Meriwether Lewis

Autograph letter signed (M. Lewis"), to Mrs. [Dolley] Madison, Washington, D.C., February 10, 1802. 1 page (7 ⅝ x 5 in; 194 x 127 mm).

“THE PRESIDENT THROUGH ME PRESENTS HIS MOST RESPECTFUL COMPLIMENTS TO MRS. MADISON AND ASSURES HER HE WILL BE VERY HAPPY IN THE COMPANY OF HERSELF AND SUCH OTHER LADIES AS MRS. M. MAY THINK PROPER TO BRING WITH HER THIS EVENING"

When Thomas Jefferson entered the White House in 1801, he had been a widower for almost two decades. In the absence of a First Lady, he relied on fellow Virginian Dolley Madison, the wife of his Secretary of State James Madison, as his hostess for social functions. 

Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) served as the President’s private secretary from Jefferson’s inauguration until 1803, when he left to lead the expedition that bears his, and William Clark’s names. Lewis had know Jefferson since childhood and also acquired much of his knowledge of natural history and love of the outdoors through self-study. At age 20, he joined a local militia company to help suppress the Whisky Rebellion. To secure advancement, he joined the regular army in 1795. In his duties as paymaster, he traveled considerably throughout the Ohio Valley, going to posts such as Fort Wayne, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, where he had opportunities for contact with native flora, fauna, and Indian tribes. These travels gave him necessary experience for the expedition he would lead two years after he wrote this brief letter.

At this point in his career, though, Lewis resided in Jefferson’s White House, performing a wide range of duties. By hand, Lewis delivered Jefferson's annual address to Congress in December 1801 (to be read aloud by a clerk of the House). Lewis’s tasks as Jefferson’s secretary included organizing his social calendar, and  Jefferson's dinners were elegant affairs. “However he may neglect his person, wrote Judge Mahlon Dickerson, he “takes good care of his table." Even for a small party, the President’s French culinary staff offered no less than ten selections, beautifully arranged in covered dishes, and concluded the meal with fine wines and cheeses.

Though popular culture credits Dolley Madison with introducing ice cream at the White House, this letter proves otherwise. The party on February 10, 1802, saw a reprise of chef Honoré Julien’s signature dessert. Samuel Mitchill, a New York Democratic Congressman marveled in a letter to his wife, “The party was easy and sociable, as all these parties are. … Among other things ice-creams were produced in the form of balls of the frozen material inclosed in covers of warm pastry, exhibiting a curious contrast as if the ice had just been taken from the oven.” Some historians have suggested that this was the predecessor to Baked Alaska.

In 1804, Jefferson picked Lewis to lead the transcontinental expedition with William Clark. From 1804–1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition explored lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson named him Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1807. Lingering effects of wounds suffered returning from the expedition dogged him until he died under mysterious circumstances, apparently by suicide, in 1809. LEWIS LETTERS RARELY COME ON THE MARKET.

Dolley Payne Todd Madison (1768–1849) was the wife of the fourth U.S. President, James Madison. Born a Quaker, she was expelled from the society upon her marriage to Madison. When he became Secretary of State in 1801, their household, which included son Payne and younger sister Anna, moved to Washington, D.C., where she and her sister quickly became the centers of Washington social life. Known for her hostess skills, she has been called the first “First Lady” in the modern sense of the role. Dolley is credited with saving the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington as British forces torched the White House in 1814.