interest, together with that of my Friends in America will be more than sufficient to obtain that office, especially if I am so happy as to be honored with that appointmt. from the Commissioners to Europe which doubtless your Influence with them will easily obtain.2
Your Excellency will doubtless, before you have read thus far asked yourself who it is that is writing to you in this intimate Stile—but the Friendship which formerly subsisted between the two Families flatters me that you will not be displeased with the Freedom I have taken when I acquaint you that it is the Son of Mr. Lewis Pintard formerly of New York. If I am so happy as to be honored with a Line from you on this Subject, you’ll please to direct for me to the Care of Messrs. John Searle and Co. Madeira; and in the interim I remain &c.
(signed) John Marsden Pintard3
C, DLC: Boudinot (EJ: 10350), enclosed in JJ to Elias Boudinot, 11 June 1783, below.
1. John Marsden Pintard (d. 1811), son of Lewis Pintard (1732–1818) and Susanna Stockton (1742–72), claimed relation to Elias Boudinot through the marriage of his mother’s sister, Hannah Stockton, to Boudinot. Like the Jays, the Boudinots and the Pintards were descendants of Huguenot refugees. Pintard’s father was a prominent New York merchant and a principal importer of Madeira wines for some years after the Revolution. See “Letters from John Pintard to his Daughter,” New-York Historical Society, Collections (4 vols.; 1940–41), 1: ix-xii; W. W. Abbott et al, eds., The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series (16 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1987–), 3: 215.
2. Pintard, described by Boudinot as “connected” with the Madeira firm of John Searle & Co., was appointed U.S. commercial agent at Madeira on 31 Oct. 1783, but not consul, because the United States did not yet have a commercial treaty with Portugal. In a letter to BF of 23 Aug. 1783, PPAmP: Franklin Papers, Boudinot described the firm as singularly attached to the American cause and as extremely attentive to American prisoners carried into Madeira. At the time this letter was written, James Searle, brother to John Searle, the senior partner of the firm, was also seeking Boudinot’s support for his candidacy for the consular appointment to Madeira. As commercial agent, Pintard corresponded with JJ as secretary for foreign affairs. In June 1790 Pintard was appointed consul at Madeira. As the representative of Searle & Co., Pintard in 1784 met the United States, the second American ship to sail for China, when it put in at Madeira. On the firm’s recommendation, the ship’s destination was altered to India in hopes that a cargo of Madeira wine would sell better in Pondicherry. See , 25: 778–80; , 20: 125–26; 21: 134; , 17: 244, 253, 254, 277; 18: 83; and William Bell Clark, “Postscripts to the Voyage of the Merchant Ship United States,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 76 (July 1952), 298–300, 309–10.
3. For JJ’s reply, see his letter of 7 June 1783, below.