tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573130162693323642024-03-05T10:42:44.081-05:00Saving Monticello NewsletterThe monthly e-newsletter for Marc Leepson's Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built (Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2001; University of Virginia Press, 2003)Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302326607418917657noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-66654303411565297762024-02-13T17:08:00.005-05:002024-02-14T06:08:24.552-05:00February 2024<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XXI, Number 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>February 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRmdDW_uHT-WNBCIe11Bg7ekvOUs7lBMF1bmeZdKuY4ZdBvQX0XyNpDtxFLXl-UTL581IaPxoH9ZJn5rObMDwpxS3jMfaFzlB6kq4DN7DIQ3Vb0j6K_QzoNPxX7ltagSyhci1vc8-Xjxf0wBzr6zkw8D9JIZqlTLtkBGSBXozhWVzYoajSdQ0NHds-W1cd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRmdDW_uHT-WNBCIe11Bg7ekvOUs7lBMF1bmeZdKuY4ZdBvQX0XyNpDtxFLXl-UTL581IaPxoH9ZJn5rObMDwpxS3jMfaFzlB6kq4DN7DIQ3Vb0j6K_QzoNPxX7ltagSyhci1vc8-Xjxf0wBzr6zkw8D9JIZqlTLtkBGSBXozhWVzYoajSdQ0NHds-W1cd=w400-h76" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TELLING JEWISH STORIES: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That’s the title of an enlightening talk that Olivia
Brown, a full-time tour guide at Monticello and a Historic Interpretation
Fellow at Monticello’s Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson
Studies, livestreamed on January 26. It’s archived online at </span><a href="https://bit.ly/JewishStories"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/JewishStories</span></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In her talk Olivia looked at
the history of Jewish people associated with Monticello and in Charlottesville during
and after Thomas Jefferson’s time, focusing on their relationship with the
area’s enslaved population. Naturally, that included Uriah P. Levy’s ownership
of Monticello from 1834 when he purchased the property to his death in 1862.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
Olivia devoted the last fourth of her hour-long talk to Uriah Levy and details
of his ownership of at least 19 enslaved people. She also mentioned Uriah’s
brother Jonas Levy (Jefferson M. Levy’s father), his devotion to the Confederate
cause during the Civil War, and his purchase of one of his brother’s enslaved
people in 1864—and Uriah and Jefferson Levy’s overseer at Monticello, Joel
Wheeler, who also was an enslaver.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“I wouldn’t characterize Uriah
Levy as ‘pro-slavery,’” Olivia said, “but he was someone who was participating
in and profiting from the institution of slavery. He could, so he did.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhD_QF43Ed9OERgUFOG7GSNQqivy8-i1tdUhXRsWE8GMc9PJBw10CsCx6SeizoB2mApJcTujxFkPzAG1GMollZINRd0ayYirG_iFNigSO4fT7OBa3LQCqJsNoULBP4OfsrSa9JQXlchQyMOk0o3EKbuM6OivP5ZsP1-TTTUWMIvtSD-nBcrTMXgoW2pTxYQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="630" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhD_QF43Ed9OERgUFOG7GSNQqivy8-i1tdUhXRsWE8GMc9PJBw10CsCx6SeizoB2mApJcTujxFkPzAG1GMollZINRd0ayYirG_iFNigSO4fT7OBa3LQCqJsNoULBP4OfsrSa9JQXlchQyMOk0o3EKbuM6OivP5ZsP1-TTTUWMIvtSD-nBcrTMXgoW2pTxYQ=w411-h185" width="411" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As I noted in <i>Saving
Monticello</i>, Olivia pointed out that Uriah Levy purchased his first enslaved
person, Aggy Dickerson West, a cook, in 1835 a year after he bought the
property from James Turner Barclay, who had purchased Monticello in 1831 from Thomas
Jefferson’s heirs, his daughter Martha Randolph and her son Thomas Jefferson
Randolph.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As I did in the book, Olivia talked about what Uriah Levy’s
much-younger wife, Virginia Lopez Levy, had to say in the 1920s about the
enslaved people at Monticello in words that can only be described as
patronizing and racist.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here’s how I put it in the
book: Virginia Lopez Levy “loved spending time at Monticello. ‘How I did enjoy
galloping over those hills around Monticello,’ she said in an interview just
before she died in 1925 in her 90th year.” She went on to refer to the enslaved
people there as “darkies,” including in this anecdote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“The darkies were very
