To Thomas Jefferson from Joseph Yznardi, Sr., 22 April 1802
From Joseph Yznardi, Sr.
Philadelphia 22 de Abril de 1802
Muy Señor mio, y de mi Mayor Respecto me ha sido forsozo dar Fiansa por la Suma de 12 mil $ sobre el Mal Pleyto del Capn Isrrael en el qe he Nonbrado por mi Nuebo defensor á Mr. Dalas Asegurandole qe V.E conoce mi Justicia, y qe desea se me haga y Confio en qe dos Renglones privados á Mr Dalas serán Suficientes para qe aga anular dicho Pleyto, y no dudo Mereser este favor á V.E antes de enbarcarme pues tengo Ajustado mi pasage en el Navio Equator para Cadiz
390 Gallones Contenian los Vinos qe mandé a V.E cuyos Dros de 156 $ Cunplirá el pago en Nobre á Cuyo Intento Escrivo al Gral Smith para qe a su tienpo ce entienda con Mr. Barnes
El dador de la presente es mi antiguo y particular Amigo Mr. Isaac Cushing conpañero de la Respectable Casa de Samadet, y Cushing de Marcella, en donde me aseguran, no Admiten á Mr. Catalan de consul, qe Ciento, pero si desgrasiadamte fuere Cierto, aseguro á V.E qe Mr. Cushing es digno del nonbramiento, por todos quantos Respectos sean Condusentes, al desenpeño de la dignidad del Enpleo
Suplico a V.E tenga la vondad de permitirme lo Recomiendo á V.E, y Mras Ruego á Dios gue su Vida ms. as
Exmo. Señor BLM de V.E su mas Obte. Servr
Josef Yznardy
Editors’ Translation
Philadelphia, 22 Apr. 1802
Most Excellent Sir
Dear Sir, and with my greatest respect:
I have been forced to pay bond in the sum of $12,000 for the wrongful lawsuit by Captain Israel in which I have named as my new lawyer Mr. Dallas, assuring him that Your Excellency knows my rights and wishes that I receive justice, and I trust that a couple of confidential lines to Mr. Dallas will be sufficient to have him get the said lawsuit dismissed. And I do not doubt that I deserve this favor from Your Excellency before I embark, as I have arranged for my trip in the ship Equator heading for Cadiz.
The wines I sent to Your Excellency consisted of 390 gallons, the duties on which of $156 I will pay in November, for which reason I wrote to General Smith so that he would deal with Mr. Barnes.
The bearer of this letter is my old and special friend, Mr. Isaac Cushing, partner in the respectable house of Samadet and Cushing in Marseilles, where they have assured me that they will not accept Mr. Cathalan as consul, which I regret, but if it were unfortunately true, I assure Your Excellency that Mr. Cushing is in every respect worthy to carry out the dignity of the post.
I beg Your Excellency to have the kindness to permit me to recommend him to Your Excellency, and meanwhile I pray to God to protect your life many years.
Most Excellent Sir, your most obedient servant kisses the hand of Your Excellency.
Josef Yznardy
RC (DLC); at foot of text: “Exmo. Sr. Dn. Thomas Jefferson”; endorsed by TJ as received 26 Apr. and so recorded in SJL.
The ship EQUATOR had been advertised for sale in Philadelphia during the first half of March. When Yznardi finally sailed for Cadiz in the first days of June, it was aboard a Spanish ship, the Principe de la Paz. Yznardi or a member of his family may have had a financial interest in that vessel, for when the ship left Philadelphia, newspapers listed the captain’s name as “Iznardi” (Philadelphia Gazette, 1 Mch., 3 June; Gazette of the United States, 15 Mch.; , 2:208).
LOS VINOS: according to TJ’s financial memoranda, the $156 for duties on the wines that Yznardi had sent him earlier in the year was paid on 6 May (, 2:1115; Yznardi to TJ, 12 Feb. 1802).
In addition to Yznardi’s letter printed above, ISAAC CUSHING probably brought other recommendations to Washington, including one to TJ from Benjamin Lincoln at Boston on 14 Apr. That letter, received on the 26th, has not been found, but according to SJL it related to Cushing’s bid for the consulship at Marseilles. Cushing likely also carried a letter that William Jones in Philadelphia wrote to Madison on 22 Apr., which according to its endorsement Madison handed to TJ. Jones wrote on behalf of his “particular mercantile friends” in Philadelphia and noted that Richard Dale joined in commending Cushing’s “character and merits” (RC in DNA: RG 59, LAR; endorsed by TJ in part: “Cushing Isaac to be Consul at Marseilles”; see , Sec. of State Ser., 3:151). In Washington on 26 Apr., William Eustis wrote a brief note to an unspecified recipient: “Dr. Eustis takes the liberty of enclosing two letters from two respectable merchants recommending Mr. Cushing for the Consulate at Marseilles—these with other evidences, adduced by Mr. Cushing, carry strong conviction of his fitness for that office.” TJ endorsed Eustis’s communication but did not record it in SJL, which may mean that Eustis originally sent it to Madison (RC in same; endorsed by TJ: “Cushing Isaac to be Consul at Marseilles”). The enclosures, both written at Boston, 15 Apr., were letters to Eustis from the merchants John Codman and Samuel Prince. Both writers praised Cushing, who was from Scituate, Massachusetts, and was a relative of William Cushing of the United States Supreme Court. Isaac Cushing, Prince asserted, “under many Trying Circumstances hath Evinced his Regard & Attachments to the Constitution of our Common Country on those Original Republican Principles which Actuated the patriots of ‘75” (RCs in same). On 28 Apr., Lucas Elmendorf wrote a letter in Washington, apparently to Madison, saying that he was not acquainted with Cushing himself but knew someone in New York who knew him and could attest that he was an American citizen and partner of “a very respectable and Creditable mercantile House” in Marseilles (RC in same; endorsed by TJ: “Cushing Isaac to be Consul at Marseilles Elmendorf to mr Madison”).