Circuit Court Diary, 21 June–9 July 1791
Circuit Court Diary
[21 June–9 July 1791]
Newport 21 June 1791—1
Govr. Collins told me that in 1776 W.E. drew an association whereby the Subscribers bound themselves to support the british Govt. in that Island—that it was subscribed by W.E. & a considerable number of the Inhabitants. That it was offered to him by that Gent. that reprobated it in strong Terms—That he opposed it—that they became ashamed of it & suppressed it at least he never afterwards cd. get a Copy or Sight of it—that he afterwards saw it printed in an English paper, but without the Subscribers names. &ca.—2
22 June. Court adj[ourne]d.—3
23 Set out for Bennington—leaving Judge Cushing indisposed. he promises to set out Tomorrow & I promised to wait a Day for him at Hartford.— went by water to Providence—lodged at Scituate at Manchesters—
24. Dined at Canterbury at Binghams4—tolerable put up at wyndham—majr. Ripleys5—so-so passed the Evg with Col. Dyer—he spoke much of the Endeavours of the French minister & his Partizans to prevail on Congress to recall Mr. Adams & myself with Disgrace for breaking our Instructions by not consulting Ct. De Vergennes abt. provisional Articles &ca. he told me that C.L. was in the french Interest.6
25 June 1791 took Breakfast at Capt. Hills at crank— dined at Woodburys East Hartford—good—7
Messrs. Jefferson & Maddison had been here—8 Mr Col. Beckwith was also travelling apparently for Information9
28 Set out for Bennington— Mr Cushing not arrived— took Breakfast at Hills 13 miles from Hartford—so-so— Dined at Phelps in green woods—not very good— put up at Norfolk at Capt Phelps—pretty good—
29 Passed thro Canaan,10 & breakfasted in Sheffield at Col. Hickcocks11—10 miles— Went thro’ Barrington 16 miles to Stockbridge— dined there at the Widow Binghams—good—12 lodged at Mr. V Sc^h^acks at Pitsfield—13
30 Dined at Kellogs Williams Town—14 came to Bennington— put up at Capt. Dewey’s—pretty good—15
found Mr. Jacob cuyler here—16 he and many others waited on me—vizt.Col. Brush—Govr. Robinson—maj. Robinson—Judge Smith— Mr. Tichenor &c.—17 It seems that on the 17th. a great number of respectable Inhabitants collected here in Expectation of the Court. & a Troop of Horse went 3 Miles to meet & accompany the Judges— I explained to them the Reason of our being so long detained at Newport—18
July 1— Mr. Cuyler introduced to Mr. a Leutn. mc.Koy of the british army—he had come to this place with Madam LaBonne, a Daughter of Marqs De Lotbinier, She had eloped from her Husband with this young officer— Mr. Cuyler says she is one of the most beautiful accomplished Women he ever saw— I did not think it proper to return his Visit or wait upon her—such conduct merits no countenance—19
Took Tea with Govr. Robinson, & passed part of the Eveng with Mr Tichenor
I find that Judge Chipman has not recd. his Commission, & Judge Cushing being absent there cannot be a court20
wrote to Mrs. Jay by the Post— promised Mr Cuyler to speake abt. his Son to Mr. Smith the marshal of N York—21
July 2d. Col. Fay presented me with a Map of Vermont—22
Set out for New York— took Breakfast at Kellogs—Williams Town—dined at Hancock, at Noah Elis23—but tolerable— came on from thence 8 miles to new Lebanon, & put up at ^Capt^ Ephraim Hunts—it seems a good House—24 34 miles this Day
found here Mrs. H. V Schaack with her niece— Mr. Gerard Walton, (who told me Doct. John Jones was dead) and Mr Wm. Ludlow—25 the Baths here are shamefully out of Repair—over the principal one there is no Roof—26
4 Left Lebanon— took Breakfast at Amos Fowlers27 west Stockbridge 13 miles—tolerable— went to Barrington 10— to Hickocks at Sheffield 8 miles— lodged at Hickocks—good
5 —Dined at Gollow’s28 Sharon, 20 miles—good stoppd. at Koons29 Dover 15 miles—tolerable went 5 miles at lodged at Col. morehouse’s—30
6 Took Breakfast at Fredericksbourgh at Philipse’s31—civil— 12 Miles—within a half mile of this the Road parts— one leads to Salem by the way of Jos’s Hills32 the other by Pattersons— the first leads by Salem meeting House & is the shortest way to Bedford Town— the latter leads to Salem academy,33 & being nearest to Cantito I took it— went 14 Miles to Dinner at Delavan’s34 near the Academy— thence went 7 to my Farm— so that from Bennington to my Farm is abt. 138 miles; the last seven is bad—
Staid at Farm
8 went to Rye—
9 Came to N York
JJ Circuit Court Diary, 21 June–9 July 1791, AD, NNC (EJ: 07351). Letters mentioned in the Diary that have not been found generally are not further identified.
