In order to locate records concerning Thomas Nelson Conrad and Daniel Mountjoy Cloud, I searched the online catalogue of the National Archives Record Administration (NARA), which is located in College Park, MD. My searches returned no results for Cloud, but it returned a match from the United States Department of State Records of the Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Reccomendations for Public Office, 1797-1901 from the 1880s and 1890s regarding Conrad. I filled out the request form on the website to recieve photocopies of the documents, and they arrived in my HUB Box a week or so later.
I recieved a set of documents pertaining to Conrad’s application for the position of Consul General to Korea. The first was a letter written by Conrad to the Department of State on April 30 1889 on Maryland Agricultural College letterhead requesting the return of “the papers filed in my behalf regarding hte Corean mission,” likely referring to his application materials including any letters of reference written on his behalf. A notation on the letter states “answered May 3, 89 , and papers returned.” The second was a note dated May 1889 in the State Department files stating that “Thos N. Conrad withdraws his papers.” On January 21, 1890, Conrad wrote a letter to the State Department on the letterhead of Maryland Agricultural College, asking if they could “please allow the bearer, Mr. S.P. Bayly Jr. to use my paperse on file in your department, I oblige.” A note by S.P. Bayley dated January 22, 1890 states that he “recieved of the Department of State all papers relative to the application of Thos N. Conrad as authorized by him.” On November 10, 1893, Conrad wrote in a letter to the State Department “In 1888, I filed an application with endorsements for appointment as Consul General to Korea. I wish to withdraw these papers, if still in file in the State Department. Would you do them the favor to send them to me.” A State Department note dated November 11, 1893 states “Papers returned to him.”
These documents illustrate the fact that he was seeking foreign service posts during this time. His request that his papers be returned in April of 1889 implies that he was no longer being considered for the position at that point in time. His authorization for the use of his papers less than a year later likely implies that he hoped to be considered for a future position. This timing is intriguing since his obituary stated that he was hired as a statistician by the United States Census Bureau in 1890. Since he asked for the return of the remaining papers in 1893, it appears that he no longer wanted a State Department position or believed he would not be considered for one.
These documents raise some questions about his political affiliations and involvement decades after his service in the Confederate Secret Service. His requests to be considered for a position in 1888 and 1890 are somewhat puzzling, since Democrat Grover Cleveland was President in 1888, and Republican Benjamin Harrison was President in 1890, and supporters of the current President and his party were often given government jobs. I would be interested in potentially locating primary sources such as newspaper articles and local political pamphlets that may indicate his political affiliation. Also, I wonder if the publication of his autobiography in 1892 in which he claimed to have attempted to kidnap President Lincoln may have hindered his attempts at recieving a diplomatic post. It would be a terrific find if I could locate the actual paperwork pertaining to his application, which was returned to him in 1893. If I could find the names of the individuals who wrote letters of reference on his behalf, I could get a better sense of his political involvement and leanings after the Civil War. Reading the letters themselves would give me a better sense of his postwar career and how he was regarded later in life.
Bibliography:
Conrad, Thomas, College Park, MD, to the United States Department of State, Washington, D.C., 30 April 1889. United States Department of State Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Recommendations for Public Office 1797-1901, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
United States Department of State, note, May 1889, United States Department of State Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Recommendations for Public Office 1797-1901, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Conrad, Thomas, College Park, MD, to the United States Department of State, Washington, D.C., 21 January 1890. United States Department of State Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Recommendations for Public Office 1797-1901, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Bayley, S.P., note, 22 January 1890. United States Department of State Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Recommendations for Public Office 1797-1901, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Conrad, Thomas, College Park, MD, to the United States Department of State, Washington, D.C., 10 November 1893. United States Department of State Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Recommendations for Public Office 1797-1901, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
United States Department of State, note, 11 November 1893. United States Department of State Office of the Chief Clerk: Applications and Recommendations for Public Office 1797-1901, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
Good persistence and good research questions. Nice job. You should make this post public.
Coincidence of dates suggests that Conrad may have been interested in the military training mission sent by the US to Korea in response to a request from the royal court. Three Civil War veterans, including Edward H. Cummins of Georgetown and Washington, DC (former Confederate major as “colonel,” number two in rank under “general” William McE. Dye) went in 1888, encountered difficulties, were “fired” for “gross misconduct” and denied pay for which they had contracted and which was contested. See Spencer J. Palmer, “Korean-American Relations” (pp. 21, 140-180, 383) and Yur-Bok Lee and Wayne Patterson, “Korean-American Relations, 1866-1997).”