Thomas Jefferson Loved Martha Wayles

It is not certain how Thomas Jefferson originally met Martha Wayles Skelton. It is possible that they met in Williamsburg when she was married to lawyer and planter Bathurst Skelton, who earlier was a classmate of Jefferson's at William & Mary; possibly at a social engagement that Bathurst and she attended in Williamsburg; or at the home of their  maestro while he and Martha were coming and going from their music lessons. What is certain is that after the mourning of her late husband, and appropriate time had passed, Martha attracted many suitors from the Tidewater society.  She was not without a lack of gentlemen callers, young and old, who sought her hand in marriage.  Thomas Jefferson was one of them, a successful planter and lawyer with his own large practice and a member of the House of Burgesses representing Albemarle County.

When Thomas first came to woo the lovely widow, he was 28 years old, square shouldered, 6' 2 1/2 " tall, and straight bodied. He was lean with a ruddy complexion, reddish hair, hazel eyes, long face, and a high nose. He found Martha especially attractive because of her education and her penchant for music.

Martha, nicknamed "Patty" by her father, was a woman of extraordinary beauty both in form and face. A little above middle height, she was delicate, well poised, gentle, with a queen-like carriage, and graced with a warm-affectionate disposition. Her abundant hair was the most admired shade of auburn. Her complexion was fair, her hazel eyes large and expressive.  "Patty" was charming, had a delicate singing voice, and played the pianoforte with uncommon skill. She possessed habits of good society, was a gracious hostess, and industrious housewife, and knew much about raising children.  She sewed, spinned, knitted, and enjoyed making soap and candles.Thomas and Martha delighted in stimulating conversation and discussing popular classics in front of a crackling fire.

As their courtship progressed, on February 20, 1771, Thomas Jefferson commissioned the purchase of a German clavichord for Martha. Before it was scheduled to be shipped, he wrote Thomas Adams in London requesting him to order a pianoforte instead. At first, he was worried that his strong feelings toward Martha were not mutual, and expressed his concerns to their mutual friend, Mrs. Drummond. In a letter dated March 12, 1771, Mrs. Drummond states that Martha had "good sense, and good nature"...and that she suspected that Martha's heart was already "engaged".

Writing to his friend, Thomas Jefferson states, "In every scheme of happiness she is placed in the foreground of the picture, as the principal figure. Take that away and it is no picture for me." Thomas Jefferson had become enamored with Martha and could hardly imagine life without her.

On June 10, 1771, Martha's 4-year old son with Bathurst Skelton died of fever. Allowing Martha to have the necessary time to grieve his loss just a few years after losing her first husband, Thomas Jefferson respectfully asked Martha's father, John Wayles, for her hand in marriage, and was given the blessing. At the proper time, Jefferson respectfully asked Martha for her hand in marriage, and, to his delight, she accepted.

In late December 1771, Thomas Jefferson visited Martha's childhood home, The Forrest, to visit Martha and her relatives. While there, Francis Eppes, the husband of Martha's step sister Elizabeth, drew up the marriage bond, and they both signed it on December 23rd. One week later, Thomas purchased the marriage license in Williamsburg, then returned to The Forest to help Martha prepare for their wedding.

On January 1, 1772, Thomas Jefferson and Martha Wayles Skelton were wed. Martha's ailing father hosted the elaborate holiday affair in grand and liberal style. Fiddlers were hired and many tables were spread out for scores of guests inside the mansion. Anglican ministers Rev. Davis and Rev. Coutts performed the ceremony, but Rev. Davis effectually tied the knot.

After a hearty breakfast on the morning of January 18, 1772, the newlyweds bid farewell to their relatives at The Forest, and departed in their 2-horse drawn covered phaeton for Monticello, as a light snow began to fall.

Excerpts from book Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man. To read about Thomas and Martha Jefferson's memorable travels from The Forest to Monticello in the dead of winter, read Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man by Jayne D'Alessandro-Cox.

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Thomas Jefferson Loved Ale !

At Monticello, beer was considered to be "table liquor" and served during dinner.  Upon entering the breakfast room for dinner, drinking cups of silver were on the table.  The table liquors available were beer, home-made cider, and after-dinner wine.

While Jefferson was enjoying his retirement from public life at Monticello and construction was under way on the brick garden pavilion in the 1000-foot terraced garden, Jefferson embarked on the scientific pursuit of brewing beer. Using malt purchased from his neighbor William Meriwether and hops bought locally, Jefferson was apparently successful in the first brewing attempt at Monticello since his wife, Martha, had made beer some 40 years earlier at her father’s plantation, The Forrest.

