LAFAYETTE, GILBERT DU MOTIER, MARQUIS DE. An archive of letters, documents and manuscripts relating to Lafayette's personal financial crisis and the mortgage of his lands in Louisiana, the group comprising: four autograph letters, two signed ("Lafayette" or "LF"), two unsigned, all to an unidentified correspondent, possibly Sir John Coghill, Bart., various dates from 1809-1823, 7 1/2 pages, 4to, one with integral address leaf in Lafayette's hand, in English; LAFAYETTE. Autograph draft manuscript signed, with several corrections, n.d. [c.1808], 2 pages, 4to, in French, summarizing his finances, his service in America and his American lands, part of which have already been sold; LAFAYETTE. Letter signed (proxy signature?) to an unidentified correspondent, n.p., n.d. [1805-1809], 3 pages, 4to, in French, detailing two propositions by a businessman for Lafayette's Louisiana lands, one a brick factory to be operated by slave labor (which Lafayette rejects as unacceptable) -- Manuscript summary of Lafayette's American land grants and their use as collateral, n.d. [c. 1808], 3 1/4 pages, folio, referring at different points to the roles of Madison, Livingston and Jefferson -- Four manuscript documents signed (promissory notes, in English), two with Lafayette's red wax seal -- Manuscript document, a description of Lafayette's Louisiana lands, n.p., n.d. [c.1804], 2 1/2 pages, folio, in French, explaining that the boundaries had been drawn by the surveyor Duplantier of New Orleans, consisting of 900 acres near New Orleans and a further 10,000 acres of sugar-growing lands at the "pointe coupée on the Mississippi" -- Manuscript document headed "Copie de l'Etat donné par M. Morizot" (Lafayette's financial manager), 4 pages, 4to, n.d., comparing Lafayette's income and liabilities from 1777-1783 (the American Revolution), 1783-1789 and 1789-1792, in an attempt to assess the total expenses incurred by Lafayette during these periods; together 37 1/4 pages, 4to and folio, occasional very minor defects, but generally in fine condition.A PATRIOT'S PLIGHT: LAFAYETTE MORTGAGES THE LOUISIANA LANDS GRANTED HIM BY A GRATEFUL UNITED STATESAn archive which discloses in telling detail the serious financial straits of a soldier and political idealist who had the distinction of having been an active participant in political revolutions on two continents. Having served at his own expense in the Continental Army, Lafayette returned to France where he formed and was later elected to command the National Guard; he fought the Austrians at Metz but was declared a traitor by the National Assembly and fled to Flanders. Captured and imprisoned by the Prussians for five years (1792-1797), he was finally freed by Napoleon and returned to France in 1800 only to find his inheritance, his properties and his investments in disarray. Tired of war and politics alike, he declined a tentative offer of President Thomas Jefferson to become Governor of the new territory of Louisiana, although he was glad to accept from Congress a generous tract of 11,520 acres of land, ultimately located within the former French possessions in Louisiana (see his letter to Dearborn in thanks, lot 30). Necessity soon forced him to offer these tracts as collateral in various loan arrangements, and it is thought that no actual income from the lands reached him until about 1815. His letter of 8 October 1809 dispassionately enumerates these financial misfortunes: "...[A]lthough the Revolutions of America and France had lessened my capital of above a million and a half there remained a landed revenue of [70,000] francs, and ten thousand in the funds. I owed an interest of 13,000 a year...to which must be added a floating debt increased by the seizure of my expected income in 1792...But while my property in France was delapidated and sold, the expenses of my imprisonment in Germany...notwithstanding the sums given by Congress [$24,424 voted him in 1794 in lieu of salary he declined during the war], and private friends, were truly enormous...[T]he remnants of my own income were reduced to [9,000] francs...I was obliged to repair the house, when nothing was sound but the walls, to purchase for it, for myself, and family every kind of furniture, all I had having been pillaged...You see how my debts [have] accumulated..." Lafayette gives an interesting list of his outstanding debts, then totalling 484,000 francs owed to creditors who are named: the English banker Alexander Baring, the Philadelphia banker Jacob Ridgeway and others. Each note, he explains, is "to be paid in America or Scotland," and he is hopeful that by restructuring his liabilities he may ensure a debt-free future for "myself, my six children, the seven grand children and those yet to come..." Some years later, in his letter of 8 November 1823, Lafayette reports optimistically on occurrences in Louisiana: "...you will find the extract of a letter from the President [Madison]...You will observe that the actual progress of the Business is owing to Madison's, [Albert] Gallatin's, and [Henry] Clay's exertions...I shall on Saturday meet Mr. Gallatin..., and write to you every further intelligence...It is said that our Grounds near the Town have been lately overflowed [flooded], and some fear entertained of an inundation of the inhabited part. Mr. Parker thinks the accident...will accelerate the measure of raising a dike for the security of that part of the Country."The series of promissory notes reveal the the intricate financial transactions which Lafayette undertook--using his American lands as collateral--to rebuild his shattered fortune. A typical example, that dated January 1805, certifies that Lafayette, "late Major-General in the Army of the United States," has been granted "certain portions or tracts of land," and being "indebted to Alexander Baring of London in the sum of [150,000] francs," in order to provide "good and sufficient security," has conveyed to "J[ame]s Madison...Secretary of State of the United States, & James Monroe...now minister Plenipotentiary of the said States at London, all and any lands granted to me by...Congress...as a Trust." Interest on the loan is to be assessed at 5 per annum from 1 July 1803, the principal payable at Philadelphia in dollars at a specified rate, the interest at Paris. Lafayette authorizes Madison and Monroe, as trustees, to hold all his lands "as a pledge" for the debt. On a facing page is the signed certification of Fulmar Skipworth, Commercial Agent of the U.S. in Paris, who witnessed Lafayette's signature and seal. The note of 12 July 1808 specifically states that Congress has permitted him "to locate the same lands in Louisiana, and near the city of New-Orleans," and names additional creditors (Lawrence Waddell and Jacob Ridgeway of Philadelphia and Henry Preble and Daniel Parker of Massachusetts). Several of the notes bear later endorsements by Parker, Preble and others or their attorneys, stating that the notes have been redeemed by Lafayette.

