To Thomas Jefferson from André Limozin, 4 October 1785
From André Limozin
Le Havre, 4 Oct. 1785. Encloses copy of his letter to Joseph Fortin concerning his inheritance rights to the “Estate to which he would be entitled had his Father not alterd his Christen name when he landed in America”; also copies of the church register and notice of property sale. It will be evident to TJ that Fortin’s claim cannot be pressed “as long as he will call him self son of Joseph Fortin as he does by the Vouchers he sent me, because none of the Family of the deceasd Fortin who left that Estate was calld Joseph.”
RC (DNA: PCC, No. 87, i); 2 p.; at foot of first page, in part: “en son Hotel a la Grille de Chaillot Paris.” Tr (DNA: PCC, No. 107, i). Recorded in SJL as received 6 Oct. 1785. Enclosures (DLC): Copies of baptismal certificate of Jean Baptiste Fortin, dated 29 Dec. 1719; notice of sale of the property of Jean Fortin, dated 30 Nov. 1732; and Limozin to Joseph Fortin, 11 Oct. 1782, in which he said: “I have had a Copy drawn of the Birth and Names of all the Fortins, I have got all the Papers you sent me Translated by a Sworn Broker, or Interpreter: that cost 50 Livers besides Postage, and it grieves me mostly that you will find no benefit neither by the expences I have made, nor by the troubles you have had to procure so many Papers, to send them to me, nevertheless if you can get all the Papers altered in mentionning the home of your late Father John, instead of Joseph, I am in good hopes yet to succeed‥‥I have been prudent enough to not shew to any Body the Papers you sent me, nor to make any application to Justice, to Claim the Estate‥‥I [am] really astonished to hear that you had drawn on me already Ten thousand Livers on Account of that expected Estate. Your draft is returned with Protest… .”