| | 1 | Author: | Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Thomas Jefferson, letters to and from various persons, 1791-1840
| | | | Dates: | 1791-1840 | | | | Abstract: | This is a particularly rich collection of Thomas Jefferson’s letters from his retirement years. The letters primarily cover the years 1813-1820s, although there are some from earlier. Most of the letters are outgoing, and L. H. Girardin is the primary recipient. The letters to Girardin often discuss Virginia’s history and sometimes Jefferson’s own recollections of events, including letters on Virginia during the American Revolution and a supposed attempt to create a dictatorship in Virginia in 1776. Some letters also convey information on contemporary events and offer a window into Jefferson’s personal and family life. A few letters from 1791 discuss Jefferson’s memory of Benjamin Franklin, including anecdotes of Franklin in France. One document is a draft of a profile of Baron Humboldt. A series of letters to Peter Du Ponceau discuss Thomas Jefferson’s attempt to acquire a copy of William Byrd’s “A Secret History of the Line” and, once acquired, his interpretation of it. Another portion discusses the journals of Lewis and Clark.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.J35.Le | | | | Extent: | 63.0 Item(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colony and State Specific History | Exploration. | Native America | War of 1812 | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | |
| 2 | Author: | Smyth, Frederick, 1732-1815 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Frederick Smyth papers, 1756-1816
| | | | Dates: | 1756-1816 | | | | Abstract: | Frederick Smyth was the Chief Justice of New Jersey before the American Revolution (appointed in 1764). Before that, he lived in England, Barbados, and Martinique. This collection of Smyth papers contains a range of official documents that relate to political and legal matters in New Jersey. The legal documents include petitions, reports to the grand jury, and official pronouncements and commissions. There are also several pieces of private correspondence. Some of the earliest documents contain information on Smyth’s career before arriving in New Jersey. There is also a deposition relating to the firing on HMS St. John in Newport, Rhode Island in 1764 and a series of other documents relating to legal and political affairs in Rhode Island during the imperial crisis. Of particular note are two long speeches Smyth delivered before a grand jury in 1775 and 1776 in which he defends the Crown, a response to these speeches from the grand jury defending American rights, and a long letter from Edward Affleck in 1783 describing the British departure from New York City. Smyth stayed in Philadelphia after the war, although he never relinquished his British citizenship, and there are a few documents chronicling his post-war experience.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.Sm95 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colony and State Specific History | Law | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Judges -- New Jersey. | Legal instruments -- New Jersey. | |
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