Thomas Jefferson to Patrick Gibson, 22 November 1816
To Patrick Gibson
Poplar Forest Nov. 22. 16.
Dear Sir
I have been here about a month and shall now within a day or two set out on my return to Monticello. on winding up here I find my debts amount to 222.D. which sum I recieve from mr Robertson, and draw for the same on you in his favor.
I found on my arrival here that mr Yancey had preferred employing the teams in getting the new crop sown, rather than in carrying the old to Lynchburg: so that he had not sent the boat load of flour1 down which I expected. I shall not regret it, if enough has been sent from Albemarle to cover my deficit with you. we are told of a wonderfully sudden rise in the price at Richmond. I shall wonder mor[e] if in the course of the winter & spring it does not rise to a considerab[ly] higher price than has ever before been given. Europe & N. America were never before within my memory so destitute of bread. I am for holding up until the market opens on the breaking up of the ice in the spring of the year.—our crop of tobacco here is short. Yancey ha[d] calculated on 20,000. he now wavers as low as 15,000. of which he assures me one half will be prime, and the other good. this will be down in Jan. & Feb. and I see no reason for holding it up after it gets to market. of this however you will be the best judge and will sell when you think best.
Th: Jefferson
P.S. I must pray you to send a bale of cotton for the use of this place to mr Yancey by such boat or person as he shall direct to call for it. the smallest bale over 100. ℔ will be sufficient
PoC (DLC); on verso of reused address cover of Lafayette to TJ, 16 Aug. 1816; edge trimmed; mutilated at seal, with missing word rewritten by TJ; between closing and signature: “Mr Gibson”; postscript adjacent to signature; endorsed by TJ.
Archibald robertson was making the following payments for TJ: $45 to Joseph Slaughter “for a horse”; $20 to a Mr. Butler “for <leather> wheels”; $7 to Alexander Bridgeland (Bridgland) for “87. ℔ beef”; and $150 to Robertson himself “for corn” (, 2:1329). A missing letter from TJ to Bridgeland of 25 Oct. 1816 is recorded in SJL.
1. Preceding two words interlined.
Index Entries
- beef; TJ purchases search
- boats; transfer goods to and from Richmond search
- bread; scarcity of search
- Bridgeland, Alexander; letter to accounted for search
- Bridgeland, Alexander; TJ purchases beef from search
- Butler, Mr.; TJ buys wheels from search
- corn; TJ buys search
- cotton; purchased by TJ search
- Europe; scarcity of bread in search
- flour; price of search
- flour; transported to Richmond search
- food; beef search
- food; bread search
- Gibson, Patrick; and goods for TJ search
- Gibson, Patrick; and TJ’s flour search
- Gibson, Patrick; and TJ’s tobacco search
- Gibson, Patrick; letters to search
- Gibson, Patrick; payments made for TJ search
- horses; TJ purchases search
- James River; ice on search
- Monticello (TJ’s estate); flour from search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); cotton used at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); flour from search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); TJ returns from search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); TJ visits search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); tobacco grown at search
- Richmond, Va.; boats transfer goods to and from search
- Richmond, Va.; flour prices at search
- Richmond, Va.; flour shipped to search
- Robertson, Archibald; and payments for TJ search
- Robertson, Archibald; sells corn to TJ search
- Slaughter, Joseph; TJ buys horse from search
- tobacco; grown at Poplar Forest search
- United States; scarcity of bread in search
- weather; ice search
- Yancey, Joel (d.1833); as superintendent of Poplar Forest search