From James Madison to Buckner Thruston (Abstract), 10 June 1805
§ To Buckner Thruston1
10 June 1805, Department of State. “A new commission constituting you a Judge of the Territory of Orleans was necessary under the act of Congress, passed at the last Session, by which the form of Government of the Territory was modified: this has been forwarded to New Orleans. As however it has been rumoured, that the office would not meet your acceptance, and in that case it will be necessary to fill the vacancy as soon as possible, I request you to be pleased to inform me as soon as convenient of your intention with respect to the commission.”
Letterbook copy (DNA: RG 59, DL, vol. 15). 1 p. Addressed to Thruston at Lexington, Kentucky.
1. Virginia native Buckner Thruston (1763–1845) graduated from the College of William and Mary, studied law, and moved to Kentucky, where he was admitted to the bar. He was elected to the 1789 Virginia General Assembly and elected clerk of the Kentucky state senate in 1792 after that region became a state. He served as a commissioner for the settlement of the boundary dispute between Kentucky and Virginia, was Kentucky district judge in 1791, and circuit court judge from 1802 to 1803. After he declined the appointment as judge for Orleans Territory, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, serving from 4 Mar. 1805 to 18 Dec. 1809. He was named judge of the U.S. circuit court for the District of Columbia, serving from January 1810 until his death in August 1845.