William Short was the first appointment to public office conferred under the Constitution of the United States.  Thomas Jefferson thought so much of him that he happily called him "my adoptive son."  

William Duane was the radical publisher of the "Philadelphia Aurora" who helped get Jefferson elected President against Federalist John Adams in 1800.  

And Colonel William Drayton was a veteran of the War of 1812 and a Unionist from South Carolina whose father had exchanged dozens of letters with Jefferson on many topics, especially agriculture.  

Welcome to All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories podcast #040 for July 2022 - Friends of Thomas Jefferson, Part 1: I'm Just a Bill.