LAFAYETTE, GILBERT DU MOTIER, MARQUIS DE. An archive of letters, documents and manuscripts relating to Lafayette's personal financial crisis and the mortgage of his lands in Louisiana, the group comprising: four autograph letters, two signed ("Lafayette" or "LF"), two unsigned, all to an unidentified correspondent, possibly Sir John Coghill, Bart., various dates from 1809-1823, 7 1/2 pages, 4to, one with integral address leaf in Lafayette's hand, in English; LAFAYETTE. Autograph draft manuscript signed, with several corrections, n.d. [c.1808], 2 pages, 4to, in French, summarizing his finances, his service in America and his American lands, part of which have already been sold; LAFAYETTE. Letter signed (proxy signature?) to an unidentified correspondent, n.p., n.d. [1805-1809], 3 pages, 4to, in French, detailing two propositions by a businessman for Lafayette's Louisiana lands, one a brick factory to be operated by slave labor (which Lafayette rejects as unacceptable) -- Manuscript summary of Lafayette's American land grants and their use as collateral, n.d. [c. 1808], 3 1/4 pages, folio, referring at different points to the roles of Madison, Livingston and Jefferson -- Four manuscript documents signed (promissory notes, in English), two with Lafayette's red wax seal -- Manuscript document, a description of Lafayette's Louisiana lands, n.p., n.d. [c.1804], 2 1/2 pages, folio, in French, explaining that the boundaries had been drawn by the surveyor Duplantier of New Orleans, consisting of 900 acres near New Orleans and a further 10,000 acres of sugar-growing lands at the "pointe coupée on the Mississippi" -- Manuscript document headed "Copie de l'Etat donné par M. Morizot" (Lafayette's financial manager), 4 pages, 4to, n.d., comparing Lafayette's income and liabilities from 1777-1783 (the American Revolution), 1783-1789 and 1789-1792, in an attempt to assess the total expenses incurred by Lafayette during these periods; together 37 1/4 pages, 4to and folio, occasional very minor defects, but generally in fine condition. A PATRIOT'S PLIGHT: LAFAYETTE MORTGAGES THE LOUISIANA LANDS GRANTED HIM BY A GRATEFUL UNITED STATES An archive which discloses in telling detail the serious financial straits of a soldier and political idealist who had the distinction of having been an active participant in political revolutions on two continents. Having served at his own expense in the Continental Army, Lafayette returned to France where he formed and was later elected to command the National Guard; he fought the Austrians at Metz but was declared a traitor by the National Assembly and fled to Flanders. Captured and imprisoned by the Prussians for five years (1792-1797), he was finally freed by Napoleon and returned to France in 1800 only to find his inheritance, his properties and his investments in disarray. Tired of war and politics alike, he declined a tentative offer of President Thomas Jefferson to become Governor of the new territory of Louisiana, although he was glad to accept from Congress a generous tract of 11,520 acres of land, ultimately located within the former French possessions in Louisiana (see his letter to Dearborn in thanks, lot 30). Necessity soon forced him to offer these tracts as collateral in various loan arrangements, and it is thought that no actual income from the lands reached him until about 1815. His letter of 8 October 1809 dispassionately enumerates these financial misfortunes: "...[A]lthough the Revolutions of America and France had lessened my capital of above a million and a half there remained a landed revenue of [70,000] francs, and ten thousand in the funds. I owed an interest of 13,000 a year...to which must be added a floating debt increased by the seizure of my expected income in 1792...But while my property in France was delapidated and sold, the expenses of my imprisonment in Germany...notwithstanding the sums given by Congress [$24,424 voted him in 1794 in lieu of salary he declined during the war], and private friends, were truly enormous...[T]he remnants of my own income were reduced to [9,000] francs...I was obliged to repair the house, when nothing was sound but the walls, to purchase for it, for myself, and family every kind of furniture, all I had having been pillaged...You see how my debts [have] accumulated..." Lafayette gives an interesting list of his outstanding debts, then totalling 484,000 francs owed to creditors who are named: the English banker Alexander Baring, the Philadelphia banker Jacob Ridgeway and others. Each note, he explains, is "to be paid in America or Scotland," and he is hopeful that by restructuring his liabilities he may ensure a debt-free future for "myself, my six children, the seven grand children and those yet to come..." Some years later, in his letter of 8 November 1823, Lafayette reports optimistically on occurrences in Louisiana: "...you will find the extract of a letter from the President [Madison]...You will observe that the actual progress of the Business is owing to Madison's, [Albert] Gallatin's, and [Henry] Clay's exertions...I shall on Saturday meet Mr. Gallatin..., and write to you every further intelligence...It is said that our Grounds near the Town have been lately overflowed [flooded], and some fear entertained of an inundation of the inhabited part. Mr. Parker thinks the accident...will accelerate the measure of raising a dike for the security of that part of the Country." The series of promissory notes reveal the the intricate financial transactions which Lafayette undertook--using his American lands as collateral--to rebuild his shattered fortune. A typical example, that dated January 1805, certifies that Lafayette, "late Major-General in the Army of the United States," has been granted "certain portions or tracts of land," and being "indebted to Alexander Baring of London in the sum of [150,000] francs," in order to provide "good and sufficient security," has conveyed to "J[ame]s Madison...Secretary of State of the United States, & James Monroe...now minister Plenipotentiary of the said States at London, all and any lands granted to me by...Congress...as a Trust." Interest on the loan is to be assessed at 5 per annum from 1 July 1803, the principal payable at Philadelphia in dollars at a specified rate, the interest at Paris. Lafayette authorizes Madison and Monroe, as trustees, to hold all his lands "as a pledge" for the debt. On a facing page is the signed certification of Fulmar Skipworth, Commercial Agent of the U.S. in Paris, who witnessed Lafayette's signature and seal. The note of 12 July 1808 specifically states that Congress has permitted him "to locate the same lands in Louisiana, and near the city of New-Orleans," and names additional creditors (Lawrence Waddell and Jacob Ridgeway of Philadelphia and Henry Preble and Daniel Parker of Massachusetts). Several of the notes bear later endorsements by Parker, Preble and others or their attorneys, stating that the notes have been redeemed by Lafayette.