The inventory taken after the death of Thomas’ father, Peter Jefferson, listed The London and Country Brewer among his possessions, suggesting that beer may have been brewed at Thomas Jefferson’s birthplace, Shadwell, during Jefferson's youth.  In the early years of their marriage, nearly every two weeks,  Martha Jefferson brewed  15-gallon batches of small beer, which had a relatively low alcoholic content.  Jefferson bought beer at taverns while on his travels, and was known to stock up on beer by the gallon or cask. 

On September 17th, 1813, Jefferson began the business of brewing malt liquors for family use. Under the direction of a Joseph Miller, Jefferson became "a brewer for family use." He would brew three  60-gallon casks of ale in succession. 

During the fall of 1813, the slave Peter Hemings, who was proficient in French cookery, also became proficient in the art of malting and brewing. According to Jefferson, Peter possessed "great intelligence and diligence both of which are necessary." By the fall of 1814 there was a brew house at Monticello and Jefferson had begun malting his own grain instead of purchasing it from neighbors. Once the beer had been kegged, it needed to rest for at least two weeks in a cool, still place, his beer cellar, before being tapped. Jefferson's beer cellar was located in the “all weather passageway”, under the house, at Monticello, but the location and design of the brew house remain a mystery.  Perhaps the brew house was like the one he described to James Madison as being dug into the "steep side of a hill, so as to need a roof only."

Once the beer had been kegged, it needed to rest for at least two weeks in a cool-still place before being tapped. Jefferson preferred storing beer in bottles, and referred to the book, The American Brewer by Joseph Coppinger, when brewing from malted Indian corn.

Upon entering the breakfast room for dinner, drinking cups of silver were placed on the table.  The table liquors were beer, cider, and after dinner wine."

Excerpts of article by Ann Lucas, 1995.  Adapted from an essay originally published in Spring Dinner at Monticello, April 12, 1995, in Memory of Thomas Jefferson (Charlottesville, Va.: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, 1995).  References added by Kristen Lochrie, May 2012. www.monticello.org

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"Natural Bridge", excerpt from Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man

                                                   "Natural Bridge", Natural Bridge, VA

On August 23, 1767, Thomas Jefferson traveled to the town of Staunton, in Augusta County, to perform legal services regarding several cases.  After leaving Staunton, and on his way to Bedford, he came across "the most sublime of Nature's works." He paid a local man to guide him to the magnificent structure up close.  Once he arrived, he took out his memorandum book, and on the inside back cover, wrote the description of what seemed to be a natural bridge made from one rock of limestone, and he sketched it.

A small creek, called Cedar Creek, ran underneath the bridge,"being very rocky it is not rapid." "It is impossible for the emotions, arising from the sublime, to be felt beyond what they are...so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing, as it were, up to heaven, the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable!"

After completing legal business at the Amherst, Orange, Culpeper, Frederick and Fauquier County seats, he returned to Monticello and began to take steps to purchase the property surrounding what he called, Natural Bridge. He purchased the land from King George III for 20 shillings, and received the patent for the 157-acre tract which included the geological marvel.  At some point, he hoped to build a log cabin there and use it as a retreat. 

When Thomas Jefferson first saw the limestone bridge on August 23, 1767, he took notes and later recorded his notes about the bridge in his Notes on the State of Virginia.  On June 10, 1773, Jefferson paid the secretary of the colony at the surveyor general's office for a survey warrant and recorded it in his memorandum book.  On July 5, 1774, a patent in the name of George III was issued to him. 

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Thomas Jefferson's Chinese Gong

In December 11, 1795, Thomas Jefferson made notations in his Memorandum Books concerning the purchase of 2 pairs of gongs. It appears that the earlier of the 2 was related to a gong proured through Henry Remsen, Jr., in New York.  Jefferson stated, "The Chinese have a thing made of a kind of bell metal, which they call a Gong, and is used as a bell at the gates of large houses, &c.  It is in fact precisely of the shape and size of a camp oven, and 20. I. diameter and 5. I. deep... I wish for one to serve as the bell to a clock, which might be heard all over my farm..."  After consulting with the owner of a ship engaged in the China trade, Ramsen informed Jefferson that provisions had been made to meet his request. In due time, 2 gongs arrived at Monticello.

There is no information available from Jefferson's records and notes about the original design of the gong housing on the northeast portico roof.  It appears in all early illustrations from 1827 on.  The wooden  housing was replaced during the 1955 roof restoration with a new housing fabricated of sheet metal with an enamel finish.

One of the gongs appears to have been installed as part of the apparatus of the "Great Clock" being used to sound each half and hourly time.  This gong is of hammered brass-like metal.

(Notes taken from: www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/gongs)

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Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man, by Jayne D'Alessandro-Cox is:

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