Samuel Smith to Thomas Jefferson, 16 October 1805
From Samuel Smith
Balte. 16. Octr. 1805
Sir/
I do myself the honor to Send You the inclosed—Mr. Keene is a young Lawyer from this City, the Gentleman who married Mr. Martins Daughter. I have the honor to be,
Your Obedt. Servt.
S. Smith
RC (DNA: RG 59, LAR); endorsed by TJ as received 17 Oct. and “Toulman to be judge Orleans” and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: Richard Raynal Keene to Smith, 12 Sep.; he is attending court at Washington in Mississippi Territory and recommends Harry Toulmin for an appointment as judge in Orleans Territory, suggesting that it would be “infinitely easier to supply his place” in Mississippi than it has been to supply quality judges in Orleans; after attending court in Mississippi, Keene finds Toulmin “accurate & prompt in his decisions” (RC in same; endorsed by TJ: “Toulman Harry to be judge Orleans Keene to Genl. Sam. Smith”).
Keene, a New Orleans resident originally from Baltimore, had controversially eloped with Luther Martin’s daughter Eleonora in 1802 (New-York Evening Post, 6 Feb. 1802; Federal Gazette & Baltimore Daily Advertiser, 2 Mch. 1802; Luther Martin, Modern Gratitude, in Five Numbers: Addressed to Richard Raynall Keene, Esq., Concerning a Family Marriage [Baltimore, 1802]).
Silas Dinsmoor also recommended Toulmin for the judgeship in a 12 Oct. letter to Dearborn, writing that Toulmin’s “young family find here no society congenial to their habits of life, of course a removal would be desirable” (RC in DNA: RG 59, LAR; endorsed by TJ: “Toulmin judge. to be judge Orleans 1805 Dinsmore to Genl Dearborne”).