amusing. I remember one day accidentally coming across our cook, Aggy, in the
drawing room. She was standing in front of a figure of a woman in bronze,
evidently comparing her arm with this figure. Finally, she ejaculated: ‘My arm’s
a heap sight prettier dan dat are black woman!’”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Olivia pointed out that no
one has uncovered any records indicating how Uriah Levy and Joel Wheeler
treated their enslaved people on the mountaintop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you look at how enslaved people were
treated by others in Virginia, she said, “it’s likely they were being treated
in the same way” at Monticello.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgAhG_X-fUKXeUp959F2g_p-yM5a99H6P_nPM2rjVHI90g-9Q3Oi143gcHOreN7zibjGLsBQroSnX0GJmhMyE7NngYHwhDmYHJ7ne1nRPmZU9DL7spc0pTHNWMY1Pj74d2_HF5jEjEBMKFaLBQbHr9UBzJl7QbDWi7cK27BL4uf-TRZNojueEdT_R31n63" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="415" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgAhG_X-fUKXeUp959F2g_p-yM5a99H6P_nPM2rjVHI90g-9Q3Oi143gcHOreN7zibjGLsBQroSnX0GJmhMyE7NngYHwhDmYHJ7ne1nRPmZU9DL7spc0pTHNWMY1Pj74d2_HF5jEjEBMKFaLBQbHr9UBzJl7QbDWi7cK27BL4uf-TRZNojueEdT_R31n63=w273-h400" width="273" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Her conclusion on the overall
picture of Jews and slavery in Monticello and Charlottesville: “Jewish people
owned enslaved people and treated them the same way their non-Jewish
counterparts did. It wasn’t because of their Judaism that they owned slaves but
despite their Judaism.”</span><span style="color: #131313; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ASKENAZI
ON BOARD</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: In the January newsletter I
mentioned—as I did in the book and in countless talks I’ve given on <i>Saving
Monticello</i> since it came out in 2001—that Uriah Levy’s great-great grandfather,
Dr. Samuel Nunez, and his immediate family came to the U.S. on a ship from London,
the <i>William and Sarah</i>, carrying </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">42 Sephardic Jews. It turns out that I assumed all
the emigrants were Sephardic Jews, and you know can happen when you assume.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Sharp-eyed
newsletter subscriber Kerry Rosen, who gives tours at Mickve Israel in Savannah,
emailed to remind me that there were 34 </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sephardic
passengers on the ship along with eight Jews “from Ashkenazi backgrounds. We
even know their names: Benjamin Sheftall and family, Abraham Minis and family,
and a single man, Jacob Yowel.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Kerry is correct, as I
confirmed by reading the famed Jewish-American genealogist Rabbi <a name="_Hlk158181197">Malcolm Stern’s article, “New Light on the Jewish
Settlement of Savannah,” which appeared in the March 1963 issue of the <i>American
Jewish Historical Quarterly</i> and the online </a>guide to the Minis Family papers
held at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta.</span> This is Rabbi Stern's list of the eight Ashkenazim:</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUKEZDJY0jf-mWH_8FC7uVkn-oyU7zKnkzGYMONE5qbnPCfg-9vvKQ4Ku_go41TI9yCkUWpU6KkFgZbuV366SOR_C44rpypacvdlok7U2VqwRhuPyaiY251txpJhy6G3BaWTtj3aw805XPXUMpI64X8u-nyTBVA6iX3OK_nPmZsMnxHhS69gNpfP22yTsC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="521" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUKEZDJY0jf-mWH_8FC7uVkn-oyU7zKnkzGYMONE5qbnPCfg-9vvKQ4Ku_go41TI9yCkUWpU6KkFgZbuV366SOR_C44rpypacvdlok7U2VqwRhuPyaiY251txpJhy6G3BaWTtj3aw805XPXUMpI64X8u-nyTBVA6iX3OK_nPmZsMnxHhS69gNpfP22yTsC=w400-h258" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As the Minis Family papers collection notes: “The first generation of
the Minis family to come to Georgia shores was Abraham (c.1694-1757) and his
wife Abigail (1701-1794) of German origin.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Records indicate that the
Minis family as well as the Sheftalls and one Jacob Yowell were Ashkenazim…. They
landed in Savannah July 11, 1733, together with a number of Sephardic Jewish
families </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">coming to the colony from
Spain and </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Portugal after a residence in England.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;">AMELIA
