ALS, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.25 x 8.5, December 5, 1794. Loving handwritten letter to his wife Sally, written while abroad in London after negotiating the Jay Treaty. In part: “That you and our dear little Flock should be preserved in Health and Prosperity, when so many families in our Country are in mourning and Distress, is a circumstance which should turn our Hearts to the author and Giver of all Blessings—with the Disposition you have made of what money you have recd. I am satisfied—continue to do in those matters what on mature Reflection and advice may appear to be for the best. I am not anxious for the Sale of my little Interest in the six per Cent—at this distance I cannot so well judge—do you and Mr. Munro consult about it…Your Letters are a Treat to me. I am glad you have at Length got a pair of Horses. You must have wanted them much. Let them be used daily, & moderately fed, or they will probably become vicious. Idleness is not better for young Horses, than for young men…as yet I have not had Time to sit for my Picture you request, but (the Treaty being finished) I hope soon to have Leisure for the purpose—it will I assure you give me more pleasure to present to you the original than the Picture. I hope next Spring to do both…I hope Nancy will amuse herself sometimes with her spinning wheel—God only knows what may one Day be her Situation—polite accomplishments merit attention—useful knowledge should not be neglected. Let us do the best we can with and for our children, and commit them to the protection and Guidance of Providence.” In fine condition. Provenance: The Everett Fisher Collection.
With an urgent need for a peaceful and functional economic relationship with Britain, President Washington sent John Jay to London in the summer of 1794 in hopes of resolving several ongoing, post-Revolution military and commercial disputes. After drawn out negotiations, the two nations reached an agreement on November 19, defining terms that would expel royal troops from America’s western frontiers, send the issue of Britain’s debts to arbitration, and grant US ships access to trade routes in and around English ports. A beautifully penned letter mentioning his greatest accomplishment.
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