To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph B. McKean, 11 April 1805
From Joseph B. McKean
Philadelphia April 11th: 1805.
Sir,
Mr; Clement Penrose has, I understand, been recommended to your Excellency as a fit person to be appointed Register, under the Act of Congress “For ascertaining and adjusting the titles & claims to Lands within the territory of Orleans and the district of Louisiana.” Although, I have not had the pleasure of a very intimate acquaintance with Mr; Penrose, yet, from his character & talents, his knowledge of the French and German languages, I presume he is competent to discharge the duties of the office. I have therefore taken the Liberty to recommend him to your Excellency for the appointment.
I have the honour to be with great respect Your Mt. Ob St.
J. B. M;Kean
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); at foot of text: “His Excellency Thomas Jefferson Esqr.”; endorsed by TJ as received 17 Apr. and “Penrose Clemt. to be Comr.” and so recorded in SJL.
Lawyer Joseph B. McKean (1764-1826) was the son of Pennsylvania governor Thomas McKean and the brother of Sarah McKean Irujo, wife of the Spanish minister. He served as state attorney general from 1800 to 1808 and as a judge in the district court of Philadelphia beginning in 1817. At the time of his death, McKean was president of that court and was described as “learned, undefatigable patient and candid” (Cornelius McKean, McKean Genealogies, from the Early Settlement of McKeans or McKeens in America to the Present Time, 1902; With Portraits Representing the Different Branches of the Family [Des Moines, 1902], 118-19, 122; John Hill Martin, Martin’s Bench and Bar of Philadelphia: Together with Other Lists of Persons Appointed to Administer the Laws in the City and County of Philadelphia and the Province and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania [Philadelphia, 1883], 26-7, 78-9; Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, 5 Sep. 1826).
a fit person: Tench Coxe recommended Clement Penrose in an undated letter to Madison. Coxe described Penrose as the nephew of “Mrs. Genl. Wilkinson,” about 34 years old, with a background in law and an acquaintance with the German and French languages (RC in DNA: RG 59, LAR; endorsed by TJ: “Penrose Clement B. Comr. Louisa. Tenche Coxe to mr Madison”). See also , 9:233-4.