Library of Congress
- NAME – Thomas Jefferson
- NICKNAME(S) – Sage of Monticello / Long Tom / The Pen
- BIRTH / DEATH – April 13, 1743 Shadwell, Va. / 1826 – Charlottesville, Va.
- FATHER – farmer, surveyor, justice of the peace, judge, militia leader
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – William and Mary
- WIFE – Martha
- KIDS – 5 girls, 1 boy (only two girls lived to adulthood) / probably had 1-6 kids by his slave mistress Sally Hemmings
- PETS – mockingbird (Dick), bear cubs (Lewis and Clark)
- RELIGION – Deist
- ANCESTRY – Welsh
- AGE – 57
FIRSTS:
– first to grow a tomato in North America (they were considered poison)
– first child born in the White House – a grandson
– first President inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
– first widower to be President
MA AND PA: He inherited 5,000 acres from his father.
BACKGROUND:
– private tutors – learned Greek and Latin
– House of Burgesses
– First and Second Continental Congresses
– Governor of Va. 1779-81
– Minister to France 1785-89
– first Secretary of State 1790=93
– Vice President to Adams
FIRST LADY: She was a widow. He called her Patsy. She played the organ and the harpsichord. She died ten years into the marriage.
RETIREMENT: He retired to Monticello. He died on the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
TRIVIA:
– when the Library of Congress was burned by the British in the War of 1812, he sold it his library of 6,500 books
– he liked riding, dancing, and playing the violin
– favorite food – macaroni and cheese – he popularized macaroni in America after bringing it from Naples
– he ran up a $11,000 wine bill as President
– born in a log cabin
– 6’2” red hair
- Zebulon Pike sent him two grizzly cubs; Jefferson had heard about the fearsomeness of the bears and gifted them to a zoo run by Charles Wilson Peale
ANECDOTES:
THE DEATH MASK
When he was 82 and in poor health, it was decided that it was time to do his death mask. Since there was no photography yet, it was a custom among rich people to remember their ancestors via a plaster cast of their face. Usually this was done after death, but some people wanted to be proactive. A sculptor named John Browere was brought in. He covered Jefferson face and neck with plaster, leaving air holes. Unfortunately, Jefferson began groaning and the family at his bedside was sure he was suffocating. Browere was forced to use his hammer and chisel to get the mask off. Jefferson survived. The bronze bust made from the cast is now on display in Cooperstown, New York.
– maroon 99
GRAVESTONE
Jefferson was buried at Monticello. He designed his own tombstone. Here is what it read:
Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
Of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
& Father of the University of Virginia
Note that he did not want to be remembered for being President or doubling the size of the U.S. via the Louisiana Purchase.
– Whitcomb 99
THE GIANT CHEESE
After Jefferson’s inauguration, a reverend in Cheshire, Massachusetts decided to present a gift to the new president. A giant cheese. The congregation was encouraged to contribute milk from their cows, but not from any Federalist cows. They used a huge cider-press and produced a block of cheese that weighed 1,600 pounds. Elder Leland had it placed on a sledge and he drove it for three weeks to Washington. People gathered along the road to see the cheese. Jefferson was grateful. Four years later, people who visited the President’s House were still being served from the cheese.
– Boller 35-36