Thomas Barclay (1728–1793), a Philadelphia merchant, had been elected by Congress United States consul in France, 5 Oct. 1781; on 2 Jan. 1783 he was named consul general. He had business interests at Lorient, but JA first encountered him in Amsterdam, and before long Barclay rented a large house in semirural Auteuil on the outskirts of Paris. Here JA was to be his guest during a period of illness in the fall of 1783, and afterward JA rented the house for the use of himself and family. In 1782 Barclay was given a commission to settle the accounts of all American ministers and agents in Europe; from 1785 he served as United States agent in protracted and futile negotiations with Morocco. See JCC , 21:1036; 23:730; 24:3; Barclay's letters in PCC, Nos. 91, 118; JA-Barclay correspondence in Adams Papers; Jefferson, Papers, ed. Boyd, vols. 7–12, passim; VMHB , 8:19, 21 (July 1900); scattered references in PMHB , Diary entries of 14 Sept., 7 Oct. 1783, 17 Aug. 1784, below.