# Gilbert C. Russell to Thomas Jefferson, 31 January 1810 CITATION: “Gilbert C. Russell to Thomas Jefferson, 31 January 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0153. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson , Retirement Series, vol. 2, 16 November 1809 to 11 August 1810 , ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005, pp. 191–192.] URL (original): https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0153 URL (fetched, Wayback Machine capture): https://web.archive.org/web/2024/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0153 DATE FETCHED: 2026-09-14 TRANSCRIPTION: scholarly edition text (Princeton, Papers of Thomas Jefferson / Madison Papers, as published on Founders Online); text below is verbatim from the fetched page, including the editors' source note and footnotes. Superscripts are flattened by the HTML-to-text conversion (e.g. 'Oct r' = Oct^r, '11 th' = 11^th). ---- VERBATIM TEXT (Founders Online page) ---- Gilbert C. Russell to Thomas Jefferson, 31 January 1810 From Gilbert C. Russell Fort-Pickering Chickasaw Bluffs 31 st January 1810. Sir I have lately been inform’d that James Neely the Ag t to the Chickasaws with whom Gov r Lewis set off from this place has detain’d his pistols & perhaps some other of his effects for some claim he pretends to have upon his estate—He can have no just claim for any thing more than the expences of his interment unless he makes a charge for packing his Two Trunks from the Nation—And for that he can not have the audacity to make a charge after tendering the use of a loose horse or two which he said he had to take from the Nation & also the aid of his Servant—He seem’d happy to have it in his power to serve the Gov r & but for his makeing the offer which was accepted I should have employ’d the man who packed the Trunks to the Nation to have taken them to Nashville & accompanyed the Gov r —Unfortunately for him this arrangement did not take place, or I hesitate not to say he would this day be living— The fact is which you may yet be ignorant of that his untimely death may be attributed Solely to the free use he made of liquor, which he acknowledged verry candidly to me after he recovered & expressed a firm determination never to drink any more Spirits or use Snuff again both of which I deprived him of for Several days & confined him to Claret & a little white wine—But after leaving this place by some means or other his resolution left him & this Ag t being extremely fond of liquor, instead of preventing the Gov r from drinking or puting him under any restraint, advised him to it, & from every thing I can learn gave the man every chance to seek an opportunity to destroy himself—And from the Statement of Grinders wife where he Killed himself I can not help beleiving that Purney was rather Aiding & abeting in the murder than otherwise— This Neely also says he lent the Gov r money which cannot be so for he had none himself & the Gov r had more than One hun d $ in Notes & Specia besides a Check I let him have of 99 ⁵⁸⁄₁₀₀ none of which it is said could be found—I have wrote to the Cashier of the branch bank of Orleans on whom the Check was drawn in favour of myself or order to stop pay t when presented. I have this day authorised a Gentleman to pay the pretended Claim of [. . .] Neely & take the Pistols which will be held Sacrad to the Order of any of the friends of M. Lewis free from encumberance— I am Sir with great respect Your Obd t Serv t Gilbert. C. Russell RC ( DLC ); edge chipped; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson Esq r Monticello near Charlotts Ville Virginia”; stamped and postmarked 19 Feb. 1810 at Chickasaw; endorsed by TJ as received 15 Apr. 1810 and so recorded in SJL but described as received a day later in TJ’s 18 Apr. 1810 reply. In a 26 Nov. 1811 statement regarding the death of Meriwether Lewis, Russell did not repeat the above accusations against James Neelly and Lewis’s servant John purney (Pernier). Russell’s check drawn on the branch bank of orleans did eventually reach Washington and was forwarded from there to TJ ( Jackson, Letters of Lewis and Clark description begins Donald Jackson, ed., Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents, 1783–1854 , 2d ed., 1978, 2 vols. description ends , 2:471–3, 573–5). Index Entries alcohol; abuse of search Bank of Orleans search claret (wine) search Grinder, Mrs. Robert search health; alcohol abuse search Lewis, Meriwether; and J. Neelly search Lewis, Meriwether; death of search Lewis, Meriwether; J. Pernier’s claim against estate of search Lewis, Meriwether; personal belongings of search Neelly, James; and M. Lewis’s death search Neelly, James; and M. Lewis’s effects search Orleans Territory; banks in search Pernier (Purney), John; and M. Lewis’s death search Russell, Gilbert Christian; and M. Lewis’s belongings search Russell, Gilbert Christian; and M. Lewis’s death search Russell, Gilbert Christian; letters from search suicide; and M. Lewis search wine; claret search wine; white search Permanent Link What’s this? https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0153 Note: The annotations to this document, and any other modern editorial content, are copyright © Princeton University Press. All rights reserved. Back to top You Are Looking At Source Project Jefferson Papers Title Gilbert C. Russell to Thomas Jefferson, 31 January 1810 Author Russell, Gilbert C. Recipient Jefferson, Thomas Date 31 January 1810 Reference Cite as “Gilbert C. Russell to Thomas Jefferson, 31 January 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0153. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson , Retirement Series, vol. 2, 16 November 1809 to 11 August 1810 , ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005, pp. 191–192.] More between these correspondents Preceding From Russell to Jefferson [4 January 1810] Next From Jefferson to Russell [18 April 1810] All All correspondence between Russell and Jefferson