1. For the first leg of his travels for the Spring 1791 term of the Circuit Court, JJ was accompanied by SLJ and PAJ as he attended sessions in New Haven (25–30 Apr.), Boston (12–17 May), Portsmouth (24–26 May), and Newport (7–22 June). For more about the Jay family on circuit, see SLJ to Maria Jay, 23 Apr., above, and JJ to PJM, 19 May 1791, ALS, NNMus (EJ: 00413).
2. Newport’s reputation as a hotbed of Loyalism during the American Revolution can be traced to the town’s vulnerable position on Narragansett Bay and a large contingent of resident merchants who feared the conflict’s impact on good governance and secure trade. The association mentioned in the diary entry probably refers to one signed by seventy townsmen who pledged allegiance to Britain in June 1775. Joel A. Cohen, “Rhode Island Loyalism and the American Revolution,” Rhode Island History 27 (October 1968), 97–112. The association might also refer to a petition drawn up in late 1776. Following the British capture of Newport, 444 residents wrote to General Henry Clinton assuring him that they remained faithful subjects to the Crown. The petition appeared without signatures in the Newport Gazette, 16 Jan. 1777, and was reprinted in the Morning Post and Daily Advertiser (London), 24 Mar. 1777. For more on this document, see Elaine Forman Craine, A Dependent People: Newport, Rhode Island in the Revolutionary Era (New York, 1985), 155. W.E. could be William Ellery (1727–1820), a Newport native and Collector of Customs for his home district. It is doubtful, however, that Ellery would have associated with Newport’s Loyalists. As an ardent and active Whig, he represented Rhode Island in the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. For more on Ellery’s role in the American Revolution, see William M. Fowler Jr., William Ellery: A Rhode Island Politico and Lord of Admiralty (Metuchen, N.J., 1973). John Collins (1717–95), the recent governor of Rhode Island, had served with Ellery in the Continental Congress.
3. The Circuit Court for the District of Rhode Island met in Newport from 7 to 22 June. JJ, Cushing, and Henry Marchant dealt with a heavy trial docket, consisting of seventeen common law suits and seven criminal prosecutions. , 1: 321.
Local newspapers also provided brief descriptions for the criminal prosecutions, most of which involved counterfeit government notes. Stephen Pettis of Kingsbury, N.Y., residing in Newport, Caleb Church (1759–1825) of Hopkinton, and Isaac Darrow of Groton, Conn., residing in Newport, were indicted and pled not guilty to charges of forging and attempting to sell Loan Office Certificates and Final Settlement Certificates. The three defendants were discharged when the petit jury returned a verdict of not guilty. George Irish (c. 1729–1801) of Middletown was indicted for the same crime but the grand jury decided against holding a trial. The lone prosecution that did not involve fraudulent certificates was an indictment against James DeWolf (1764–1837) of Bristol, a ship captain and slave trader, for the murder of an unnamed enslaved African woman on 20 Nov. 1790 during a voyage of the slave ship Polly from Africa to the West Indies. DeWolf had the woman thrown overboard and drowned because he believed she was infected with smallpox. Jabez Champlin (1728–1805), the deputy marshal of the District, could not locate DeWolf, so in lieu of a trial the Circuit Court continued to issue indictments for his arrest through 1795. In April of that year, DeWolf was tried for the crime by a Danish judge in St. Thomas who cleared him of any wrongdoing. MWalFAR: RG 21, CCD Rhode Island: Case File Record, United States v. DeWolf; Newport Mercury, 25 June 1791; Providence Gazette, 25 June 1791. For the DeWolf case, see Marcus Rediker, The Slave Ship: A Human History (London, 2007), 343–47. For more on the newspaper coverage of this circuit court session, see the editorial note “Riding the Circuit,” above.
4. Captain Luther Bingham (b. c. 1760) operated an inn in Canterbury, Conn.
5. Major John Ripley (1738–1823), licensed innkeeper in Windham, Conn., from 1775 to 1796. Ripley served in the French and Indian War and was an officer in the Continental army. Norwich Courier, 2 July 1823; , 411, 424, 524.
