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.

Macomb, Alexander (1748-1831) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.10232 Author/Creator: Macomb, Alexander (1748-1831) Place Written: New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 July 1791 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; 37.2 x 23.1 cm. Order a Copy

Writes a letter of recommendation for a young gentleman, a W. Meyrick British officer of the 24th Regiment. Takes "the Liberty to request [Knox's] Civility towards him, and presume upon [Knox's] goodness to pardon [his] boldness, which however [he does] not sit uneasy under knowledge [of] the hospitable dispostion of Mrs. Knox and [Knox]." Sends his regards to "your Lucy" and informs Knox that he is going to remarry. Invites the Knox family to visit. Stain on address leaf where the letter was sealed. Watermarked " J Whatman" and with a hunting horn inside a crest.

Macomb was a land speculator and shipping magnate, purchasing tracts of land in Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. His house was leased to become the president's home, occupied by George Washington in 1790. Macomb purchased a large tract of land from the State of New York, known as "Macomb's Purchase." The tract included much of northern New York, along the St. Lawrence River and eastern Lake Ontario, including the Thousand Islands. The enterprise was a failure; sales of land did not keep pace with the due dates for payments, and Macomb was taken to debtor's prison during the Panic of 1792.

Macomb, Alexander, 1748-1831
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Meyrick, W., fl. 1791

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