Papers of John Adams, volume 21

From Samuel Allyne Otis

From the Boston Board of Selectmen

Samuel Allyne Otis Jr. to John Adams, May 1793 Otis, Samuel A., Jr. Adams, John
From Samuel Allyne Otis Jr.
Sir, Cape François May 1793

Fully impess’d with a sense of your Goodness and Candor, I am induced to observe that having taken the liberty to express my thoughts to the President of the United States, on the appointment of a Consul to the Island of St. Domingo, and to solicit the appointment, (having resided in this country seven years and having been two years establish’d in business here) I have to request your interest in procuring me the above appointment;1 with assurances of my every exertion to prove myself worthy of the confidence reposed in me, and of the honor of subscribing myself with the utmost Respect, / Sir, / Your very respectful / and / very huml Servt:

Saml. A: Otis Junr.
211

RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “The Vice President / of the / United States / of / America—”

1.

Otis Jr. (1768–1814) was the son of Samuel Allyne, Sr., and Elizabeth Gray Otis (d. 1779). He also wrote to George Washington in May, citing his years in St. Domingue as proof of his suitability for the consulship, but the position remained vacant until 1796 ( AFC , 3:155, 10:51; Washington, Papers, Presidential Series , 12:656–657).