And the last of the pics.
visitors can't see pics , please register or
loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or
loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or
loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or
loginvisitors can't see pics , please register or
loginA few parting thoughts about Thomas Jefferson... please skip ahead as my narratives are a bit boring.
Thomas Jefferson hoped that his family would be able to live on at Monticello after his death. He left the property to his daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, and her children. Jefferson's enormous debt load, however, as well as the expenses of maintaining the building and lands proved too much to handle. Although there were several belated plans to save Monticello for the family, nothing came of them, and Mrs. Randolph put Monticello and its furnishings up for sale. Much of Jefferson's furniture, plate, and farm equipment, as well as 140 slaves, were bought at a public auction in 1827. The idiosyncratic mansion proved harder to sell. Finally, four years after the auction, the house and property went to an eccentric Charlottesville druggist, James Barclay, for $7,500.
James Barclay despised Jefferson's political ideals, and had very little interest in the great house itself. He wanted the land for a scheme that would turn Monticello into a silkworm farm. In order to plant mulberry trees, Barclay tore out many of the trees Jefferson had planted and uprooted the extensive gardens. Within three years, the project predictably failed, and Barclay now looked around for a buyer. In 1834, he sold the house and surrounding land for $2,500 to Uriah Phillips Levy, an officer in the United States Navy.
Uriah Levy deserves to be remembered as his family preserved TJ's estate for 90 years before the government bought it back to make it a "state" park. 90% of the orgional artifacts in Monticello can be credited to the Levy's that are on dispal today. Not a Nat'l park, as VA still believes that the FEDs do not have VA's best interest at heart. Uriah adored TJ for his freedom of rights and freedom views. Being a Jewish Naval officer was no joke back in the 1700s, early 1800s.
TJ was broke at the end of his life. The war of 1812 broke out and Washington lost it's library in that war as it was burned down to the ground. TJ (being broke and needed the $$ sold his book collection to the U.S. which is the Library of Congress today.)
Arguably, imo TJ was is the greatest president this country has ever known. He authored the Declaration of Independence, that to this day stands the test of time and that globally "most" other nations used this document to model their rights and freedoms for their countries. More than half of the 193 countries now represented at the United Nations have a founding document that can be called a declaration of independence. ... Think about that for just a second... the impact of this ma's work.
He founded University of VA, let us not forget the Louisiana Purchase that essentially doubled the size of the nation and lastly he commissioned the Lewis & Clark expedition. Think about the expansion of the U.S. because of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Despite his freedom views he personally had 200 slaves up until he died and in his will only released 5. He fathered 6 kids with one of the slaves that no one knows their relationships extent to this day.
