Lucy Cooley to Thomas Jefferson, 18 August 1813
From Lucy Cooley
Troy Athens County August 18. 1813
Dear Sir
Mr Jabez Cooley Informd me by letter that he had been to work for you and Mr Randolph but was now in the service of the united States as A substitute1 for your head Miller I wish you to be so kind as to forward the Inclosed letter to him if you know where he is he wrote to me that he belongd to Capt Woods Company of Infantry from the 88th Regmt of Albemarle County your Compliance with the above Request will much Obliege your
Lucy Cooley
RC (MHi); addressed: “Mr Thomas Jefferson”; franked, with stamp deleted; endorsed by TJ as received 14 Sept. 1813 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure not found.
Lucy Calkins Cooley (ca. 1777–ca. 1835) was the wife of jabez cooley. He reputedly died during wartime military service. In 1820 Lucy Cooley was a resident of Carthage Township, Athens County, Ohio, and three years later she married John Calkrill in the same county (William W. Hough, “Lucy Calkins and Jabez Cooley of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Ohio,” Connecticut Nutmegger 36 [June 2003]: 23–32; DNA: RG 29, CS, Ohio, Athens Co., 1820; Athens Co. Marriage Book, 23 Aug. 1823).
On 2 Apr. 1813 TJ “Gave Jabez Cooley an ord. on Gibson & Jefferson for 30.D. being a moiety for 88. days work on the road for Mr. [Thomas Mann] Randolph & myself.” This road ran along the north bank of the Rivanna River from Secretary’s Ford to just opposite Milton (, 2:1287–8). During Randolph’s absence on military service, a Mr. Gilmer and Randolph’s own son Thomas Jefferson Randolph served successively as head miller for TJ at the Shadwell Mills (TJ to Thomas Mann Randolph, 14 Nov. 1813).
1. Manuscript: “substitue.”
Index Entries
- Cooley, Jabez search
- Cooley, Lucy; asks TJ to forward letter search
- Cooley, Lucy; identified search
- Cooley, Lucy; letters from search
- Gibson & Jefferson (Richmond firm); payments made for TJ search
- Gilmer, Mr.; and Shadwell mills search
- Randolph, Thomas Jefferson (TJ’s grandson; Jane Hollins Nicholas Randolph’s husband); and Shadwell mills search
- Randolph, Thomas Mann (1768–1828) (TJ’s son-in-law; Martha Jefferson Randolph’s husband); and road along Rivanna River search
- Shadwell mills; interim millers at during War of1812 search
- women; letters from; L. Cooley search
- Wood, Thomas search