To Thomas Jefferson from Albert Gallatin, 6 May 1805
From Albert Gallatin
May 6, 1805
Dear Sir
I enclose Mr Crowninshield’s & Collector Lincoln’s letters respecting a keeper of lighthouse. If you approve of George Day’s appointment, please to signify it. I also enclose De Witt Clinton’s letter & one from Sanford stating that Swartwout has made a partial payment—also letters from Mr Few & Lieut. Govr. Broome recommending Tallmage as a judge. From Sanford no answer has yet been received on that subject but may be daily expected. To B. Livingston I still feel averse.
With great respect & attachment Your obedt. Servt.
Albert Gallatin
RC (DLC); at foot of text: “The President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ as received from the Treasury Department on 6 May and “Day. Swartwout. Talmadge. B. Livingston” and so recorded in SJL. Enclosures: (1) Jacob Crowninshield to Gallatin, Salem, 29 Apr., enclosing a copy of James Day’s resignation as keeper of the lighthouse at Annisquam, Massachusetts, which also recommended his son, George Day, to be his successor; Crowninshield would not have troubled Gallatin with this “small affair,” but another candidate, “a Mr. White,” has been put forward, and Crowninshield suggests there are “strong reasons” why he should not be appointed; an earlier recommendation of George Day by Gloucester residents had been lodged with Benjamin Lincoln, who apparently did not act on the matter “from an idea that the old Gentleman had not resigned”; Crowninshield has sent the original of James Day’s resignation to Lincoln in the hope that it will provide satisfactory proof of Day’s intent and secure the son’s appointment (RC in NHi: Gallatin Papers). (2) Statement of resignation by James Day, Gloucester, 22 Apr.; due to age and infirmity, Day is no longer able to perform his duties as keeper of the Annisquam lighthouse; he recommends his son, George Day, as a “fit & suitable” successor; in a note at the foot of the page, Crowninshield adds that the son resides on the spot, while the father is a mile away, seldom visits the light, and is “dangerously ill with a dropsy”; Crowninshield adds that James Day’s earlier recommendation has been in Lincoln’s office for months, and that George Day “has been the real keeper of the light for many years, & it has been faithfully kept” (MS, facsimile in Profiles in History, Beverly Hills, California, 2014; order added by TJ: “The appointment of George Day is approved. Th: Jefferson May 6. 05.”). (3) Probably Lincoln to Gallatin, Boston, 30 Apr., enclosing James Day’s resignation, which was handed to him by Crowninshield; the two candidates for successor are Henry White, a captain in the American Revolution, and George Day, “who has been employed under his Father as the keeper generally” (FC in DNA: RG 56, Correspondence of the Secretary of the Treasury with Collectors of Customs, Boston). (4) Probably John Broome to Gallatin, New York, 1 May; writing at the behest of “some of our Republican friends,” Broome recommends state senator Matthias B. Tallmadge, a son-in-law of George Clinton, to be U.S. district judge for New York; Broome describes Tallmadge as “correct in his Politicks” and possessing “handsome talents, & a truly independent Spirit” (RC in NHi: Gallatin Papers). Other enclosures not found.
In April 1800, Congress authorized a lighthouse at Wigwam Point in Gloucester, Massachusetts, at the entrance of Annisquam Harbor (, 2:57-8). Gallatin wrote to Lincoln on 7 May, acknowledging the receipt of his letter of “the 3d ulto” and informing him that the president had appointed George Day to succeed his father as keeper (, 11:26).
Gallatin wrote to DeWitt Clinton on 26 Apr. regarding John Swartwout, the U.S. marshal for New York. “Information lately received” had rendered Swartwout’s removal “probable,” and Gallatin asked Clinton for his opinion regarding a replacement. Since the president might, “depending on Mr Swartwout’s conduct, continue him some time longer in office,” Gallatin instructed Clinton not to disclose the contents of his letter (same, 48:36-7).