John Rhea and Thomas Moore to Thomas Jefferson, 22 November 1803

From John Rhea and Thomas Moore

Washington
November 22d, 1803

William Martin of Smith County in the state of Tennessee, who also is a member of the General Assembly of that State, requested that he might be named to the President of the United States for an appointment to the office of a Surveyor in the Louisiana territory, if such an office should be created—

We therefore agreeably to his request have taken the liberty to name him to You for that purpose. We believe him qualifyed to discharge the duties of such office—and with pleasure we can also say that we believe him to be an honest man, and firmly attached to the Principles of Republicanism

With consideration of respect and esteem—Your Obedt Servts

John Rhea
of Tennessee

Tho Moore
of So. Carolina

RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); in Rhea’s hand, signed by Rhea and Moore; at foot of text: “The President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ as received 23 Nov. and “Martin Wm. of Tennissee to be Survr. Louisiana” and so recorded in SJL.

John Rhea (ca. 1753-1832), a native of Ireland, represented Sullivan County in the Tennessee General Assembly before his election to Congress, where he served nine terms in the House of Representatives between 1803 and 1823 (ANB description begins John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography, New York and Oxford, 1999, 24 vols. description ends ; Biog. Dir. Cong. description begins Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989, Washington, D.C., 1989 description ends ). Thomas Moore (1759-1822) was a planter from Spartanburg District, South Carolina. He served three terms in the state legislature during the 1790s and seven terms in Congress from 1801 to 1817. As was Rhea, Moore was a solid Republican and supporter of TJ’s administration (Biog. Dir. Cong. description begins Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989, Washington, D.C., 1989 description ends ; S.C. Biographical Directory, House of Representatives, 4:411-12).

william martin, a son of Indian agent Joseph Martin and a former resident of upstate South Carolina, did not receive an appointment, but he did serve as a presidential elector for TJ in 1804 and for James Madison in 1808 (Robert M. McBride and Dan M. Robison, Biographical Directory of the Tennessee General Assembly, 2 vols. [Nashville, 1975-79], 1:502-3; S.C. Biographical Directory, House of Representatives, 4:382-3, 411-12).

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Source Project: Jefferson Papers
Title: John Rhea and Thomas Moore to Thomas Jefferson, 22 November 1803
Authors: Rhea, John
Moore, Thomas
Recipient: Jefferson, Thomas
Date: 22 November 1803

Reference

Cite as: “John Rhea and Thomas Moore to Thomas Jefferson, 22 November 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-42-02-0026. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 42, 16 November 1803–10 March 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016, pp. 30–31.]