As a retired history teacher & history buff, I was greatly anticipating a visit to a historical icon. After attending a wedding in Charlottesville we headed over to Monticello, the one-word aptly named piece of Americana. Just like Madonna or Cher, the one-named Monticello is more of a vignette than a noun.
Those perspicacious on their American history know that Monticello is the home of Thomas Jefferson, or as I call him Tommy J. Beginning as more than a house, Monticello was, dare I say, a working plantation; or as Tommy J. rabid fans call it, an estate or working farm. Of course all of that work was performed by slaves for the writer of the Declaration of Independence. We indulged ourselves for the “Behind the Scenes Tour & House Tour”. I highly recommend both tours. If you don’t have a paid tour you are not allowed into the house.
Monticello, which is Italian for ‘little mountain”, was designed in the neoclassical styles after Jefferson returned from France. After the death of his wife, Martha Wayles, Jefferson left for France as Minister of the United States. Here Tommy J. became enamored with French Classical buildings, he then brought those ideas home. He began construction, tear downs, and remodeling (sounds like my husband) on his old home, or the original Monticello.
It was repeated over and over on the tour that he hated wasted space so his designs were to maximized space, such as alcove beds and narrow stairs. But great plans sometimes go awry, because the crowning glory of the house was the octagonal dome built upstairs. It was rarely used because of the difficult and narrow stairs required to reach it. So much for wasted space.
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| Click on picture to enlarge it & read his three accomplishments |
If you are au courant on Tommy J. then you know that controversy follows the Renaissance Man. He dodged rumors, even during his own presidency, that he fathered his mixed-race slave Sally Heming’s six children, of which four survived to adulthood. The author of “All men are created equal and are endowed to the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” apparently knew that Sally made him happy. Allegedly they carried on a 38 year affair and produced six children but who’s counting. Others have made claims that it was another Jefferson male in the family who fathered Sally’s children.
What we do know is Dr. Eugene A. Foster’s DNA testing concluded that the Y chromosomes of the Jefferson male line matched that of the Eston Heming male line. Combined with the weight of historical evidence, the team concluded that it was most likely Jefferson had fathered Eston and all of Hemings' children. The Nature article acknowledged the possibility that one of Field Jefferson's five male descendants could have been the father, but an "absence of historical evidence" made this or other "possibilities...unlikely". -source Foster, EA, et al.; Jobling, MA; Taylor, PG; Donnelly, P; De Knijff, P; Mieremet, R; Zerjal, T; Tyler-Smith, C (1998). "Jefferson fathered slave's last child". Nature 396 (6706): 27–28. doi:10.1038/23835. PMID 9817200.
Just to make the story even more juicy, Thomas Jefferson promised his dying wife that he would never remarry, which he did not I might add. Oh, did I mention Sally was his wife’s half sister?! Sally and Martha shared the same father.
Oh Tommy J., what a wicked web we weave when we write ..”All men are created equal...!” Crap! I didn’t read the fine print: it said “MEN”! Sally... come here. I got something to show you...you have the right to pursue my happiness! Anyway, his house, garden, cemetery are awesome!
