William Vernon Jr., also known as William H. Vernon, was the son of a wealthy Newport, R.I., merchant and member of the Continental Navy Board. To gain experience in trade young Vernon had been sent to France under JA's care at the time Adams made his first voyage to Europe in 1778 (JA, Diary and Autobiography , 2:271; 4:9).

John Bondfield, a merchant with the firm Bondfield, Hayward & Co., had been commercial agent for the United States at Bordeaux and other French ports since March 1778 ( Cal. Franklin Papers, A.P.S ., 1:384; JA, Diary and Autobiography , 2:294; 4:35–36, 96–97).