Details

LAFAYETTE, GILBERT DU MOTIER, MARQUIS DE. An archive of letters, documents and manuscripts relating to Lafayette's personal financial crisis and the mortgage of his lands in Louisiana, the group comprising: four autograph letters, two signed ("Lafayette" or "LF"), two unsigned, all to an unidentified correspondent, possibly Sir John Coghill, Bart., various dates from 1809-1823, 7 1/2 pages, 4to, one with integral address leaf in Lafayette's hand, in English; LAFAYETTE. Autograph draft manuscript signed, with several corrections, n.d. [c.1808], 2 pages, 4to, in French, summarizing his finances, his service in America and his American lands, part of which have already been sold; LAFAYETTE. Letter signed (proxy signature?) to an unidentified correspondent, n.p., n.d. [1805-1809], 3 pages, 4to, in French, detailing two propositions by a businessman for Lafayette's Louisiana lands, one a brick factory to be operated by slave labor (which Lafayette rejects as unacceptable) -- Manuscript summary of Lafayette's American land grants and their use as collateral, n.d. [c. 1808], 3 1/4 pages, folio, referring at different points to the roles of Madison, Livingston and Jefferson -- Four manuscript documents signed (promissory notes, in English), two with Lafayette's red wax seal -- Manuscript document, a description of Lafayette's Louisiana lands, n.p., n.d. [c.1804], 2 1/2 pages, folio, in French, explaining that the boundaries had been drawn by the surveyor Duplantier of New Orleans, consisting of 900 acres near New Orleans and a further 10,000 acres of sugar-growing lands at the "pointe coupée on the Mississippi" -- Manuscript document headed "Copie de l'Etat donné par M. Morizot" (Lafayette's financial manager), 4 pages, 4to, n.d., comparing Lafayette's income and liabilities from 1777-1783 (the American Revolution), 1783-1789 and 1789-1792, in an attempt to assess the total expenses incurred by Lafayette during these periods; together 37 1/4 pages, 4to and folio, occasional very minor defects, but generally in fine condition.

