To James Madison from Joseph Blandford, [ca. 9 January 1816]
From Joseph Blandford
[ca. 9 January 1816]
The Petition of Joseph Blandford respectfully sheweth, that a Judgment was obtained against him by default on an indictment for an assault & Battery, & that he is now confined in the Jail of the County of Washington, on an execution for the fine & fees on said Judgment amounting to eighteen dollars & eighty eight cents. Your petitioner further states that he is poor & unable to pay the said fine & fees, & has moreover a wife & six children to support by his labor. He therefore prays that the said fines & fees may be remitted, that he may be discharged from Jail, & that he may be enabled to labor for the support of his family.
RC (DNA: RG 59, Petitions for Pardon, no. 313). Appended to the petition are notes by court clerk William Brent and Washington City Treasurer Washington Boyd certifying that the judgment against Blandford was made in the June 1815 term of the court, that the fine for his misdemeanor was “one cent,” and that the costs amounted to $16.25. The petition was forwarded to JM by judges Buckner Thruston and James Morsell on 9 Jan. 1816 with a recommendation that the fine and fees be remitted. Docketed by JM: “Let a pardon issue J.M.”