Description:

Andrew Jackson
Leesburg, VA, March 12, 1845
Andrew Jackson Endorses & Signs Letter Signed to President Polk, Referring Candidate for Office
AES

An endorsed letter signed by Andrew Jackson, referring a candidate to President James K. Polk. 4pp of a bifolium, measuring 8" x 10, Leesburg, Virginia, the original letter dated March 12, 1845. Endorsed on the final page and signed "A.J." The original letter is addressed to Jackson from Thomas H. Claggett, referring Stevens Thomson Mason for an office appointment. Jackson then forwards the letter onto President Polk. With flattened mail folds. Light scattered soiling and toning. An area of paper loss from a broken wax seal has caused minor loss to text. Boldly signed.

Jackson's endorsement reads in full:
"Referred to Col. J. K. Pol president of the U. States. I have no doubt but it would be gratifying to all the democracy of Virgina if the president was to bestow office upon Mr. Mason. His grandfather, Genl. S. T. Mason I well knew & also his father. They were noble republicans & deserved well of their country. A.J."

The original letter from Claggett reads in part:
"…I address you in behalf of the son of one whom I believe you considered a valued Friend, & whose untimely and melancholy fate you in common with the large majority of the citizens of Virginia deeply deplored. Stevens Thomson Mason son of the late Genl Armistead T. Mason who fell in a duel with John McCarty in 1819 is the individual to whom I have reference…His appearance upon the Political Theatre was about the period of your retirement from the high & elevated position to which you had been twice so triumphantly exalted by a grateful people; and from that time to the present has neither spared time, talents, labor, or expense in propagating Democratic Principles, establishing & maintaining almost entirely at his own expense a Democratic Press in the old Federal not to say Tory County of Loudoun, whose decided opposition to yourself, Mr. Van Buren, & Col. Polk has been to me on more than one occasion a source of pride & exaltation…Mr. Mason like his Father has fallen a Martyr to the cause; the latter lost his life in support of Democracy, the former has seriously impaired his patrimony, so much so as to render a situation under Col. Polk necessary to the support of himself & widowed mother…If not inconsistent with your views of propriety a letter to Col. Polk in behalf of Mr. Mason will be most thankfully received. In any event I hope you will acknowledge the receipt of this, that I may be in possession of your Autograph…"

Not to be confused with his cousin, Stevens Thomson Mason (1811-1843) the first Governor of Michigan and Jackson's acting territorial secretary, Stevens Thomson Mason (1819–1847) was the only son of Armistead T. Mason and Charlotte E. Taylor. After his father's death, he inherited his father's estate of Selma, in Loudoun County. We can find no record of President Polk having bestowed any office position upon him. It appears that he lived outside his means and was forced to join the Rifles to secure an income. He was killed a few years later at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico after suffering a cannon ball wound.

Armistead Thomson Mason (1787-1819) was a Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817, and the second-youngest person to ever serve in the U.S. Senate, at the age of 28 and 5 months. He was elected as a Republican to the Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Branch Giles, despite being constitutionally underage for the office. In 1817 he moved to Loudoun County, Virginia, where he was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Fifteenth Congress. It was a bitter campaign that gave rise to several duels: Mason himself was killed in a duel with his second cousin, John Mason McCarty, at Bladensburg Dueling Field, Maryland, as a result of this campaign.

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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