Future President Harrison's son was Mint employee 1 1

[RWB]

Interesting letter from the newly appointed mint director to the future President.

Washington, D.C.,
Hon Benjamin Harrison
Indianapolis, Ind
April 14, 1879.
My dear Sir
Your letter of the 11th inst. is received. It was a pleasure to find upon my entrance upon
duty in this Bureau that your son was among the officers under my personal supervision. I
believe that I once met you personally and I have known you long from public reputation and
can assure you that the success of your son in the discharge of the duties of his office will give
me great pleasure on his account as well as your own and I shall gladly do what I can to
contribute to that end.
Truly Yours,
Horatio C. Burchard,
Director of the Mint
[Indiana State Library, Manuscript Division. Filed for convenience in RWB NARA RG104 entry 229 box 14 of 17]

Edited June 13, 2023 by RWB

[Sandon]

   I'll put this letter in historical context.  Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) served as President from 1889 to 1893. He was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, who had served as President for about a month in 1841 before becoming the first U.S. President to die in office. At the time this letter was written, Harrison was a prominent attorney and [name beginning with "R"] party activist in Indiana who had also served as an officer in the Union army during the Civil War. He subsequently served a term in the U.S. Senate from 1881 to 1887 before being elected President in 1888 despite receiving fewer popular votes than the incumbent, Grover Cleveland, who would defeat Harrison in his bid for reelection in 1892.

   Russell Benjamin Harrison (1854-1936), Harrison's son, would have been about 25 years old at the time of this letter.  It appears that the elder Harrison was already well enough known in 1879 to be one from whom the Mint Director saw fit to curry favor.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison

Edited June 13, 2023 by Sandon
Apparently, the names of major U.S. political parties can no longer be used here.

[VKurtB]

The Nepotism Chronicles strike again. 

[Henri Charriere]

On 6/13/2023 at 12:05 PM, Sandon said:

   I'll put this letter in historical context.  Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) served as President from 1889 to 1893. He was the grandson of William Henry Harrison, who had served as President for about a month in 1841 before becoming the first U.S. President to die in office. At the time this letter was written, Harrison was a prominent attorney and [name beginning with "R"] party activist in Indiana who had also served as an officer in the Union army during the Civil War. He subsequently served a term in the U.S. Senate from 1881 to 1887 before being elected President in 1888 despite receiving fewer popular votes than the incumbent, Grover Cleveland, who would defeat Harrison in his bid for reelection in 1892.

   Russell Benjamin Harrison (1854-1936), Harrison's son, would have been about 25 years old at the time of this letter.  It appears that the elder Harrison was already well enough known in 1879 to be one from whom the Mint Director saw fit to curry favor.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison

Speaking strictly as a member who has experienced expulsions and deportations, I believe it safe to say  context and period are key in determining acceptability. The thrust of your comment is historical and therefore permissible.