ALS as Chief Justice of the United States, signed “J. J.,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.25 x 8.75, December 5, 1794. Handwritten letter to his wife, Sally, addressed from London, England, where he had recently negotiated the Jay Treaty, in full: “This Evening Capt. Kemp delivered to me your Letter of the 1 Novr. with the Duplicates &c mentioned in it. I have already written to you by this vessel, and as she sails on Sunday, my Letters must be sent to her Tomorrow. I add thee to thank you for these Letters, and to express the pleasure and Satisfaction & the gratitude to Providence which they occasion—that you and our dear little Flock sh[oul]d be preserv'd. in Health & Prosperity when so many homeless in our Country are in mourning & Distress is a circumstance which should turn our Hearts to the author & 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 our 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 & Mr. Munro consult about it. Your & his Letters by the Vessel bound to Hull have not yet reached me. I wish to receive them. 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, and moderately fed, or they will probably become vicious. Idleness is not better for young Horses than for young men.
“Maria's inclination to go to Bethlehem for the sake of Improvement is a little singular. The motive is laudable and I do not disapprove of your compliance. A regular correspondence [should] be maintained by her with you and her Sister; and I think it would be useful for you to write now and then to the Principal or Directress and obtain Information relative to her Behaviour and Progress. Nancy sh[oul]d be very punctual in writing to her Sister. By your overlooking and correcting her Letters she will naturally improve in writing them. I am gratified by what you write me of all the children, and by the circumstances you mention relative to William and Sally. Let them have plenty of air and Exercise, but in such places & manner and Degree only as prudence may point out. Learning is good, but should not be purchased at the price of Health and Strength of Body.
“Peter will be mindful to execute all your orders. As yet I have not had Time to sit for the Picture you request—but as (the Treaty being finished) I hope soon [to] have Leisure for the purpose. and but 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. Continue to make applications frequently and pleasantly to Stewart. They will succeed at last. Desire him to send Bensons Picture when he sends you mine, and intimate that it is Time he should be paid for it. I should like to have Judge Hobarts Picture of the size of Bensons. Prevail upon him to sit for Stewart. The Price is no object with me. He is a good Friend. Remember that I am to be favored with yours, and that it is only in Exchange for it that you will ever see the miniature which I am to sit for, and bring with me for You.
“Do not let your correspondence with Maria depend merely on private opportunities. I think the post goes regularly between New York and Bethlehem. I hope you will exchange Letters at least once a fortnight. An interesting and affectionate correspon[den]ce will have many uses, which to you need not be enumerated—uses that will very amply compensate for the Expense of Postage. 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. Farewell, my Dear Sally and be assured of the affection with which I am Yours.” In fine condition, with a tear to the blank lower right corner of the final page. Accompanied by an engraved portrait bearing a facsimile signature.
The “Stewart” mentioned in this letter is the painter Gilbert Stuart, famous for his portraits of George Washington (especially the unfinished one). In late 1792 or early 1793, Stuart returned to America from England. John Jay was the first American statesman of international reputation whom Stuart ever painted. The success of his likeness of the Chief Justice, painted in New York in 1794, introduced Stuart to an appreciative clientele in America. It is not surprising that Jay needed to press Stuart to finish the portrait. Jay himself only had time to pose for the head. Stuart had a predilection for ‘nailing the head’ and leaving the rest unfinished (‘I copy the works of God and leave clothes to tailors and mantua-makers,’ he once said). The issue was finally resolved by having Jay's nephew model the judicial robe so that Stuart could complete the body.
In 1794 the United States faced its most important foreign crisis since the Revolution, and as Chief Justice, John Jay was selected by George Washington to negotiate a settlement with Great Britain concerning that country's continued occupation of posts in the northwest, pending private debts to English creditors, and the British plunder of neutral American shipping during their hostilities with France. The importance to the young America of maintaining peace and financial stability was enormous, and Jay spent the summer of 1794 in London negotiating with Lord Grenville to reach an agreement. The result of his work, the Jay Treaty, which was signed on November 19th, created a system to settle financial claims between the two nations, provided for the removal of British troops from the Northwest Territory, established commissions to settle boundary disputes on the northern frontier, and extended free trade and navigation guarantees to the English on the Mississippi River. The Treaty, however, aroused a storm of protest in the United States among the Jeffersonian Republicans, who denounced it as a sellout by pro-British Federalists. Mobs burned Jay in effigy, and opponents denounced him as a traitor. Before the negotiations, Jay at one time had been considered a leading candidate to succeed Washington, but the unpopular treaty ruined whatever chances he had for the presidency. New York Federalists, however, elected him governor after his return from England.
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