Every family keeps records: birth certificates, deeds to land, and of course, passports. This particular passport, signed July 8, 1810 is special. It would have kept Jean Jacques Andre and his wife Suzanne out of prison as they left Norfolk and traveled to France in the middle of the American embargo against France. Suspicious that the United States was turning a profit from shipping goods from French colonies, Napoleon ordered the seizure of all American ships in European ports in 1806. By 1809, the United States Non-Intercourse Act stated that any French or British ships entering U.S. waters were to be seized. In 1810, the year stamped on the Andre’s passport, fears of war between the United States and France ran rampant. Tensions ran high between the two powers, making it difficult to travel by sea, and even more difficult to be a Frenchman traveling on an American ship. The trade disputes were eventually settled by the creation of tariffs and proper documentation for items shipped overseas. Proper travel documentation and regulations for people and cargo remain an important part our lives to this day. Unlike the passports of today, however, photographs were not available at this time for easy identification. Instead this passport features a description by the issuing agent, providing an interesting look at what he may have looked like. Interested in finding out more? Stop by the Library and take a look!
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