PRESIDING</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Levy descendant Richard
Lewis recently sent me several images from his grandmother Fran Lewis’
scrapbook, including a rare photograph of Amelia Mayhoff, Jefferson Levy’s
sister who frequently acted as her bachelor brother’s hostess at Monticello
during his 1879-1923 ownership. The photo (<i>below</i>) is from a September
29, 1907, <i>New York Herald</i> society page article Richard kindly sent that reported
that Amelia spent more than half the year “presiding over” Monticello, the family’s
“historical residence.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTSPr6cDBCEcleexCZPhRk_Zn_vfwXc7G4cQFruk1FmYNEqJuxNY-q0Q3H7Xb8OzaFJEEcQHKKgQY7oaFPrU3m6GRWc05xFAirVdUgmuQZ_hSpAeZ1gptw9L6HJB2KbF945-pw5ib0EwRz6LfRPdjnZ62OCyhaBg_iK_aEQqIZfAeGZMM03-tEQK5Qp-w_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="353" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTSPr6cDBCEcleexCZPhRk_Zn_vfwXc7G4cQFruk1FmYNEqJuxNY-q0Q3H7Xb8OzaFJEEcQHKKgQY7oaFPrU3m6GRWc05xFAirVdUgmuQZ_hSpAeZ1gptw9L6HJB2KbF945-pw5ib0EwRz6LfRPdjnZ62OCyhaBg_iK_aEQqIZfAeGZMM03-tEQK5Qp-w_=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That society column item illuminates the social scene that Amelia and her
brother created at Monticello, which I cover in depth in <i>Saving Monticello</i>.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In October 1907, as the
article notes, the siblings hosted several events on the mountaintop for the
Bishop of London. Among the guests was </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Frances
Evelyn (“Daisy”) Greville (née Maynard), the Countess of Warwick ,
a well-known Edwardian beauty, socialite, and writer.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
local Charlottesville<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Daily Progress</i>,
which often covered social doings on the mountaintop, pointed out that
Jefferson Levy was the countess’ “legal adviser.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Later
that month, 75 visitors from Brooklyn paid a visit to Monticello on their way
back from the Jamestown Exposition, a seven-month world’s fair-like event held
near Norfolk to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the settlement of
Jamestown in 1607.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I am almost finishing writing my next book, a slice-of-life
biography of U.S. Navy Seaman Apprentice Doug Hegdahl, the lowest-ranking and
youngest American captured in North Vietnam and held prisoner there during the
Vietnam War, which will be published either in late November or early December.
So, no events this month.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I have
talks scheduled for March and later in the year. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
details them, check the Events page on my website: </span><a href="https://www.marcleepson.com/events"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson.com/events</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><b><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">MARCLEEPSON.COM: </span></b></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Speaking of my which, I invite you to check out my
recently redesigned and updated website, which was born in 2001 in time for the
publication of <i>Saving Monticello</i>. I hope you’ll agree that the new site
is streamlined and reader friendly. It also includes a page for ordering
autographed copies of my books. The image below is the centerpiece of the new
landing page.</span></span><span color="windowtext" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjRVDwsP--ngUVFloSukTEH6v7u-Jps6hGqq3jG-z2BlEI9FuFM-czJ1WQAom0dyMvYKIL_K7MsVMAX00IUwCbBOGvvBsn2dsxdCwhQCgXseqv2nMBHSopL_pt_hTuVyM7Y_7vVP5DTsPmXQWIUR-n1wpO8Y000TXy2iypPnk40zAOUc-nq1RiJdFvbhUh" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="988" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjRVDwsP--ngUVFloSukTEH6v7u-Jps6hGqq3jG-z2BlEI9FuFM-czJ1WQAom0dyMvYKIL_K7MsVMAX00IUwCbBOGvvBsn2dsxdCwhQCgXseqv2nMBHSopL_pt_hTuVyM7Y_7vVP5DTsPmXQWIUR-n1wpO8Y000TXy2iypPnk40zAOUc-nq1RiJdFvbhUh=w400-h127" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">My daughter, Cara Rose Alford, created
the site through her design company, Allegory Art Consulting in Charleston,
South Carolina. I recommend her work! You can learn more at </span></span><a href="https://www.allegoryartconsulting.com/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>allegoryartconsulting.com</span></a><b><span color="windowtext" style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> or the just-published
