Thomas Jefferson Letter

Collection

Identifier: A3225

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The letter is a draft written by Thomas Jefferson to his granddaughter, Ellen Coolidge, on June 5, 1826. It is comprised of one page written in Jefferson’s hand with several corrections and changes. He planned to enclose the letter with one he wrote to Ellen’s husband, Joseph Coolidge. Jefferson wrote about neighborhood young ladies searching for husbands and his health and sent greetings to Cornelia Randolph, Ellen’s younger sister who was staying with her. A transcript accompanies the letter.

Dates

1826 June 5

Creator

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 (Author, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Biographical Sketch

Thomas Jefferson wrote to his granddaughter, Ellen Coolidge, from Monticello just one month before his death on July 4, 1826. Ellen (Eleonora) Wayles Randolph (1796-1876) was the fourth child of Martha Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s eldest child. In May 1825, Ellen married Massachusetts merchant Joseph Coolidge at Monticello, and the couple returned to Boston to make their home. This draft of a letter was passed down in the line of Thomas Mann and Martha Jefferson Randolph's eldest son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph. The final letter received by Ellen Coolidge was passed down through her branch of the family. The calendar of the Thomas Jefferson Papers at the University of Virginia reveals that a photostat of the final letter was donated to the University of Virginia, and the original was owned by H.J. Coolidge. (https://small.library.virginia.edu/collections/featured/the-thomas-jefferson-papers/)