184251Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
During a monthlong visit to Poplar Forest , 19 Nov.–20 Dec. 1817, Jefferson attempted to clarify some of the boundary lines between his estate in Bedford County and those of his neighbors. As early as 1812 he had begun investigating the division between his land and that of the deceased William Cobbs , particularly as he wished to acquire “a handsome little tract of 100 or two acres, belonging...
184252Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
Early in his tenure as secretary of state, Jefferson began to preserve his reactions to national events. He recorded discussions in and out of government, gossiped about his political enemies, and documented his growing suspicion that Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton was employing corrupt means to steer the American republic in a more monarchical and elitist direction. In these “ragged,...
184253Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
New Hampshire congressman Salma Hale arrived at Monticello on 7 May 1818 and departed the following day. He and TJ exchanged letters once later in the year, after which they had no further interaction ( Hale to TJ, 13 July 1818 ; TJ to Hale, 26 July 1818 ). The details of the visit can be gathered from the documents printed below, most of which have been found only in later printed versions.
184254Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
On 21 Feb. 1818 the Virginia General Assembly approved “An Act appropriating part of the revenue of the Literary Fund, and for other purposes,” which authorized the creation of the University of Virginia . Under the provisions of the statute the governor was to appoint a commissioner from each of the state’s twenty-four senatorial districts to attend a meeting at the tavern in the Rockfish Gap...
184255Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
Following the meeting of the commissioners for the University of Virginia at Rockfish Gap , Jefferson traveled to Staunton and spent two nights at the home of his fellow commissioner Archibald Stuart . On 6 Aug. 1818 he began the nearly sixty-mile journey to Warm Springs on horseback, arriving there a day later and departing on 27 Aug. 1818. Although this was his first and only visit to Warm...
184256Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
As the 1818–19 legislative session approached, Jefferson and his allies prepared to submit to the Virginia General Assembly the 4 Aug. 1818 Rockfish Gap Report of the University of Virginia Commissioners , which recommended that Central College be the site of the University of Virginia . On 18 Nov. 1818 Joseph C. Cabell wrote to Jefferson
184257Enclosure: Jozéf Zajączek to Pierre de Polética, 17 November 1818 (Jefferson Papers)
Le Sieur Estco Estko ci’devant Major à l’armée Polonaise neveu du feu le Général Kosciuszko , se trouvant dans le cas d’avoir besoin d’une information éxacte sur le l’ état de la fortune que le dit Général a’pu delaisser, a reclamé l’intervention de son Gouver ne ment à l’effec l’effet de lui procurer des éclaircisements nécessaires à cet égard par l’entremise de la mission de S. M. I. et R.
184258Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
The items below document Jefferson’s response to the insolvency of his friend and close family connection, Wilson Cary Nicholas . In May 1818 Jefferson had endorsed two notes totaling $20,000 for money that Nicholas owed to the Second Bank of the United States , thus making Jefferson personally liable for that amount if Nicholas could not pay. Large as it was, this sum was dwarfed by...
184259Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
John A. Dix was a young aide-de-camp to Major General Jacob Brown when they traveled to Virginia in the company of Edmund Kirby , another of Brown ’s aides, and Samuel A. Storrow , a judge advocate. The party visited the Madisons at Montpellier , 17–18 Feb. 1820 , and arrived at Monticello on 19 Feb.
184260Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
James Leitch , a merchant in Charlottesville , frequently sold Jefferson household items, loaned him money, or paid bills on his behalf. Often the only record of these dealings is a brief letter to Leitch listing the items desired that Jefferson dashed off on a small scrap of paper, initialed, and dated. A Leitch daybook survives, however, for the period from 2 Mar. 1820 through 8 May 1823....
184261Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
Between 6 Jan. and 29 July 1821, Jefferson overcame his oft-expressed aversion to writing about himself and produced his longest description of his life. In just over 32,000 words, he covered the period from his birth in 1743 until his arrival in New York in 1790 to take up his duties as secretary of state. Following brief accounts of his parentage, education, and marriage, Jefferson devoted...
184262Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
On 1 Sept. 1821 Jefferson ’s much younger friend, the Harvard University professor George Ticknor , wrote to enlist the former president’s help in recruiting universities and learned societies to petition the United States Congress to abolish tariffs on books. Jefferson quickly agreed and sought support from acquaintances affiliated with the University of North Carolina , South Carolina...
184263Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
The following series of documents resulted from Jefferson ’s effort to prove that the funds spent on Central College and the University of Virginia to date had been properly distributed and their disposition accurately recorded. Jefferson needed this information so that he and the rest of the Board of Visitors could be confident in approaching the Virginia General Assembly for what would...
184264Editorial Note (Jefferson Papers)
These two documents begin the process by which Jefferson transferred his indebtedness for $20,000 from the Bank of the United States to the College of William and Mary . Jefferson had incurred this debt by cosigning two notes for Wilson Cary Nicholas just before the latter went bankrupt in 1819. In order to initiate the transactions necessary for the transfer to take place, Jefferson enlisted...