hardcover of <i>Huntland</i>, go to the new page on my website</span> <a href="https://bit.ly/BookOrdering"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/BookOrdering</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or email me at </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also usually have a few used <i>Saving
Monticello </i>hardcovers, and a stack of five of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-87419120995912899412024-01-07T14:42:00.005-05:002024-01-07T15:47:40.260-05:00January 2024<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XXI, Number 1 January 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #073763;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #073763;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXnarFovP7MZJFUSC-_h1cGlEm8oY9QNvN1llamO1OuAjCCGC9e3Z2Qr52gGsKFXvVEACAyjViFaggyqOjssBZKhOtXXqe-DAPQQZm1ecoU47F_kSiy5LkKR_aJllnzzuxVZVftOoTYuSkPz6GOxeRIhjDawdSxA9I5nQtWt5_8TMUQpdLEpEK948I5x2/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXnarFovP7MZJFUSC-_h1cGlEm8oY9QNvN1llamO1OuAjCCGC9e3Z2Qr52gGsKFXvVEACAyjViFaggyqOjssBZKhOtXXqe-DAPQQZm1ecoU47F_kSiy5LkKR_aJllnzzuxVZVftOoTYuSkPz6GOxeRIhjDawdSxA9I5nQtWt5_8TMUQpdLEpEK948I5x2/w400-h70/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="400" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></p>DR. NUNEZ: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tom Loftis, a tenth-generation
descendant of Uriah Levy’s great-great-grandfather Dr. Samuel Nunez (1668-1741),
recently emailed to share his experiences during a recent trip to Portugal.
That included what Tom learned about his ancestors, about the Portuguese Inquisition,
and about the Nunez family’s 1726 escape from Lisbon to London and then on to
the colony of Georgia in 1733. Tom kindly agreed to share the information he
gleaned during the trip, including images from a PowerPoint he gave at his church,
Saint Luke’s Presbyterian in Dunwoody, Georgia.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I included a brief sketch of
the life of Dr. Samuel Nunez </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">as he came to be known in the United States (and is referred to in eighteenth century documents as Diogo Nunes Riberio, Samuel Riberio Nunez, Samuel Nunis,
and Samuel Nunez Riberio) </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">in <i>Saving
Monticello</i>, along with the colorful, handed-down story about how he and his
Sephardic Jewish family escaped the Portuguese Inquisition.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In recent years I’ve learned
more details about what Dr. Nunez and his family went through during the
hellish Inquisition and the details of their escape, including what I reported on
in the September 2022 newsletter based on recent genealogical research by Alex
Bueno-Edwards.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Alex had just created a
detailed, well-documented <span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> <a href="https://gw.geneanet.org/alexbueno?n=nunes+ribeiro&oc=&p=samuel"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Dr. Samuel Nunes page</span></a> on Geneanet, a
European genealogical database. In preparing the page, Alex relied heavily
on </span></span><a href="https://arlindo-correia.com/120412.html"><span style="background: white; color: #5588aa; font-size: 12pt;">research done by
Arlindo Correia</span></a><u><span style="background: white; color: #5588aa; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></u><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">during a deep dive into the official Portuguese Inquisition
records. In 2012, Arlindo Correia uncovered a vast amount of material
about the Nunes family’s Inquisition horrors, including new information about their
daring, life-saving 1726 escape from Lisbon.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlIDQmSr5fxRZvTnxgqHJ-GQMZ25gPPjN9VNfKuaAMOj13KUoiaoANqJBRRjNZkYPkdy9Q3BCGug1y4o__P_AwP8Cex5lqcdGcEqfE3KHA6gDJRh7trcHX4DrU73UWy3TbiIgIjqyE-6CvgVUop-P495cp_agel3keASIdbh1my8rOVEdDOriz3w1w8WcI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="292" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlIDQmSr5fxRZvTnxgqHJ-GQMZ25gPPjN9VNfKuaAMOj13KUoiaoANqJBRRjNZkYPkdy9Q3BCGug1y4o__P_AwP8Cex5lqcdGcEqfE3KHA6gDJRh7trcHX4DrU73UWy3TbiIgIjqyE-6CvgVUop-P495cp_agel3keASIdbh1my8rOVEdDOriz3w1w8WcI=w234-h320" width="234" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tom Loftis uncovered more details about
