John Hollins to Thomas Jefferson, 9 February 1810
From John Hollins
Baltimore 9th febry 1810
Dear sir
Yesterday brought me your esteemed respects of the 5th Inst, requesting me to forward to the care of Gibson & Jefferson, half a dozen ton of plaister by the first vessel for Richmond, which shall have due attention, with respect to the quality, being myself no judge, I shall confide in a particular friend, & flatter myself you will find it good; at present our navigation experiences a temporary embargo, but so soon as it is removed, & an opportunity presents, no time shall be lost—You do not say, whether it ought to be in the rough, or ground; Geo. Pitt. S.—who was present on opening your letter, tells me to prefer the former, but if you wish the latter you may write me, & perhaps in time.—
I am indeed pleased to learn that your health is so very good, that you may long enjoy it, is my sincere wish.— In a commercial point of view, the atmosphere, I think rather more foggy than usual; we Merchants are doing but little, & that little on a very precarious & uncertain foundation, nor do I expect we can do much, until Great Britain & France make peace, & when that will take place seems very doubtful.—
You shall hear again from me in due time, in the mean while accept the best wishes of Mrs H & myself, for your health & happiness, &
Jno Hollins
RC (MHi); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson Esqr Monticello Va”; endorsed by TJ as received 15 Feb. 1810 and so recorded in SJL.
geo. pitt. s.: George Pitt Stevenson, a merchant in Baltimore, was a first cousin of Hollins’s wife, Jane Smith Hollins, and the stepson of TJ’s nephew Peter Carr (James Lakin, The Baltimore Directory and Register, for 1814–15 [Baltimore, 1814]; gravestone inscriptions at Westminster Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Baltimore).
Index Entries
- agriculture; use of gypsum in search
- Baltimore, Md.; merchants in search
- Carr, Peter (TJ’s nephew); mentioned search
- Gibson & Jefferson (Richmond firm); and gypsum acquired by TJ search
- gypsum (plaster of paris); shipped search
- Hollins, Jane Smith (John Hollins’s wife); sends greetings to TJ search
- Hollins, John; and gypsum search
- Hollins, John; letters from search
- Monticello (TJ’s estate); gypsum for search
- Stevenson, George Pitt; and gypsum for TJ search