Aaron Burr and Louis Le Guen Correspondence: Finding Aid mssBU
Gayle M. Richardson
The Huntington Library
August 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Aaron Burr and Louis Le Guen correspondence
Creator:
Burr, Aaron, 1756-1836
Identifier/Call Number: mssBU
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1797-1826
Abstract: A collection of letters and legal
documents related to Aaron Burr, Louis Le Guen, and Thomas Ludlow Ogden.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and
French.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Aaron Burr and Louis Le Guen correspondence, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Edward L. Doheny, 1952.
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton acted as joint counsel for Louis Le Guen in a complicated
mercantile lawsuit Le Guen vs. Gouverneur and Kemble (1797). The court ruled in Le Guen's
favor, winning him biggest settlement in American legal history to the date. Aaron Burr
heavily borrowed from his client, and the litigation for the recovery of his extensive debts
dragged on for more than two decades. Thomas Ludlow Ogden, (1773-1844), one of the most
prominent corporate attorneys in New York, represented Le Guen.
A collection of letters and legal documents of Aaron Burr, Louis Le Guen, and Thomas Ludlow
Ogden, chiefly regarding the loan granted by Le Guen to Burr in 1799 and settling of
accounts from 1805 to 1820. Also included are a few items pertaining to the Le Guen vs.
Gouverneur and Kemble court case, including Burr's letter to Alexander Hamilton (November.
15, 1803), and another case handled by Burr on Le Guen's behalf. Other correspondents
include Cadwallader R. Colden, Charles Leggett, and LeGuen's wife Mary Hylton LeGuen.
Processed by Huntington Library Staff in approximately 1955; in August 2023, Gayle M.
Richardson created the finding aid.
Arranged chronologically.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssBU 1-70.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Collecting of accounts -- New York (State) -- New York --
Cases
Commercial law -- United States -- History
Debtor and creditor -- New York (State) -- New York -- Cases
Lawyers -- New York (State) -- New York
United States -- History --
1783-1865
Legal correspondence
Legal documents
Letters (correspondence)
Professional papers
Colden, Cadwallader R.,
1774-1839
Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804
Le Guen, Louis
Le Guen, Mary Hylton
Leggett, Charles
Ogden, Thomas L. (Thomas
Ludlow), 1773-1844
Box 1, Folder 1-70
Aaron Burr and Louis Le Guen correspondence 1797-1826