Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Knox, Henry (1750-1806) to Monsieur De Jean

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03396 Author/Creator: Knox, Henry (1750-1806) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter Date: 31 December 1786 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 31.4 x 19.1 cm. Order a Copy

Thanks him for his last letter, which also enclosed a letter from the Marquis de Lafayette. Applied to Mr. Macomb [he spells it "Macombe"] for the certificates he asked for, "and he kindly promised to write me himself and to obtain others from the gentlemen whose names you mention. As soon as I shall receive these certificates I shall have the pleasure of forwarding them to you, and from the favorable sentiments Mr Macombe expressed to me I conclude that they could not fail of serving fully your purposes." See GLC02437.03327 for a related document.

The "Mr. Macombe" referred to in this letter may be either Alexander Macomb, Sr. (1748-1831) or his brother, William Macomb (ca. 1751-1796), both of whom were landowners and merchants in the Detroit area as well as New York State.

De Jean, fl. 1786
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Macomb, Alexander, 1748-1831
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834
Macomb, William, fl. 1751-1796

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