To Thomas Jefferson from Hilary Baker, 18 June 1793
From Hilary Baker
18th. June 1793
Messrs. Armand Gabriel Francois Paparel la Boissier at present of Philadelphia Gentleman a Native of Cape Francois in St. Domingo—and Jean Louis Du Cret also at present of Philada. Gentleman a Native of the Province of Lorain in France have this day taken the Oath of Allegiance to the State of Pennsylva. before me.
Hilary Baker
RC (DNA: RG 59, Certificates of Naturalization and Proofs of Citizenship); at foot of text: “Honble. Thomas Jefferson Esqr. Secretary of the United States No. 307 High Street.”
Hilary Baker (ca. 1750–98), a Philadelphia alderman and future mayor (, x [1886], 450), wrote a similar letter to TJ on 12 July 1793 stating that the Philadelphia merchants Francis Adrian Thibault, Joseph Hilary Carbonnel, James Chossan, Peter Castels, and John Baptist Reliau had appeared before him on that day and taken the oath of allegiance to Pennsylvania (RC in DNA: RG 59, Certificates of Naturalization and Proofs of Citizenship; at foot of text: “Honble. Thomas Jefferson Esqr.”; with a check mark before each name). Baker’s letters were essential preliminaries to the issuance of wartime passports to French emigrants. For the importance of proofs of citizenship in disputed prize cases, see TJ to Clement Biddle, 28 June 1793.