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Description
This letter is addressed to a Mr. Borely in Marseille, and concerns the life and estate of John Burell. In French.
Transcription
La Grange, July 4, 1830 Dear President: I am writing to you confidentially, my dear President, in order to carry out an order I have just received from South Carolina. Dr. John Burell went to the US aboard the French war vessel during the Independence War. He was accompanied by his brother Jean-Baptiste Burell, Commissioner of War, who then was living in Paris. Both are sons of Antoine Burell, and one of the brothers was living in Toulon. Antoine Burell himself was born in the South France, in a small village called Aeoline, or some thing like that, because my correspondent did not speak French, and therefore could not remember the exact pronunciation. Dr. Burell died two years ago. He left behind a widow and several children in a desperate situation. It seems that John Burell, who had served as a doctor aboard a French vessel before going to the US, has the right to receive a part of the heritage left by the Antoine Burell who was very wealthy. I was asked to inquire about that. Dr. Burell got married in Philadelphia after the Revolution. He then left for the Southern States where he lived until he died. He intended to come to France to get his share of the heritage, but he could not gather the amount of money needed for the travel. When he was young, he lived comfortably by practicing medicine, but as he grew older, he practiced less and less. He was always held in esteem by his people for his honesty and sincerity. His friends and neighbors missed him a lot and were interested in the fate of his widow and children. In this letter dated on April 17, I was asked to gather more information and to find out to whom the power of attorney should be sent. I think that the American consulate in Marseilles, could handle the matter, but before that, I would like you to find out through your friends in Toulon what has become of the Burell family and what can be done to help the American widow and her children. I apologize, dear President, for the inconvenience that I am causing you, but I am sure that you understand how glad I am to help these people. Sincerely Yours Lafayette
Creation Date
7-4-1830
City
La Grange
Country
France
Creator Life Dates
1757-1834
Keywords
La Grange, 04 July 1830, 1830, Dr. John Burell, war vessel, Independence War, Jean-Baptiste Burell, Paris, Antoine Burell, Toulon, France, Commissioner of War
Resource Identifier
070428-02
Date Digital
March 2014
Document Type
Manuscript
Disciplines
Military History | Social History | United States History
Format (medium)
manuscript
Format (IMT)
Language
fr
Digitization Specifications
800ppi 24-bit depth color; Scanned with an Epson 15000 Photo scanner with Epson Scan software; Archival master is a TIFF; TIFFs converted to PDF with Adobe Acrobat XI Pro.
Source
The original from which this digital representation is taken is housed in The Littlejohn Collection at Wofford College, located in the Sandor Teszler Library.
Recommended Citation
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, "Marquis de Lafayette letter in French regarding a John Burell. France, 1830." (1830). Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection. 169.
https://digitalcommons.wofford.edu/littlejohnmss/169
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.