the Nunez family saga with the help of a graduate student at Lisbon University
and Rita Mayer Jardim, a Lisbon attorney who specializes in helping descendants
of Sephardic Iberian Jews attain Portuguese citizenship—as well as <i>Portuguese
Jews in America: Escape from the Inquisition</i>, a Portuguese book (<i>see
cover above</i>) by historian Carla Vieira, who specializes in Portuguese
Sephardic history.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For “many generations, the Nunez family
kept up its Jewish faith and practices in secret,” Tom wrote, “and some family members
met a violent death at the hands of the inquisition.” That included Clara Nunez,
who was burned to death in Seville, Spain, in 1632, and Isabel and Helen Nunez,
who also were executed that year.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Nunez was born, as I noted in <i>Saving
Monticello</i>, in Idanha-a-Nova, near Portugal’s eastern border with Spain. What
I didn’t know was that he received his medical training in Plasencia and Salamanca
in Spain and at the Portuguese University of Coimbra, and began practicing in
Lisbon around 1698.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The family practiced Judaism in secret as
Dr. Nunez became a prominent physician in the Portuguese capital providing medical
care to King Peter II (also known as Dom Pedro II), who reigned from 1648-1706,
and even the Portuguese Grand Inquisitor, along with other prominent Dominican religious
figures and Lisbon secular leaders.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tom confirmed what I wrote in SM that the
Inquisition sent a spy into the Nunez household, and that he discovered the
family were practicing Jews. On Saturday nights, Tom said, the family “retreated
to a synagogue in an underground part of [their large home], concealed by a
movable bookcase in the library.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhokjq5cGMeXbPjqcMpfAE6HqJVv7x-V0nw6GoXU3Cqu50l-kjIAV3vBdz_Lmf_qbZx_TeY4kooqeGwuZ0yIXq5xINi6WvA9dDXMvzK0AwFSQ-9JBe63cH2t6uijUlEEc1Wf-nUdvux648ouLyCzVqGa7-bKlHCCe6go9XlYTOZW0iMYxzq32DMkLWNJVX9" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="391" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhokjq5cGMeXbPjqcMpfAE6HqJVv7x-V0nw6GoXU3Cqu50l-kjIAV3vBdz_Lmf_qbZx_TeY4kooqeGwuZ0yIXq5xINi6WvA9dDXMvzK0AwFSQ-9JBe63cH2t6uijUlEEc1Wf-nUdvux648ouLyCzVqGa7-bKlHCCe6go9XlYTOZW0iMYxzq32DMkLWNJVX9=w240-h400" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tom reported that the graduate student found </span><a href="https://bit.ly/NunezFiles " style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">digitized official records of Dr. Nunez’s Inquisition Case</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, number 2367, “which
indicates that on August 23, 1703, prisoner Diogo Nunez Ribeiro was taken by
Andre Lopes at the Palace of the Estaus, in the Rossio Square in Lisbon, at the
entrance of the secret cells of the Inquisition” and was “charged with
ascribing to Judaism and encouraging associates to reject Christianity.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Although several prominent people
testified in his defense, Dr. Nunez broke under torture and confessed. On
September 13, 1704, he was sentenced to “perpetual imprisonment,” which
amounted to house arrest. Plus, the state confiscated some of his assets and he
was forced to attend daily sessions at the Dominican Catholic Church designed
to convert him to Christianity.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Two years later, Dr. Nunez “managed to regain some of his medical
influence and social contact,” Tom wrote. Between 1700 and 1735 some 1,500 Portuguese
Jews fled to Britain and the Netherlands. “After careful planning and after
liquidating his assets and sending the funds to trusted Jewish friends in
London,” Tom wrote, Dr. Nunez engineered his family’s escape.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He and his family “went to
Christian Church on a Sunday morning and then proceeded to the river shoreline
like any other Sunday,” Tom wrote. But instead of a leisurely afternoon stroll,
the family rendezvoused with a British sea captain who spirited them off to
London, leaving behind their “mansion, furniture, China, prestige, and security.”
