Jefferson was nearly sixty-six when he retired to Monticello. He spent the last seventeen years of his life at the home he loved.
The year her father returned, Patsy moved to Monticello with her husband and children. Of Patsy’s twelve sons and daughters, all but one reached adulthood. Jefferson’s daughter Maria had died. But her son, Francis, who was seven years old when Jefferson retired, was often at Monticello.
Jefferson loved nothing more than to pass the time with his grandchildren. Grandpapa Jefferson played the violin for them while they danced. He ran races with them on the lawn. He enjoyed giving them books and other presents. His granddaughter Ellen received a special gift. Jefferson gave her the portable desk on which he had written the Declaration of Independence.
When away from his grandchildren, Jefferson wrote to them. In a letter to his granddaughter Cornelia, he pointed out that she should remember her periods and capital letters while writing. He included a little rhyme to show what he meant:
I’ve seen the sea all in a blaze of fire
I’ve seen a house high as the moon and higher
I’ve seen the sun at twelve o’clock at night
I’ve seen the man who saw this wondrous sight.
Jefferson wanted his granddaughter to see that this only makes sense if punctuated properly:
I’ve seen the sea. All in a blaze of fire
I’ve seen a house. High as the moon and higher
I’ve seen the sun. At twelve o’clock at night
I’ve seen the man who saw this wondrous sight.
Nine-year-old Cornelia Jefferson Randolph wrote back to her grandfather:
Dear Grandpapa
I hope you will excuse my bad writing, for it is the first letter I ever wrote, there are a number of faults, in it I know but those you will excuse; I am reading a very pretty little book, I am very much pleased with it. all the children send their love to you we all want to see you very much. adieu my dear Grandpapa, believe me to be your most affectionate Granddaughter. C.R.
Jefferson complained to his grandchildren if they didn’t answer his letters. In turn, they teased him if he didn’t answer theirs. In 1813, eleven-year-old Francis wrote:
Dear Grandpapa April 1813
I wish to see you very much I am very sorry that you wont write to me this leter will make twice I have wrote to you and if you dont answer this leter I shant write to you any more …
Actually, Jefferson rarely failed to answer a letter. He wrote 36,000 letters in his lifetime. In those days, most people made copies of their letters by hand. Jefferson had a device that made copies for him as he wrote. It was a special desk with several pens attached by wires. As he used one pen, the others moved automatically and copied his letter. Although he hadn’t invented this device, he did make improvements to it.
THE EARLY POST OFFICE
IN 1789, CONGRESS CREATED THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE AS PART OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. POSTAGE RATES WERE FIXED ACCORDING TO THE DISTANCE THAT THE MAIL TRAVELED AND THE NUMBER OF PAGES BEING SENT. MOST PEOPLE COLLECTED THEIR MAIL AT THE NEAREST POST OFFICE (OFTEN THE LOCAL TAVERN OR GENERAL STORE), BUT A 1794 ACT DID PERMIT HOME DELIVERY FOR TWO CENTS EXTRA PER LETTER. IN EITHER CASE, THE PERSON WHO RECEIVED THE MAIL WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE POSTAGE, RATHER THAN THE SENDER.
Many of his letters were to another former President. By 1811, Jefferson and John Adams hadn’t spoken in ten years. Friends convinced them to make up. In 1812, when Adams was seventy-six and Jefferson sixty-eight, they began exchanging letters. The two men discussed religion, politics, even whether they would want to go back in time and live their lives differently. Across 500 miles—John Adams was in Massachusetts and Jefferson in Virginia—they wrote back and forth until nearly the end of their lives.
In his last years, Jefferson also achieved an old dream. He had long planned to start a new university in Virginia. For the school’s site, he chose Charlottesville, near his home. He helped raise money for the school, chose most of its teachers, and planned its courses. Jefferson was a fine architect. Now, with his granddaughter Cornelia helping him, he designed the buildings for the new university. Cornelia, a gifted artist, was only about twenty at the time. Jefferson was almost eighty-two when the school he founded, the University of Virginia, opened in 1825. Its campus is still one of the most beautiful in the United States.
Yet, unfortunately, throughout these years Jefferson had money trouble. Upon retiring as President, he had borrowed $8,000 to pay his debts in Washington. Things got worse at Monticello. In 1815, he raised money by selling his books to the government. The 6,000 volumes became the core for the Library of Congress.
The book sale helped for a while. But crop failures, a flood, and a loan to a friend hurt his finances. By January 1826, Jefferson couldn’t pay his grocery bills. He was $100,000 in debt. That would be equal to about $2 million in today’s money. It appeared that he might have to sell Monticello. Donations from friends and even from strangers prevented his total ruin.
Still, as long as his family was nearby and he had books to read, Jefferson was satisfied. And he remained in good health into his early eighties. He rode his horse, Eagle, for an hour or two on most days. But as his eighty-third birthday approached, Jefferson was slipping. By February, he was in bed much of the time. His family could see that he didn’t have much longer to live.
On July 2, Jefferson gathered his loved ones to his bedside. They must live honest and good lives in his memory, he said. But he still had one last wish. He wanted to live until a special day. As the hours passed he kept asking, “Is this the Fourth? Is this the Fourth?”
The day he was awaiting finally arrived. Early that afternoon, eighty-three-year-old Thomas Jefferson took his last breath. By an amazing coincidence, that same day ninety-year-old John Adams also passed away in Massachusetts.
Both men died on July 4, 1826—the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. |