Thomas Jefferson’s Account with William Steptoe, 1 June 1814
Account with William Steptoe
| 1813 | Thos Jefferson Esqr to Will: Steptoe | Dr | ||||
| Jany | 17 | th | To Visit to negroe woman Aggy | £0: | 8 | :0 |
| 〃 Blistering Plaister & Prescriptn Verbl | 7 | :6 | ||||
| Feby | 2 | d | 〃 Visit to Do Cantharides 3/ Ven. Sectn & Prescrpt | 18 | :0 | |
| 6 | th | 〃 Visit to Ditto—Ven. Sect 2/6—Box Pills1 | 13 | :6 | ||
| 7 | th | 〃 Visit in the night & attendance | 1: | 1 | :0 | |
| 10 | th | 〃 Visit—Cantharides 3/—Elixr Paregoric—1/— | 12 | :0 | ||
| 15 | th | 〃 Visit—16th Do Pills—4/ | 1: | 0 | :0 | |
| 18 | th | 〃 Do in the night 15/—Tinct. Cast. Russia | 16 | :6 | ||
| 22 | d | 〃 Do to Do 8/— 25th Do & Prescript. Verb | 1: | 0 | :6 | |
| March | 5 | th | 〃 Do—to Do 8/— ℥ 1 Spt Nit. dulc. 2/6 | 10 | :6 | |
| 〃 Gum Arabic & Prescript. Verb | 6 | :3 | ||||
| 8 | th | 〃 Visit in the rain at night | 18 | :0 | ||
| Augt | 18 | th | 〃 Visit to Maria at Mr Darnels | 8 | ||
| 〃 Antihemorrhagic powder to Do 6/— Pills laxativ 3/ | 9 | : | ||||
| Sept. | 24 | th | 〃 Making incision in Ambrose’s leg & extracting bone | 13 | :6 | |
| 27 | th | 〃 Enlarging wound to Do Dressing & Prescript. | 15 | |||
| 30 | th | 〃 Visit to Maria 8/ Prescript. Verb—4/6 | 12 | :6 | ||
| Oct. | 2 | nd | 〃 Cutting off negroe boys finger | 10 | :6 | |
| 5 | th | 〃 Examining & dressing Do | 9 | |||
| 22 | nd | 〃 Visit & extracting bone out of Ambrose’s leg | 12 | :0 | ||
| 27 | th | 〃 Visit to Sally & extracting Tumor on her Arm | 1: | 10 | :0 | |
| Novr | 1 | st | 〃 Visit to Do Dressing wound & Directions | 18 | :6 | |
| £15: | 9 | :9 | ||||
| 18142 | To amount of my bill this year | 5: | 1 | :3 | ||
| £20: | 11 | :0 | ||||
| Cr | By order on Mr Clay £3:8:4. By shop acct—£5:7:10 | 9: | 16 | :2 | ||
| By—8 bushells of wheat | 2: | 8 | :0 | |||
| By Cash £1:10:0 (see the other bill) | 1: | 10 | :0 | |||
on verso:
]| £20: | 11 | : 0 | |
| 13: | 14 | : 2 | |
| £ 6: | 16 | :10 | Due W S. June 1st 1814— |
MS (ViU: TJP-ER); in Steptoe’s hand; addressed “Thos Jefferson Esqr”; with additional notation in Steptoe’s hand: “£15:9:9”; endorsed by TJ: “Steptoe Dr Wm.”
William Steptoe (1785–ca. 1863), physician, was a son of TJ’s longtime friend James Steptoe. After defending his thesis on “Animal sympathy,” he received a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1807. Returning to his native Bedford County, Steptoe provided medical services at TJ’s plantations in that area and occasionally dined with TJ at Poplar Forest. He lived between Poplar Forest and the town of New London, where he maintained a shop and office. In 1817 Steptoe helped organize a local Bible society. By 1830 he owned about twenty-six slaves (James Steptoe family Bible record, photocopy at ViLJML; Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser, 15 Feb. 1805; Philadelphia Medical Museum 4 [1808]: lviii–lix; Will J. Maxwell, comp., General Alumni Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania [1917], 568; , 2:1314; TJ’s Instructions for Poplar Forest Management, Dec. 1811; Lynchburg Press, 4 Aug. 1814; TJ to Steptoe, 13 Sept. 1815, 8 Dec. 1820; Steptoe to TJ, 24 July 1819; Richmond Christian Monitor 2 [1817]: 319–20; DNA: RG 29, CS, Bedford Co., 1830; Bedford Co. Will Book, 19:250–1; Daily Lynchburg Virginian, 16 Jan. 1863).
℥ 1 spt nit. dulc.: one fluid ounce sweet spirit of nitre.
1. Steptoe here canceled “antihystc” (antihysteric pills were prescribed to combat hysteria []).
2. Manuscript from this point written in a different ink.
Index Entries
- Aggy (TJ’s slave); medical care of search
- Ambrose (TJ’s slave; b.1799); medical care of search
- cantharides search
- Clay, Charles; makes payment for TJ search
- Darnil (Darnell; Darniel; Darnold), Nimrod; Poplar Forest overseer search
- gum arabic (medicinal) search
- health; of slaves search
- hysteria search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; account with W. Steptoe search
- laxatives search
- Maria (TJ’s slave); medical care of search
- medicine; antihemorrhagic powder search
- medicine; antihysteric pills search
- medicine; cantharides search
- medicine; gum arabic search
- medicine; laxatives search
- medicine; paregoric search
- medicine; plasters search
- medicine; Russian Castor (medicinal plant) search
- medicine; sweet spirit of nitre search
- nitre, sweet spirit of search
- paregoric search
- plasters (medicinal) search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); medical care at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); slaves at search
- Russian castor (medicine) search
- Sally (TJ’s slave); medical care of search
- slaves; health of search
- Steptoe, William; account with TJ search
- Steptoe, William; as doctor search
- Steptoe, William; identified search
- wheat; as payment for debts search