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6jly_IJZ3aYl7Q6t98qHNn3GBzCYp4exTUEMuZr7QuyXEtSprhJA6B0ihBqXD_oBXNaFdj05sn2179wcUPIPd9hcWEQ0xMCu_2BeqqaiMToaxdbisY2RmE9MIA8OfRb6amfKBWhzudLt0aEuws69Z74wkw266GszS8TlzvWFiIhsvB_TPTFpUur2icxUc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="494" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6jly_IJZ3aYl7Q6t98qHNn3GBzCYp4exTUEMuZr7QuyXEtSprhJA6B0ihBqXD_oBXNaFdj05sn2179wcUPIPd9hcWEQ0xMCu_2BeqqaiMToaxdbisY2RmE9MIA8OfRb6amfKBWhzudLt0aEuws69Z74wkw266GszS8TlzvWFiIhsvB_TPTFpUur2icxUc=w362-h400" width="362" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And, as I wrote in the book, w</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">hen the Nunez family arrived in London they joined a colony of some
6,000 fellow Sephardic escapees from the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition.
Soon after arriving, Dr. Nunez remarried his wife, Gracia (known as Rebecca) in
a London synagogue that many other Sephardic refugees joined. The family formally
converted to Judaism in London and Dr. Nunez and his two sons, as part of the
conversion, underwent the rite of ritual circumcision.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">A
group of wealthy London Jews paid for the passage of a chartered ship that
sailed from London in the summer of 1733 with 42 Sephardic Jews aboard, including
the Nunez family. After a rough voyage, the ship, the <i>William and Sarah</i>, landed in Savannah, Georgia, on July 11, 1733,
six months after James Oglethorpe established the colony named after his
patron, King George II. At the time, there were fewer than a thousand Jews
living in the 13 British colonies.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">DR.
KAMENSKY</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: Dr.
Jane Kamensky will become the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s next president on
January 15. I hope to have an interview with the former Harvard University
historian, focusing on the Levy family’s stewardship of Monticello, in next
month’s newsletter.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk152677341"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">CORRECTED
CORRECTION:</span></b></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In last month’s newsletter, my
correction about Frances Wolff Levy Lewis being the eldest (not the
second-eldest) of the four daughters of Jefferson Levy’s brother Louis Napoleon
Levy, I wrote that Nancy Hoffman (who emailed about the error) was Fran’s
daughter. Nancy, in fact, is Fran’s <i>niece</i>. I also mistakenly said that
Nancy, who was born in 1930, was the last of L. Napoleon. Levy’s living children;
she is the last of his living <i>grandchildren</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here’s a snapshot from the Malcom Stern’s pioneering
book, <i>The American Jewish Families: 1654-1988</i>, with the info on Nancy’s three
aunts and her mother Alma:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgK9gC5CjjO0zboSoJuGqa3Hn2OYaI51Vz5l6VVuGD6RfNR62uLiEZC4E3brzbAucjVmagfwDMAeLm0wzmcl7DLYFqFAuw3GamNYGLi5xLHP-6PV5KMMiTScw1Wh0CZ_YsLQPfXb9M_abFgE4YCgleHtvDT7QeCLWZ7-SH-0FXKfplFfA48fsSki-wwkRs4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="890" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgK9gC5CjjO0zboSoJuGqa3Hn2OYaI51Vz5l6VVuGD6RfNR62uLiEZC4E3brzbAucjVmagfwDMAeLm0wzmcl7DLYFqFAuw3GamNYGLi5xLHP-6PV5KMMiTScw1Wh0CZ_YsLQPfXb9M_abFgE4YCgleHtvDT7QeCLWZ7-SH-0FXKfplFfA48fsSki-wwkRs4=w391-h120" width="391" /></a></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am still at work on my next book, a slice-of-life biography of U.S.
