Letter to Col. (Jeremiah Wadsworth presumed) from St. John, New York, 1785 May 3

Born Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur on December 31, 1735, in Caen, France, Crèvecoeur changed his name to Hector Lewis St. John de Crèvecoeur after he was naturalized in 1764 and became a United States citizen. He signed his letters St. John while in America.

Jeremiah Wadsworth, to whom the letters are addressed, was born in Hartford in 1743. He served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War as deputy and commissary general from 1775-1778 and was a successful statesman, merchant, and sea captain, where he attained the rank of colonel. He was a member of the Continental Congress and U.S. House of Representatives. He died on April 30, 1804, in Hartford, Connecticut.

Gift of George Edward Hoadley, 1924 April

Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), Project ED-104675-23.