To Thomas Jefferson from Philip Spencer, Jr., and Joseph C. Field , 24 December 1803
From Philip Spencer, Jr., and Joseph C. Field
Washington 24th. Decr. 1803
Sir
Having made choice of New Orleans as the place of our future residence, And being desirous of appointments to Office in that City,—We have taken the liberty of submitting our names and pretensions to your consideration, and with that view enclose a certificate from the Gentlemen representing the State of New York in the Senate of the United States The offices we more particularly sollicit are those of Surveyor of the Port, and Marshall of the District Court.—the former for the underwritten P. Spencer jr.—the latter for J. C. Field.
With the highest consideration, We are Sir, Your most Obedt. Servants
Philip Spencer jr
Joseph C. Field
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); in Spencer’s hand, signed by Spencer and Field; at foot of text: “the President”; endorsed by TJ as received 2 Jan. 1804 and so recorded in SJL; also endorsed by TJ: “Field Joseph C. to be Marshal of Louisiana Spencer Philip jr. to be Surveyor N.O.” Enclosure: Certificate of John Armstrong and Theodorus Bailey, Washington, 23 Dec., stating that they have known Spencer and Field for “some years” and identifying Spencer as an attorney and Field as a farmer and justice of the peace; Armstrong and Bailey believe them to be “men of good standing, useful talents and sound political principles” (same).
Philip Spencer, Jr. (1763-1817), and Joseph C. Field (1768-1813) were brothers-in-law from Dutchess County, New York. Spencer was also the older brother of New York jurist and future congressman Ambrose Spencer. In their public careers, both served in the state legislature and held several local offices, with Spencer appointed county clerk three times and Field serving as county sheriff twice and as a local postmaster. Spencer went on to acquire a highly unsavory reputation. In 1814, he was accused of arson, and his reappointment as county clerk the following year was so unpopular that he was forced to resign. In October 1816, it was reported that he had secured ownership of some 70 convict slaves from the state prison and shipped them to Louisiana, where he died of typhus the following year (Frank Hasbrouck, ed., The History of Dutchess County, New York [Poughkeepsie, 1909], 73, 78; Frederick Clifton Pierce, Field Genealogy, 2 vols. [Chicago, 1901], 1:378-9; Nathaniel Goodwin, Genealogical Notes, or Contributions to the Family History of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts [Hartford, Conn., 1856], 318, 321; ; , 189; New York Evening Post, 2 Sep. 1814, 20, 21 Mch. 1815, 21 Oct. 1816, 9 Mch. 1821; Albany Register, 7 July 1815; Boston Daily Advertiser, 4 Jan. 1817; Albany Gazette, 22 Dec. 1817; Vol. 38:502n).