Navy Seaman Apprentice Doug Hegdahl, the lowest-ranking and youngest American
captured in North Vietnam and held prisoner there during the Vietnam War, which
will published next spring. So, no events this month.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For details on future book talks
and other author events, check the Events page on my website: </span><a href="https://www.marcleepson.com/events"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson.com/events</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">MARCLEEPSON.COM: </span></b></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Speaking of the website, with the help of a terrific web designer,
I have just redesigned and updated mine, which was born in 2001 in time for the
publication of <i>Saving Monticello</i>. I hope you’ll agree that the site is
streamlined and reader friendly. It also includes a page for ordering
autographed copies of my books. The image below is the centerpiece of the new
landing page.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOI6PM3bS_VgVaDsnAJnYbEUlDgg9loz0hjqDnudvcvSi3CbCsQv1skKZDj8lMjmwRt7EoT9evY_jTADqEMFbrVJZO9nB5jalBD9TqDSvS_66vIVKHtpM7sqEDV5mKvGZFkxts-Mz2tE0Ku1kimEugMxc5H5LmCbYrf7RlisrLbpFo7rEc-p4Zrgla6gSY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="975" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOI6PM3bS_VgVaDsnAJnYbEUlDgg9loz0hjqDnudvcvSi3CbCsQv1skKZDj8lMjmwRt7EoT9evY_jTADqEMFbrVJZO9nB5jalBD9TqDSvS_66vIVKHtpM7sqEDV5mKvGZFkxts-Mz2tE0Ku1kimEugMxc5H5LmCbYrf7RlisrLbpFo7rEc-p4Zrgla6gSY=w400-h155" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">My daughter
Cara Rose Alford created the site through her design company, Allegory Art
Consulting in Charleston, South Carolina. Check out her website,</span></span><a href="https://www.allegoryartconsulting.com/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> allegoryartconsulting.com</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i>Saving Monticello</i> or the just-published
hardcover of <i>Huntland</i>, go to the new page on my website</span> <a href="https://bit.ly/BookOrdering"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/BookOrdering</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> or email me at </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I also usually have a few used <i>Saving
Monticello </i>hardcovers, and a stock of new copies of five of my other books:
<i>Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i>Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i>Ballad of
the Green Beret.</i></span></p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-79960988151448672212023-12-07T13:32:00.001-05:002023-12-07T16:39:34.684-05:00December 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 12<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>December 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLQQIGtf8UIJ6t2lvwD0RQ5tZAuKdQOGsbcSBry_rnUUKILhCUiPiIJ4aaifu0ecYSGaCgxmQOf6X9DU9AusNHdhm-Q6ARL8hep_MnCHCKMKEL6BlBRVd6OvfCEHFXJk_AEf12gMNrjnT6EVT7ihjls8JrLu6mLuG9AOrBrVOvGp76vH_YmRV3BhFRYME/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLQQIGtf8UIJ6t2lvwD0RQ5tZAuKdQOGsbcSBry_rnUUKILhCUiPiIJ4aaifu0ecYSGaCgxmQOf6X9DU9AusNHdhm-Q6ARL8hep_MnCHCKMKEL6BlBRVd6OvfCEHFXJk_AEf12gMNrjnT6EVT7ihjls8JrLu6mLuG9AOrBrVOvGp76vH_YmRV3BhFRYME/w509-h89/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="509" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE DOC: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When’s the documentary going to be
available? I’ve heard that question countless times since Steven Pressman’s terrific
film, “</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i4Ry1jSiUM" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">The Levys of Monticello</span></a>,” began screening at more than a
hundred film festivals around the country last year. My answer: As soon as I
know, I’ll tell the world.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">So, I’m extremely happy to report that two
weeks ago I had an email from Steve letting me know that his award-winning film
began streaming on November 24 on several of the big online platforms,
including Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Apple iTunes.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">With scores of historic images, “The
Levys of Monticello,” which was inspired by <i>Saving Monticello</i>, creatively
and effectively tells the story of Uriah and Jefferson Levy’s 89-year
stewardship of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello with input from a raft of great on-screen
