Elizabeth Trist to Thomas Jefferson, 10 October 1816
From Elizabeth Trist
Bird Wood, Henry Cty 10th October—16
My Dear Sir
In consiquence of a letter I received from my Daughter of 28th August, in which She mentions that in the calamitous State of Orleans in consiquence of the inundation She had sent for the Boys home. and they do not wish to return to that place again which detirmines Mr Tournillon to make every exertion in his power to send them to this section of the US in the Spring to finnish their education; she requests me to ask the opinion of those friends whoes judgement I have the most confidence in which will be the most eliguble College to Place them in. Peachey thinks that under the present regulations William and Mary combine as Many advantages as any of the Colleges in the U.S. and I shoud certainly prefer it to Princeton or any of the N England seminaries but for its unhealthy situation Peachey has been so kind as to assure me that it wou’d give him pleasure for them to spend the vacation with us which commences in July and continues four months as he has a good collection of Books they can read four hours in a day and have sufficient time for recreation, the advantage it will be to their health and the pleasure it wou’d give me to have them with me, wou’d, I believe add to my existence but I wou’d not let Selfish considerations influence me to their disadvantage therefore beg the favor of you to let me know your opinion
I hope you enjoy good health also Mrs Randolph and all the family pray how has the drouth effected your crop? it occasion’d at one time great depression but the late rains have help’d the corn and Tobacco very much tho many will not make sufficient corn to1 supply them through the Winter, Peachey as well as all those who have farms on the Horse pasture was favord with partial Showers tho at one time we feard the consiquences anticipated but we never ought to despair We have more corn and fodder than we ever had and the Tobacco has turnd out better than was expected a farmers life is more replete with anxiety than a seamans tho attended with less personal danger. fortunatly for N Orleans the Mississippi, began to fall earlier than any of the oldest inhabitants can remember Saw mills that used to saw till the middle of august had to stop the latter end of May, but I cant learn that the country is unhealthy—tho my Grandson Nicholas was Ill of the fever soon after he got home and Mrs Tournillons little Son was near Dying but they were on the recoviry when I last heard from there—I wrote you last July directed to Poplar Forest with one enclosed for Miss Ellen presume they did not reach you tho the loss is not of much consiquence, I wish’d to know from you which of the Holy Bibles you most approve of as I heard you had all the New Editions, and if you had ever Seen that which was translated by Charles Thompson and to enquire of Ellen after Mrs Bache but I have since had a letter from her. Mr Gilmer is attending the Chancery Court at Lynchburg Mrs G Unites with me in affectionate love to Mrs Randolph and all the family with sincere wishes for yours Mr Randolphs and Jeffersons prosperity and happiness
E, Trist
RC (MHi); endorsed by TJ as received 21 Nov. 1816 and so recorded in SJL.
Trist had recently received conjoined letters of 28 Aug. 1816 from her daughter-in-law, Mary Trist Jones Tournillon, and grandson Hore Browse Trist (NcU: NPT). The latter discussed the inundation of New Orleans the preceding May after a levee on the Mississippi River broke a few miles above the city (Alexandria Herald, 12 June 1816).
the boys: Nicholas P. Trist and Hore Browse Trist. peachey was Peachy R. Gilmer. miss ellen: Ellen W. Randolph (Coolidge). mr gilmer was probably Francis W. Gilmer. jeffersons: Thomas Jefferson Randolph’s.
1. Manuscript: “to to.”
Index Entries
- agriculture; and fodder search
- agriculture; and weather search
- Bache, Catharine Wistar; mentioned search
- Bible; TJ’s favorite edition of search
- Coolidge, Ellen Wayles Randolph (TJ’s granddaughter); and E. Trist search
- corn; as crop search
- corn; effect of weather on search
- education; of H. B. and N. P. Trist search
- fevers; mentioned search
- fodder; mentioned search
- Gilmer, Mary House (Peachy R. Gilmer’s wife); sends greetings to Randolphs search
- Gilmer, Peachy Ridgeway; and education of H. B. and N. P. Trist search
- Gilmer, Peachy Ridgeway; attends chancery court search
- Gilmer, Peachy Ridgeway; library of search
- Gilmer, Peachy Ridgeway; mentioned search
- health; fever search
- Lynchburg, Va.; chancery court at search
- mills; saw search
- Mississippi River; floods search
- Mississippi River; sawmills on search
- Mississippi River; water level of search
- New England; colleges in search
- New Jersey, College of (later Princeton University); E. Trist on search
- New Orleans; flooding in search
- Randolph, Martha Jefferson (Patsy; TJ’s daughter; Thomas Mann Randolph’s wife); greetings sent to search
- Randolph, Martha Jefferson (Patsy; TJ’s daughter; Thomas Mann Randolph’s wife); health of search
- Randolph, Thomas Jefferson (TJ’s grandson; Jane Hollins Nicholas Randolph’s husband); greetings sent to search
- Randolph, Thomas Mann (1768–1828) (TJ’s son-in-law; Martha Jefferson Randolph’s husband); greetings sent to search
- schools and colleges; College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) search
- schools and colleges; of New England search
- The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Covenant (C. Thomson) search
- Thomson, Charles; The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Covenant search
- tobacco; as cash crop search
- tobacco; effect of weather on search
- Tournillon, Etienne St. Julien de; and education of Trist stepchildren search
- Tournillon, Mary Louisa Brown Trist Jones (wife successively of Hore Browse Trist [1775–1804], Philip Livingston Jones, and Etienne St. Julien de Tournillon); and children’s education search
- Tournillon, Mary Louisa Brown Trist Jones (wife successively of Hore Browse Trist [1775–1804], Philip Livingston Jones, and Etienne St. Julien de Tournillon); family of search
- Trist, Elizabeth House; and E. W. R. Coolidge search
- Trist, Elizabeth House; and grandchildren’s education search
- Trist, Elizabeth House; and TJ’s preferred edition of Bible search
- Trist, Elizabeth House; friends and family of search
- Trist, Elizabeth House; letters from search
- Trist, Hore Browse (1802–56); education of search
- Trist, Nicholas Philip; education of search
- Trist, Nicholas Philip; health of search
- Virginia; courts of chancery search
- weather; drought search
- weather; effect on crops search
- weather; floods search
- weather; rain search
- William and Mary, College of; E. Trist on search
- William and Mary, College of; P. R. Gilmer on search
- women; letters from; E. Trist search