To John Jay from Robert Troup, 6 May 1792
From Robert Troup
New York Sunday 6 May 1792
My Dear Sir,
Since my last to you I have recd. a letter from Mr. Laurence informing me that the two bills I sent him are accepted by Mr. Bell to be paid at the house of Randall, Son, and Stewarts in this City. I have not had any further accounts from Dr. Ramsay.
I have this moment finished reading the different accounts from the Northern parts of the State respecting the election— All our friends express a confidence that you will be successful. The enclosed returns of the election in the Eastern & Western Districts is from Fairlie1 who is pretty dispassionate upon the present occasion— for he has not been very zealous or active for you from an idea he imbibed in the beginning of the business that you had supplanted his father in law— I therefore rely upon the statement as being pretty near the truth & rather within bounds than otherwise— If therefore Clinton does not arrive at Columbia County with a majority of 800 or upwards against you it is more than probable that your election will be safe—
I shall now underneath Fairlies statement proceed to make a statement of the result of the votes in the Southern & Middle Districts— Since writing the above I have added my statement to Fairlie’s & the result upon the whole election appears to be a majority of 250 for you.— You may rely upon it that my statement is as unfavorable as I possibly could make it— All our friends from Ulster County assure us as well as our friends in Albany that Ulster will yield a majority of upwards 100 for you— Mr. Cantine & Col. Bloom2 both write that they expect a majority of 500 for you in Dutchess— In Westchester County we do not think from late accounts that our Majority will fall short of 350— I have also made a very lax allowance for Suffolk—for Orange—and I think for Richmond—
Upon the whole I am well satisfied that we have succeeded & that you will be carried by a Majority that, under all circumstances, will be deemed honorable to you— This is also the decided opinion of Yates—Schuyler—Peter Van Schaack— Hobart—Jones—Harison—Duane—Bogart—Hoffman— &c—3 In the Northern parts of the State the Clintonians are lowspirited & have done betting— Here some of the leaders are extremely uneasy— I know that Willet is from his declarations to me—
I shall continue writing to you & hope my next intelligence will be more agreeable— In the mean time I am with the utmost sincerity My dear Sir Your very affectionate friend
Robert Troup
Honble John Jay
ALS, NNC (EJ: 07188). Enclosures not found.
1. Major James Fairlie (1757–1830) of Albany was a former aide to Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. In 1786 he married Mary Yates, the daughter of New York Chief Justice Robert Yates. Fairlie served as an alderman and a clerk of the Circuit Court in New York City and New York State Supreme Court. Sketches prepared by New York Society Library https://www.nysoclib.org/collection/ledger/people/fairlie_james and the New York State Museum http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/f/jafairlie8015.html [accessed September 17, 2014].
2. John Cantine (1735–1808) was a member of the state assembly from Ulster County, 1777–78, 1779–81, 1783–85, 1786–89; a delegate to the New York Ratifying Convention in 1788, and a member of the New York state senate, Middle District, 1789–97. Col. Bloom probably refers to Isaac Bloom (c. 1747–1803) of Clinton, Dutchess County, a state assemblyman from 1788 to 92, state senator from 1799 to 1802, and a member of House of Representatives in 1803. See Political Graveyard.com.
3. Jay supporters Robert Yates, Philip Schuyler, Peter van Schaack, James Duane, John Sloss Hobart, Richard Harison, Samuel Jones, Cornelius J. Bogert (1754–1832), a New York City lawyer and a member of the assembly in 1791 (, 9: 368), and Josiah Ogden Hoffman (1766–1837), another New York City lawyer, a member of the New York state assembly from New York County, 1790–95, 1796–97, 1812–13, and state attorney general, 1795–1802. See PoliticalGraveyard.com.