A PATRIOT'S PLIGHT: LAFAYETTE MORTGAGES THE LOUISIANA LANDS GRANTED HIM BY A GRATEFUL UNITED STATES

An archive which discloses in telling detail the serious financial straits of a soldier and political idealist who had the distinction of having been an active participant in political revolutions on two continents. Having served at his own expense in the Continental Army, Lafayette returned to France where he formed and was later elected to command the National Guard; he fought the Austrians at Metz but was declared a traitor by the National Assembly and fled to Flanders. Captured and imprisoned by the Prussians for five years (1792-1797), he was finally freed by Napoleon and returned to France in 1800 only to find his inheritance, his properties and his investments in disarray. Tired of war and politics alike, he declined a tentative offer of President Thomas Jefferson to become Governor of the new territory of Louisiana, although he was glad to accept from Congress a generous tract of 11,520 acres of land, ultimately located within the former French possessions in Louisiana (see his letter to Dearborn in thanks, lot 30). Necessity soon forced him to offer these tracts as collateral in various loan arrangements, and it is thought that no actual income from the lands reached him until about 1815.

His letter of 8 October 1809 dispassionately enumerates these financial misfortunes: "...[A]lthough the Revolutions of America and France had lessened my capital of above a million and a half there remained a landed revenue of [70,000] francs, and ten thousand in the funds. I owed an interest of 13,000 a year...to which must be added a floating debt increased by the seizure of my expected income in 1792...But while my property in France was delapidated and sold, the expenses of my imprisonment in Germany...notwithstanding the sums given by Congress [$24,424 voted him in 1794 in lieu of salary he declined during the war], and private friends, were truly enormous...[T]he remnants of my own income were reduced to [9,000] francs...I was obliged to repair the house, when nothing was sound but the walls, to purchase for it, for myself, and family every kind of furniture, all I had having been pillaged...You see how my debts [have] accumulated..." Lafayette gives an interesting list of his outstanding debts, then totalling 484,000 francs owed to creditors who are named: the English banker Alexander Baring, the Philadelphia banker Jacob Ridgeway and others. Each note, he explains, is "to be paid in America or Scotland," and he is hopeful that by restructuring his liabilities he may ensure a debt-free future for "myself, my six children, the seven grand children and those yet to come..." Some years later, in his letter of 8 November 1823, Lafayette reports optimistically on occurrences in Louisiana: "...you will find the extract of a letter from the President [Madison]...You will observe that the actual progress of the Business is owing to Madison's, [Albert] Gallatin's, and [Henry] Clay's exertions...I shall on Saturday meet Mr. Gallatin..., and write to you every further intelligence...It is said that our Grounds near the Town have been lately overflowed [flooded], and some fear entertained of an inundation of the inhabited part. Mr. Parker thinks the accident...will accelerate the measure of raising a dike for the security of that part of the Country."

The series of promissory notes reveal the the intricate financial transactions which Lafayette undertook--using his American lands as collateral--to rebuild his shattered fortune. A typical example, that dated January 1805, certifies that Lafayette, "late Major-General in the Army of the United States," has been granted "certain portions or tracts of land," and being "indebted to Alexander Baring of London in the sum of [150,000] francs," in order to provide "good and sufficient security," has conveyed to "J[ame]s Madison...Secretary of State of the United States, & James Monroe...now minister Plenipotentiary of the said States at London, all and any lands granted to me by...Congress...as a Trust." Interest on the loan is to be assessed at 5 per annum from 1 July 1803, the principal payable at Philadelphia in dollars at a specified rate, the interest at Paris. Lafayette authorizes Madison and Monroe, as trustees, to hold all his lands "as a pledge" for the debt. On a facing page is the signed certification of Fulmar Skipworth, Commercial Agent of the U.S. in Paris, who witnessed Lafayette's signature and seal. The note of 12 July 1808 specifically states that Congress has permitted him "to locate the same lands in Louisiana, and near the city of New-Orleans," and names additional creditors (Lawrence Waddell and Jacob Ridgeway of Philadelphia and Henry Preble and Daniel Parker of Massachusetts). Several of the notes bear later endorsements by Parker, Preble and others or their attorneys, stating that the notes have been redeemed by Lafayette.