6. Eliphalet Dyer, Chief Justice of Connecticut. Dyer was one of Connecticut’s delegates to Congress while JJ was conducting peace negotiations with Britain. “C.L.” refers to Chancellor Livingston. During his tenure as Secretary for Foreign Affairs, RRL sent a reprimand to the peace commissioners for not deferring to the guidance of the French court during the negotiations. See the editorial note “Congress Debates the Commissioners’ Conduct,” and RRL to the American Peace Commissioners, 25 Mar. 1783, , 3: 334–44.
7. The tavern’s proprietor has not been identified. It is possible that JJ mistakenly wrote “Woodbury” instead of “Woodbridge” for this entry. He had dined several months earlier at the Woodbridge Tavern in East Hartford when he noted in his diary that it was a “good” meal. Circuit Court Diary, 10 Dec. 1790, above.
8. TJ and JM had set out from New York City on a journey to upstate New York and New England a month earlier. JM reported that he undertook a tour of the region for the purpose of “Health recreation and curiosity.” While the pair certainly sought to gauge the political climate of the communities they visited, their written observations focused on indigenous culture, antiquity, agriculture, natural history, and domestic manufacture. TJ’s travel papers record topics ranging from local flora and the Hessian fly to the language of the Unquachog, an Algonquian settlement in southern Long Island. , 20: 294–95, 434–73; , 14: 22–23, 25–30.
9. British agent George Beckwith believed that a pro-French agenda was at the root of TJ and JM’s decision to travel through the northern states. Accordingly, he scheduled his own tour of the region to monitor the pair and promote economic policies and political sentiments favorable to Britain. Some Federalists also suspected that TJ and JM planned to challenge GW’s administration by building a political base in the region. JJ had previously discussed Anglo-American diplomacy with Beckwith who had also probably attended a dinner party hosted by SLJ in early 1787. See Robert Troup to AH, 15 June 1791, , 7: 478–79; SLJ’s Invitation Lists, 22–23 Feb. 1787, , 4: 479–80; and Frank T. Reuter, “‘Petty Spy’ or Effective Diplomat: The Role of George Beckwith,” Journal of the Early Republic 10:4 (Winter 1990): 471–92.
10. North Canaan, Conn.
11. Jeremiah Hickok (1747–1809) kept a tavern in Sheffield, Mass., and commanded a regiment of the state militia. During the war of independence, Hickok led militia troops from Berkshire County. Berkshire Chronicle, 21 Sept. 1789; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War: A Compilation from the Archives (17 vols.; Boston, 1896–1908), 7: 821–22.
12. Anna Dix Bingham of Stockbridge assumed proprietorship of the inn following the death of her second husband, Silas Bingham, in 1781. Although financial difficulties forced Bingham to sell the inn in 1790 to James Orton (1765–c. 1840), her son by her first husband Thomas Orton (c. 1747–1780), she continued to oversee the running of the establishment and purchased it back in 1795. Bingham appeared before the Circuit Court as a defendant in Jenkins v. Kingsley in Boston for the Fall 1790 and Spring 1792 terms and before the Supreme Court as a plaintiff in Kingsley v. Jenkins during the February 1793 term. JJ and Bingham also crossed paths as they travelled to Philadelphia, probably for the sitting of the Supreme Court in August 1792. See Circuit Court Diary, 2–3 Aug. 1792; the editorial note “The Supreme Court: Procedures and Cases,” above; and Lion G. Miles, “Anna Bingham: From the Red Lion Inn to the Supreme Court,” New England Quarterly 69: 2 (June 1996): 287–99.
13. In March 1791 Henry Van Schaack (1733–1823) had offered JJ his Pittsfield mansion as a “resting place” during his ride to the circuit court session in Bennington. Although Van Schaack’s letter did not reach JJ until after he had completed the Spring circuit, JJ did visit Van Schaack and in July thanked him for an “agreeable Evening” in Pittsfield.
Peter Van Schaack, Henry’s brother, also invited JJ to visit him in Kinderhook, an offer JJ declined because of his wish to be reunited with his family. Peter’s reply to JJ highlighted the role of the chief justice and the Circuit Court in cultivating popular goodwill and trust in the federal government. See Henry Van Schaack to JJ, 28 Mar., ALS, NNC (EJ: 07109); JJ to Henry Van Schaack, 15 July, ALS, MHi (EJ: 13437); JJ to Peter Van Schaack, 15 July, ALS, DUSC: (EJ: 12313); Peter Van Schaack to JJ, 20 Sept. 1791, below.
