Charles R. Lowell to B. H. Barrows, February 16, 1881

Mr. Lowell to Consul Barrows.

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, in relation to the case of Michael P. Boyton.

The fact that he has already received a passport from the Department of State will not, in my opinion, entitle him to a new one, inasmuch as this original passport was granted upon the supposition that he was born in the United States. If, as he now declares, he was born in Ireland and taken to America when he was a child, it will be necessary for him to prove that his father was naturalized there; and this can only be done satisfactorily by producing his father’s letters of naturalization. It is well that Mr. Boyton should understand this before taking the trouble to come to London.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,