Joel Yancey to Thomas Jefferson, 13 June 1819
From Joel Yancey
Poplar Forest 13th June 1819
Dr Sir
I wrote you on the morning 10th Inst and on the same Evening about 3 oClock: there was greatest hail storm I ever saw. your House appears to have b’een the centre of it, the damage is immense, a fine ps. wheat in Perrys I do not think will be worth cutting & all the rest & oats very much injured at Tomahawk, B. Cr. is not materially hurt by the hail but greatly damaged by the great rains, that fell yesterday and the day before, washing away intirely about 20 m Tobacco hills that was planted & growing very prettily. the corn is beat a good deal, by the hail but I hope it will come out again but every thing in the garden is intirely destroyed & 77 panes of glass broken to atoms and the House flooded with [wa]ter. you may form some Idia, of destruction, when assure you that the1 yard was covered, and the hail2 stones generally larger than partridge eggs.3 I have been told that some measured 3 Inchees round, the damage on my little farm cannot be less 1000 Ds.4 short crops last year, the low prices, and the present gloomy prospects, I do not know what is to become of us, the glass if to be procured, in Lynchburg I will have put in, but I have never seen any there as large panes, as those in your windows & doors. we fortunatly finishd planting before the hail except 5 m at Tomahawk, but they have been plentifully supplyd from B. Creek so that we have been over at both places twice, every plant in the beds at Tom. was destroyed by the hail, wishing you health & happiness, & that we may have the pleasure of seeing you at harvest I am with greeat respect
J. Yan[cey]
RC (MHi); bottom corner torn; endorsed by TJ as received 21 June 1819 and so recorded in SJL.
Yancey’s letter of the 10th inst, not found, is recorded in SJL as received 21 June 1819 from Poplar Forest. Bear Creek (b. cr.) was one of TJ’s two plantations at Poplar Forest.
When they visited Poplar Forest a month later, two of TJ’s granddaughters described the damage to the house. One reported that “We found that the hail storm had shattered two of grandpapa’s windows, in one there was not left a single pane of glass unbroken, which was the case with several of those in the other rooms, and a gust of wind since that has done nearly the same mischief to the folding doors on one side of the dining room by blowing them to suddenly. nothing is left of the sky light but the sash” (Cornelia J. Randolph to Virginia J. Randolph [Trist], 18 July 1819 [NcU: NPT]). The other indicated that “On arriving here we found our windows uninjured by the hail, and our room clean and pretty well aired by Eugenia’s care. all the glass on the north side of the house is demolished but Grand-Papa’s room has lost but one window, which will soon be repaired” (Ellen W. Randolph [Coolidge] to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 18 July [1819] [ViU: Coolidge Correspondence]).
1. Yancey here canceled “ground.”
2. Manuscript: “hoil.”
3. Omitted period at right margin editorially supplied.
4. Omitted period at right margin editorially supplied.
Index Entries
- Bear Creek plantation (part of TJ’s Poplar Forest estate); fields at search
- building materials; window glass search
- Coolidge, Ellen Wayles Randolph (TJ’s granddaughter); visits Poplar Forest search
- corn; at Poplar Forest search
- crops; damaged by hail search
- crops; oats search
- eggs search
- Eugenia (slave) search
- gardens; at Poplar Forest search
- glass, window; for Poplar Forest search
- oats; at Poplar Forest search
- Perry, Mr. (farmer) search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); corn grown at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); damaged by hail search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); garden at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); glass for search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); main house at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); oats grown at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); skylight at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); slaves at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); TJ’s grandchildren visit search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); tobacco grown at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); weather at search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); wheat grown at search
- Randolph, Cornelia Jefferson (TJ’s granddaughter); visits Poplar Forest search
- tobacco; grown at Poplar Forest search
- Tomahawk plantation (part of TJ’s Poplar Forest estate); fields at search
- weather; effect on crops search
- weather; hail search
- weather; wind search
- wheat; at Poplar Forest search
- wheat; effect of weather on search
- Yancey, Joel (d.1833); as superintendent of Poplar Forest search
- Yancey, Joel (d.1833); letters from search
- Yancey, Joel (d.1833); letters from accounted for search