Thomas Jefferson died at his beloved Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of his drafting the Declaration of Independence. He was 83 years old. The following people surrounded him at his bedside:
Dr. Robley Dunglison, the 27 year old English physician who treated him for migraine headaches, intestinal and urinary infections, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Thomas Jefferson Randolph, his grandson, son of Thomas Mann and Martha Randolph
Nicholas Trist, the husband of Jefferson's granddaughter, Virginia Randolph
On the morning of July fourth, Thomas Jefferson awoke from a nights rest, and remarked, "This is the fourth of July", but it was only the third. He was fighting with every ounce of his being to l live until the fourth. Dr. Robley Dunglison came in that morning to administer his medicine, laudanum. Upon seeing Dr. Dunglison, Jefferson said, "Ah doctor, are you still there?" Then he asked, "Is it the fourth?" Dr. Dunglison answered, "It soon will be."
The night of July third, Jefferson was partly delirious. At eleven o'clock, the morning of July fourth, his lips moved, and his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, applied a wet sponge to his mouth. Then Jefferson lost consciousness.
Death cam two hours later, at 12:50 pm, on the fourth of July 1826, 50 years to the day, after the official adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson's funeral, by his own request, was a simple and quiet affair, performed by Reverend Frederick Hatch, rector of both the Middle Church in Albemarle County (where Grace Church stands today), and Christ Church in Charlottesville. At five o'clock in the afternoon, on the day after his death, his remains were carried by servants, family and friends to the Monticello graveyard, where he was interred under the great oak, next to his schoolmate, dearest friend, and brother-in-law, Dabney Carr, fulfilling their childhood promise. Today, the great oak no longer stands.
Among all of Thomas Jefferson's achievements, he wished to be remembered for only three in his public life. On his tombstone, it reads:
As Thomas Jefferson requested, "Not a word more...because by these, as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be remembered." Thomas Jefferson had written his own epitaph, found in a drawer in his bedroom desk.
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Read more about the friendship between Dabney Carr and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Jefferson's first 31 years of life in Thomas Jefferson-From Boy to Man, by Jayne D'Alessandro-Cox.
Available in Paperback, Kindle, and mp3 audio download through Amazon:
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