Secretary of War and Signer of the Constitution James McHenry Writes to Son about Health and College

JAMES McHENRY, Autograph Letter, Draft, to son [Daniel William McHenry], ca. June 1804, [Maryland]. 2 pp., 8.25" x 13". Expected folds; irregularly cut edge, not affecting text; very good.

Former Secretary of War James McHenry writes to his son Daniel about the latter's illness while away at the College of New Jersey. He consents for Daniel to return to Baltimore to continue his studies and resume college in the fall with the sophomore class. It does not appear that the younger McHenry returned to Princeton to finish his education.

Excerpts
"I will not refuse my consent to your return, provided you see no advantages from joining the Freshman, or think you can, by your application with Mr Priestly (should he continue to teach here a thing by no means certain) be prepared to re-join the Sophomore in the autumn on perfect equality with the class. With respect to the Baltimore college, there has not been a meeting of the trustees since you left it, nor of the committee of superintendence.... A degree here is consequently out of the question."

"As to the expence of education at Princeton, I had considered this before I brought my mind to consent to your going.... Your literary improvement and future good alone were more in my eyes than the saving of a little money. Between these two I could not hesitate. While however there was a prospect of your enjoying the advantages of a college education in Baltimore I could not think of parting with you. When that was thrown at a distance, I then and not before came to the determination which carried you to Princeton. I find your health has suffered by the removal. I perceive also that your spirits have suffered an unusual depression. Under such circumstances, it would be improper for you to attempt to make up what your class have gained during your illness, added to what you had to acquire when you joined. This must not be attempted. It remains therefore, and I leave with you, either to enter the Freshman or to return home. May God inspire you to do that which is most for your own good."

"Present my thanks to Dr Vancleve, for his letters, and for the attention he has shown you in your illness. Pay him liberally. I write this in your uncles office. Adieu affectionately your father & friend J."

James McHenry (1753-1816) was born in Ireland and sent by his family to North America in 1771 to regain his health. He settled in Philadelphia, where he completed an apprenticeship under Benjamin Rush and became a physician. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a surgeon. He became a secretary to General George Washington from May 1779 and to the Marquis de Lafayette from August 1780. He retired from the army in the autumn of 1781. He was immediately elected to the Maryland Senate in 1781 and as a delegate to Congress in December 1784. In 1787, he was a delegate from Maryland to the Constitutional Convention, and he signed the U.S. Constitution. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1788 to 1790 and in the Maryland Senate from 1791 to 1796. In the latter year, President George Washington appointed him as Secretary of War, a position he held through most of the administration of John Adams. Opposed to many of Adams's policies, McHenry resigned in May 1800 at the president's request. He spent the remainder of his life at his estate "Fayetteville" near Baltimore, Maryland, that he had purchased in 1792. He maintained an extensive correspondence with fellow Federalists Timothy Pickering and Benjamin Tallmadge. The famed fort in Baltimore harbor that played a central role in the War of 1812 is named for McHenry.

Daniel William McHenry (1786-1814) was born in Baltimore to James McHenry and his wife Margaret Allison Caldwell McHenry (1762-1833). Daniel McHenry was admitted in May 1804 to the sophomore class at the College of New Jersey but with others was found to be deficient in English grammar and Roman antiquities. In mid-June, he was dismissed at his request due to ill health, "having obtained his Fathers approbation." His father settled him on an estate in Allegany County, Maryland. In 1812, he married Sophia Ramsay (1794-1874), and they had one son, Ramsay McHenry (1814-1878), born six months before his father's death.

Provenance: Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, ca. 1930s.

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.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.