# Thomas Jefferson to Gilbert C. Russell, 18 April 1810

CITATION: “Thomas Jefferson to Gilbert C. Russell, 18 April 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0290. [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, p. 336.]
URL (original): https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0290
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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) ----

Thomas Jefferson to Gilbert C. Russell, 18 April 1810 
To 
 Gilbert C. Russell 
 Monticello 
 Apr. 18. 10. 
 Sir 
 I have to acknolege the reciept of your favors of Jan. 4. & 31. the last of which did not reach me till two days ago; and with my own, to express the thankfulness of all the friends of the late unfortunate governor Lewis for your kind attentions to him. we have all to lament that a fame so dearly earned was clouded finally by such an act of desperation.
 he was much afflicted & habitually so with
 hypocondria. this was probably increased by the habit into which he had fallen & the painful reflections that would necessarily produce in a mind like his. his loss to the world is a very
 great
 one, as it is impossible that any other can paint to them the occurrencies of his journey so faithfully as he who felt them.
 I have duly handed on whatever you have
 communicated to me respecting
 his
 pecuniary interests to Capt William Meriwether, his relation, his intimate friend & one of his executors, 
 and pray you to accept the assurances of my esteem & respect. 
 Th:
 Jefferson 
 PoC ( DLC ); at foot of text: “Capt Gilbert C. Russell”; endorsed by TJ. 
Index Entries 
Clark (Clarke), William; as M. Lewis’s executor search 
health; hypochondria search 
hypochondria search 
Lewis, Meriwether; executor of search 
Lewis, Meriwether; TJ on search 
Meriwether, William Douglas; as M. Lewis’s executor search 
Russell, Gilbert Christian; letters to search 
Russell, Gilbert Christian; thanked for assisting M. Lewis search 
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You Are Looking At Source Project Jefferson Papers Title Thomas Jefferson to Gilbert C. Russell, 18 April 1810 Author Jefferson, Thomas Recipient Russell, Gilbert C. Date 18 April 1810 
Reference Cite as “Thomas Jefferson to Gilbert C. Russell, 18 April 1810,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-02-02-0290. [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, p. 336.] 
More between these correspondents 
 Preceding From Russell to Jefferson [31 January 1810] All All correspondence between Russell and Jefferson