14. Possibly Charles Kellogg (1751–1828) of Williamstown, Mass. Arthur L. Perry, Origins in Williamstown, 2nd ed. (New York, 1896), 602.
15. Capt. Elijah Dewey (1744–1818) served at Ticonderoga and Saratoga during the revolutionary conflict and represented Bennington in Vermont’s General Assembly during the 1780s. JM and TJ had breakfast at Dewey’s while touring New England in June 1791; TJ rated it a good inn. , 20: 458, 472.
16. Jacob Cuyler, an Albany merchant and former state assemblyman, was seeking federal employment for his son Richard (c. 1766–1800). Cuyler wrote JJ in August requesting him to contact AH about a position for Richard in the Treasury Department. After making inquiries, JJ informed Cuyler that no vacancies were available. See JJ to AH, 10 Sept., with enclosed copies of Cuyler to JJ, 3 Aug., and JJ to Cuyler, 10 Sept. 1791, ALS, DLC: Hamilton (EJ: 10758); , 9: 196.
17. Col. Nathaniel Brush (1741–1803), a militia officer during the revolutionary war, later served Bennington as a justice of the peace, judge of probate, and clerk of the courts. Moses Robinson (1741–1813) held the rank of colonel during the Revolution and served on the Governor’s Council and as chief justice of Vermont. He was elected governor in 1789, and following statehood, represented Vermont in the U.S. Senate. Maj. Jonathan Robinson (1756–1819), the brother of Moses, served as town clerk, member of the Vermont House of Representatives, judge of probate, chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, and U.S. senator. Noah Smith (1755–1812), one of the first lawyers admitted to the bar in Vermont, held the position of state attorney and county clerk of Bennington before serving as Vermont’s supervisor for the excise and judge of the state’s supreme court. Isaac Tichenor (1754–1838), a New Jersey native and lawyer by training, moved to Vermont where he served as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Speaker of the House, a member of the Vermont Council, a justice of the state supreme court, a U.S. Senator, and governor.
18. The lengthy sitting in Newport disrupted the Circuit Court’s timetable for the Spring term. When the court adjourned on 22 June, JJ left by boat for Providence the following day and then embarked on a weeklong journey to Bennington to attend the Circuit Court for the District of Vermont, which had been scheduled to convene on 17 June. On JJ’s arrival in Bennington, see Vermont Gazette (Bennington), 4 July; Albany Register, 11 July; Federal Gazette (Philadelphia), 13 July; Mail, or Claypoole’s Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia), 14 July; Daily Advertiser (New York), 16 July; Providence Gazette, 23 July; Massachusetts Spy (Worcester), 25 July; Middlesex Gazette (Middletown), 30 July; Connecticut Gazette (New London), 4 Aug. 1791.
19. Louise Chartier de Lotbinière (1770–1802), daughter of Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, had married the Canadian seigneur and lawyer Pierre-Amable De Bonne (1758–1816) in 1781, but the couple soon separated. She came to the United States in 1790 with her travelling companion, the English officer Samuel McKay (1763–1832). The couple settled in Williamstown, Mass., where their child was born. George Williams Brown, David M. Hayne, Francess G. Halpenny, and Ramsay Cook, Dictionary of Canadian Biography (Toronto, 1983), 5: 231.
20. JJ left Bennington soon after arriving because the business of the Circuit Court for the District of Vermont could not proceed as planned. Illness had detained Judge Cushing in Newport, and Nathaniel Chipman (1752–1843), the District judge, and Lewis R. Morris (1760–1825), the District marshal, could not carry out their respective duties because the former had not yet received his commission.
21. Jacob Cuyler again requested that JJ intercede on behalf of employment for his son Richard. William S. Smith, then marshal for the District of New York, had recently been appointed the district’s supervisor of the excise, and Cuyler hoped that Smith would select Richard as a subordinate in his new post.
22. Col. Joseph Fay (1752–1803) of Bennington, secretary to the Vermont governor.
23. Noah Ely (1751–95), a justice of the peace in Hancock during the mid-1790s. Heman Ely and Amanda Graves Ely Terry, Records of the Descendants of Nathaniel Ely: The Emigrant, who settled first in Newtown, now Cambridge, Mass., was one of the first Setters of Hartford, also of Norwalk, Conn., and a Resident of Springfield, Mass., from 1659 until his Death in 1675 (Cleveland, 1885), 37.
