To Thomas Jefferson from Christopher Ellery, 19 January 1805
From Christopher Ellery
Janry. 19th. 1805.
Sir
When you shall take into consideration the removal from office of the present Collector of the Customs of New Bedford Massachusetts, and the appointment of his Sucessor, my request is, that you will do me the honor to regard me as the friend of William Almy, esquire, of Westport, and, so far as my good word may go, accept it in his favor—
I hope, Sir, that this gentleman, before a very distant day, will fill the place now occupied by Mr. Pope, and that thus many friends of the Executive may be gratified; among whom suffer me to rank him, who is,
with perfect respect & esteem, Your most obedient servant
Christ. Ellery
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); at foot of text: “The President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ as received 20 Jan. and “Almy Wm. to be Collectr. New Bedford v. Pope” and so recorded in SJL.
In a letter of 3 Dec. 1804 to Phanuel Bishop, a member of Congress for Massachusetts, William Almy discussed how one of Edward Pope’s deputies had contributed unfairly to sustaining Federalist power in Westport. The “only way,” Almy wrote, “to remove the evil” was “by the removal of the Collector” (same, 9:536-8; endorsed by TJ: “Pope collector N. Bedford to be removed”).