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Lot 17
Aaron Burr Writes to Client's Son in New York Regarding Complicated Case that Involved Alexander Hamilton
Description:

Aaron Burr Writes to Client's Son in New York Regarding Complicated Case that Involved Alexander Hamilton

Vice President Aaron Burr wrote this letter to George W. Prevost, enclosing a letter to Prevost's father, Augustine Prevost. Burr expressed surprise that the elder Prevost thought Burr owed him something and promised to seek a "final adjustment" when he returned to New York.

[AARON BURR, Letterpress Copy of Autograph Letter Signed, to George W. Prevost, March 8, 1803, Washington, D.C. 1 p., 8.25" x 10.75". Some water staining; thin paper; residue on edges from glue on verso.

Complete Transcript
Washington 8 Mar. 1803
Sir
Your letter of the 14th Jan. covering a duplicate of one from your father was received during the last month. The enclosed, which I request you will have the goodness to forward, is in answer to his letter.
If I had imagined that any thing was due from me to your father, I should have hastened to remit it. on my return to NY[?] which may be in June, I shall seek a final adjustment, that his pretensions may be in some way terminated and all interruption to friendly intercourse removed.
I have the honor to be
Your Obt Svt
A. Burr
G. W. Prevost Esq.

Historical Background
This letter seems to be related Burr's role in the complex controversy and litigation stemming from the speculations of George Croghan (ca. 1718-1782) in Mohawk Valley lands. In 1769, Croghan purchased the 127,000-acre Otsego Patent, which lay southwest of Lake Otsego in the Mohawk Valley in central New York. His purchase was financed in part by a loan from the Burlington Company, a group of Philadelphia and New Jersey merchants, and guaranteed by William Franklin, royal governor of New Jersey and son of Benjamin Franklin. When Croghan died in 1782, he was deeply in debt. He left the residue of his estate to his daughter Susannah, who had married British army officer Augustine Prevost.

In 1783 while a delegate to the Continental Congress, Alexander Hamilton represented Abel James, a creditor of Croghan. Aaron Burr became involved on behalf of Augustine Prevost. By mid-1785, William Cooper, the father of novelist James Fenimore Cooper, and his partner Andrew Craig had purchased the rights of James and other members of the Burlington Company to a substantial portion of the Otsego Patent and retained Hamilton to represent them. Meanwhile, Aaron Burr represented Croghan's heirs and some of his creditors. Cooper eventually founded Cooperstown on part of the Otsego Patent, beginning in 1786.

The legal cases continued for more than two decades, with the deaths of some of those involved, the sale or assignments of certain rights, and the sale of lands in the area to settlers further convoluting an already complex case. Hamilton's involvement continued until he became Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, but Burr was still involved in the fall of 1791 when Prevost turned over letters and memoranda from William Franklin to Burr in New York City. Franklin's claim on the Otsego Patent apparently remained dormant until 1807, when he revived it. In early 1808, Prevost told one of Franklin's cousins that Prevost's sons were handling all affairs related to Croghan's estate. In 1811, Franklin sought the aid of George William Prevost and John Augustine Prevost in his efforts to recover the debt due him from the Croghan estate.

This letter seems to relate to the litigation over the Otsego Patent or some other aspect of the settlement of the estate of George Croghan, Augustine Prevost's father-in-law, and George W. Prevost's maternal grandfather. Aaron Burr's first wife, Theodosia Bartow Prevost, was the widow of Augustine Prevost's first cousin Jacques Marcus Prevost (1736-1781).

Aaron Burr Jr. (1756-1836) was the third Vice President of the United States, serving during Jefferson's first term, through March 4, 1805. Born in New Jersey, Burr graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) in 1772, at age 16. He studied law and became an attorney before serving as a Continental Army officer in the American Revolutionary War, in which he distinguished himself at the Battles of Quebec, New York, and Monmouth. After leaving the army in 1779, he practiced law in New York City and helped form the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party. In 1782, he married Theodosia Bartow Prevost (1746-1794), the widow of British Army officer Jacques Marcus Prevost, and they had one daughter who survived to adulthood. Burr served as Attorney General of New York from 1789 to 1791 and represented New York in the U.S. Senate from 1791 to 1797. While Vice President, on July 11, 1804, Burr fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton in a duel. With his political fortunes in decline, Burr is reputed to have formed a conspiracy to establish a private army and set up an empire from portions of Mexico (then belonging to Spain) and/or Louisiana (a U.S. territory). Burr was brought to trial on charges of treason on August 3, 1807, with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall presiding, and acquitted on September 1. Following the trial, he lived in Europe in self-imposed exile for four years, then returned to New York in 1812 to practice law. In 1833, he married wealthy widow Eliza Jumel (1775-1865), but she soon discovered that his land speculations were draining her fortune, and she separated from him after four months. Her petition for divorce was approved on the same day that Burr died.

George William Prevost (1767-1840) was born in Schenectady, New York, the oldest son of twelve children born to British army officer Augustine Prevost (1744-1821) and his first wife Susannah Croghan Prevost (1750-1790). The younger Prevost, like his father, became a major in the British Army. In 1805, he married Elizabeth Maria Palmer (1792-1841), and they had at least seven children. He purchased The Locusts, an estate in Staatsburg, New York, from Brockholst Livingston before selling it in 1811 to another Livingston.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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