24. Capt. Ephraim Hunt (1758–1805), formerly an officer in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, served as postmaster for New Lebanon and later as the sergeant at arms in the New York Assembly. His public house catered to visitors who came to take the waters of the nearby mineral spring and use the accompanying bathhouses. Albany Gazette, 2 June 1791; Albany Register, 18 Oct. 1805; , 211.
25. Jane Holland Van Schaack (c. 1739–1815) of Pittsfield, wife of Henry Van Schaack. Her niece is probably Margaret Van Vleck (1770–1859), the daughter of Henry’s younger sister, Lydia van Schaack Van Vleck (1745–74). Henry and Jane adopted Margaret upon Lydia’s death during childbirth. Gerard Walton (c. 1737–1821), a former Loyalist, belonged to a prominent mercantile and shipbuilding family of New York City. Walton served as a governor of the New York Hospital and as vice-president of the chamber of commerce. Walter Barrett, The Old Merchants of New York City (New York, 1863), 105, 106.
26. In 1796 SLJ and Maria Jay spent twenty-seven days at the baths then operated by Isaac Terboss at Lebanon Springs to treat Maria’s skin ailment. See Bill from Isaac Terboss, 22 Aug. 1796, D, NNC; SLJ to Catharine Livingston Ridley, 29 July 1796, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06471); and JJ to SLJ, 31 July 1796, ALS, NNC (EJ: 08070).
27. Amos Fowler headed a household of eight persons in 1790 in West Stockbridge, Mass. , 38.
28. Joseph Gallow (c. 1738–c. 1805) opened a tavern in Sharon, Conn., after moving there from Hudson, N.Y., in 1785. Charles F. Sedgwick. General History of the Town of Sharon, Litchfield County, Conn. from its First Settlement, 2nd ed. (Amenia, N.Y., 1877), 131.
29. Capt. Peter Koon (c. 1722–95) of Dover, N.Y. Country Journal (Poughkeepsie), 9 Mar. 1786.
30. Col. Andrew Morehouse Sr. (1726–c. 1801) was second-in-command of the Third Regiment of Dutchess County Militia during the American Revolution. His tavern in South Dover hosted prominent leaders, including GW, Lafayette, and Rocheambeau, during the conflict. Frank Hasbrouck, The History of Dutchess County, New York (Poughkeepsie, 1909), 147, 289.
31. Fredericksburgh Precinct, or Frederick’s Town as it was designated in 1788, was a tract located in the Highland Patent owned by the Philipse family containing approximately 250 square miles in southern Dutchess County. The Philipses were Loyalists, and most family members chose permanent exile following the seizure of their vast landholdings. Frederick Philipse (1755–1829), however, successfully petitioned the state legislature to permit his return and residency on his family’s former estate. Related to both the Jay and the Livingston families, Philipse had graduated from King’s College in 1773 and served as a captain in Beverly Robinson’s Loyal American Regiment. Following his departure from New York, he returned to the Hudson Valley in the 1780s. The entry’s description of a “civil” meeting suggests JJ’s discomfort in associating with a former Loyalist who had taken up arms against the United States. William S. Pelletreau, History of Putnam County, New York: With Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men (Philadelphia, 1886), 36; Paul J. Bunnell, The New Loyalist Index (Bowie, Md., 1989), unpaginated; Country Journal (Poughkeepsie), 4 Apr. 1787.
32. A section of Ridgefield, Conn., probably named after Joseph Crane of Fairfield.
33. The North Salem Academy opened in 1787 and was incorporated and accredited by the New York Board of Regents in April 1790. JJ donated £10 for the academy’s establishment and served as a trustee. Since the academy was only six to seven miles distance from Bedford, the Jays considered enrolling William there so that he might visit home on weekends, but sent him instead to the Trinity School in Albany. “Early Education in Westchester County—North Salem Academy,” Westchester Quarterly 18 (April 1942): 21–32; SLJ to Susannah Livingston Symmes, 11 Apr. 1794, ALS, NNC (EJ: 06380); Receipt for Trinity School, [14 Jan. 1798], D, NNC.
34. This entry refers to one of the three Delavan brothers, John (1743–1834), Nathaniel (1746–98), and Daniel (1757–1835), who owned property near the North Salem Academy. All three had fought in the Revolutionary War and held civic offices in either North Salem or Westchester County. John and Daniel also served as trustees for the Academy.