Thomas Jefferson Papers

Thomas Appleton to Thomas Jefferson, 15 May 1816

From Thomas Appleton

Leghorn 15th may 1816.

Sir

My last respects were in date of the 15th of april, conveying to you at the same time, the legal Attestation of the death of mr mazzei; an attested copy of his will; together with a letter from the guardian of his daughter, as to the disposal of the property in your hands; all of which, were transmitted by the Brig Sphynx Capt: macomb for new York. I now inclose you, Sir, duplicates of these Acts.—By the letter of mr Carmigniani, you will observe, that they are desirous of recieving both principal & interest, as Soon as it shall be in your power to Remit them; but if delay must be allow’d for the former,1 that the amount of the latter should be forwarded to them as it falls due.—

Miss mazzei will give her hand in marriage to a mr Pini, as Soon as the customs of the country will permit her to lay aside her mourning vestments—her intended husband is a gentleman of respectability, good manners, and a competent income in Pisa—in this choice she has complied with the wishes of her father, and only hearkned to the dictates of reason, for she is2 a third of a century younger than mr Pini.

A few days ago, I reciev’d a letter from mr Robert Dickey of n. York, covering a draft for fifty dollars, which has been duly paid, and is pass’d to your credit.

I mention’d also in my last letter, that the wine of montepulciano, owing to an uncommon Season, is greatly inferior to that usually made in that part of Tuscany; of course, I shall defer Sending you the wine you Request,3 until the next vintage—in the mean time, I am promis’d Some, of the villages of4 Carminiani & Ama, and should they prove of the quality I am assur’d they are, I purpose to Send you a hundred bottles on trial:5 the Sample I have tasted, appears to me very little inferior to the wines of montepulciano.—Accept, Sir, the expressions of my great6 esteem & Respect—

Th: Appleton

RC (DLC); at foot of first page: “Thomas Jefferson. esq.”; endorsed by TJ as received 29 Aug. 1816 and so recorded in SJL. FC (NNGL: Appleton Letterbooks); entirely in Appleton’s hand; dated 10 May 1816; at foot of text: “Sent by the Brig Silk worm, Capt. Burnham Via Boston.” Enclosures: enclosures to Appleton to TJ, 15 Apr. 1816.

Appleton credited TJ with the payment of fifty dollars in an account dated 3 May 1816: “Cr Thomas Jefferson esqr for Cash Rec’d of Grant, Pillans & Co by an order of Robt Trueman junr in favr Robt Dickey fifty Spanish dollars.—@ £6 & 1/3— To be applied for purchasing wines” (entry in unidentified hand in MBPLi: Appleton Account Book). The Tuscan villages of Carmignano (carminiani) and Casanuova di ama both produced wine.

1FC: “Capital.”

2FC here adds “nearly.”

3FC: “Sending you any.”

4FC: “from places call’d.”

5Sentence ends here in FC.

6FC: “high.”

Index Entries

  • Appleton, Thomas; account with TJ search
  • Appleton, Thomas; and P. Mazzei’s estate search
  • Appleton, Thomas; and wine for TJ search
  • Appleton, Thomas; letters from search
  • Appleton, Thomas; TJ pays search
  • Burnham, Parker (ship captain) search
  • Carmignani, Giovanni; and P. Mazzei’s estate search
  • Carmignano, Italy; wine from search
  • Casanuova di Ama, Italy; wine from search
  • Dickey, Robert; mentioned search
  • Grant, Pillans & Company (Leghorn firm) search
  • Italy; wine from search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with T. Appleton search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; and P. Mazzei’s property search
  • Macomb, Mr. (ship captain) search
  • Mazzei, Philip; death of search
  • Mazzei, Philip; will of search
  • Montepulciano (wine); TJ orders search
  • Pini, Andrea Tozzi (Elisabetta Mazzei Pini’s husband); marriage of search
  • Pini, Elisabetta Mazzei (Philip Mazzei’s daughter; Andrea Pini’s wife); marriage of search
  • Silkworm (brig) search
  • Sphynx (brig) search
  • Trueman, Robert search
  • Tuscany, Italy; wine from search
  • wine; Carmignano search
  • wine; Casanuova di Ama search
  • wine; Italian search
  • wine; Montepulciano search
  • wine; of Tuscany search