Jefferson’s copy was supplied to him by Cheetham, billed on June 10, 1802, price $ 2.00. It was bound by March, July 8, 1802, cost 75 cents.

The book was sold to Congress in 1815 with Jefferson’s library, but may not have been delivered. It is listed in the 1815 catalogue, but not checked as received, and is included in the manuscript list of missing books made at a later date.

The history of the interruption by Aaron Burr in the publication of this work, an attack on the Federalist party, was written to Jefferson by James Cheetham in two letters, the one dated from New York, December 29, 1801, the second, signed Denniston & Cheetham, dated January 30, 1802.

Cheetham’s first letter read in part: “The history of the administration of John Adams, late President of the United States written by John Wood, of this city, will, in all probability, be suppressed. It was printed and ready for sale when I returned from Washington. The persons engaged in its suppression are those whose plans I in some degree unfolded to you during my stay in Washington. Their motives for suppressing it are not yet completely developed: but they are sufficiently understood to convince us that they are not the most honorable. The work is Republican: and why Republicans should be solicitous to suppress it, is enigmatical . . . The publishers (in whose hands the work is, and who employed Mr. Wood to write it) have acceded to the proposition of the faction to give $1100 for its suppression. If the money be paid to-night according to promise, it will be consigned to the flames, and Mr. Wood is to write another under the influence, it is supposed, of Mr. Burr.

"My friends think it would be desirable to anticipate the intended new copy, by an impartial History of the administration of Mr. Adams, and by so doing defeat the views of the suppressors of the present one. But there are several documents necessary to connect events which cannot be had but from the Departments of state . . .”

Jefferson replied to this from Washington on January 17, 1802: “ . . . the fact of the suppression of a work mentioned by you is curious, and pregnant with considerations. is it impossible to get a single copy of the work? a good history of the period it comprehended will doubtless be valuable. should it be undertaken as you suggest, I should suppose it indispensable in you, rather to visit this place, at your own convenience, for the information you desire as to a particular document, and for such other as the work itself will suggest to you. in the mean time I can assure you that I have only read that document with the extracts from it in Callender’s history of 1796. pa. 172. to 181. and find the latter, not only substantially, but almost verbally exact . . .

" a certain description of persons are so industrious in misconstruing & misrepresenting every word from my pen, that I must pray you, after reading this, to destroy it, that no accident happening to it may furnish matter for new slanders . . . ”

The second letter, signed Denniston & Cheetham, and dated January 30, 1802, occupied 7 large folio pages, and gave a minutely detailed account of the transaction, from the approach of the author, Wood, to the publishers to purchase the whole edition for the purpose of suppression, the divulging of Aaron Burr’s name as a guarantee to Barlas and Wood, the constantly delayed arrangements for the paying of the money until the repudiation of the transaction by Burr, who wrote that “if Mr Barlas looked to him for the money he might look”, the taking of Cheetham into their confidence by the publishers, and numerous other details including an account of the author, John Wood, and a detailed description of the book. The letter also stated: “It is impossible to obtain a Copy of the history, except for a few hours, and even this by special favour. The whole edition is in the hands of Messrs Barlas & Ward. Could we get one for a fortnight, it should be obtained and sent to you with great pleasure, but this is impracticable. Whether the History will yet be published or not, we know not. At any rate we have relinquished the idea of writing one ourselves.”

John Wood, according to Cheetham in the letter referred to above, “is by birth a Scotchman. It appears from ”