contributors.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGTF46i-9hF-bYzQjTrmTMLB0mdGkgngsFNudMnPHntaTya4N0axb3S1cS4RaxuMYlA9_XxSvN4zYtZMLm3HU0LrGZcNI_WuDpUDK--rWdd-Qy113IFA3vePvy2aelQxq1912bBaY-4mREUsggB08Qf_zkMLzorS87wje6Fpx22MoWNuFz2G-11t9KGYQp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="452" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGTF46i-9hF-bYzQjTrmTMLB0mdGkgngsFNudMnPHntaTya4N0axb3S1cS4RaxuMYlA9_XxSvN4zYtZMLm3HU0LrGZcNI_WuDpUDK--rWdd-Qy113IFA3vePvy2aelQxq1912bBaY-4mREUsggB08Qf_zkMLzorS87wje6Fpx22MoWNuFz2G-11t9KGYQp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That includes including Susan Stein,
Monticello’s longtime curator; Dr. Dan Jordan, the historian and former Thomas Jefferson
Foundation president; University of Virginia Professor Emerita Dr. Phyllis
Leffler; the renowned Brandeis University Professor of Jewish-American history,
Dr. Jonathan Sarna; Niya Bates, the former director of African American history
and the Getting Word African American Oral History Project at Monticello; Virginia
Commonwealth University Emeritus History Professor Dr. Mel Urofsky, Levy Family
descendants Harley Lewis and her son Richard Lewis; and yours truly. So, now’s
the time to watch the film from the comfort of your favorite movie watching
venue—and to tell everyone you know about it!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">DR.
KAMENSKY</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: The
Thomas Jefferson Foundation announced in October that Jane Kamensky will become
the organization’s next president, starting January 15. Dr. Kamensky is coming
south from Massachusetts, where she has been an American History Professor at
Harvard University since 2015 and also has headed the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
at Harvard Radcliffe Institute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We realize Dr. Kamensky is
extremely busy as she makes the move to Virginia and assumes the leadership of
the Foundation, but we hope to sit down with her for an interview soon and
report on it in next month’s (or February’s) newsletter. I’m very much looking
forward to hearing her take on the history of Monticello after Thomas Jefferson
died, especially Uriah and Jefferson Levy’s 89-year stewardship. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8D9_EF1Lu38dBUxdYUkcXtfo2xXAcMLEjdlGWkam2pvonSjgOinFWbeth0euOhCNIDbCkiuwgbtmdzzum9hp71NiPjsh01kNMWEZkyLejcy315HneDY31iZTqJBtDc-OGqjVkhQLJ2mgMqFz3-sE12yiyvdvcHVqpS7-3jFs6f3buet-qacI6TfEB_ajR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="418" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8D9_EF1Lu38dBUxdYUkcXtfo2xXAcMLEjdlGWkam2pvonSjgOinFWbeth0euOhCNIDbCkiuwgbtmdzzum9hp71NiPjsh01kNMWEZkyLejcy315HneDY31iZTqJBtDc-OGqjVkhQLJ2mgMqFz3-sE12yiyvdvcHVqpS7-3jFs6f3buet-qacI6TfEB_ajR=w320-h301" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">FOUNDATION HISTORY</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: A hundred years ago, on December 1, 1923, the newly
formed Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation (now the Thomas Jefferson
Foundation) sealed the deal for its purchase of Monticello from Jefferson
Monroe Levy. The former New York City congressman and big-time real estate and
stock speculator had owned Monticello for 44 years, and—like his uncle, Uriah
Levy—had restored, repaired, and preserved the house and grounds after it had fallen
into serious disrepair during the 17-year legal wrangling (from 1862-79) as family
members challenged Uriah’s will in which he left Monticello to the people of the
United States to be used as an agricultural school for the orphans of Navy
Warrant Officers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">When he signed the title of the property over
to the Foundation on December 1, 1923, in New York City, Jefferson Levy
received a down payment of $100,000 of the $500,000 purchase price.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Theodore
Fred Kuper, the Foundation’s first director, who was at the closing table, later
described the scene: “The cash and the bonds and mortgage were delivered to
Levy, and Levy signed the deed conveying full title to the property and all
belongings to the Foundation,” Kuper said.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“This
was a very emotional scene and he burst out crying. He said that he never
dreamt that he would ever part with the property.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Three
months later, on March 6, 1924, at his home on East 37<sup>th</sup> Street in
New York City, Jefferson Levy died of heart disease, five weeks short of his 72<sup>nd</sup>
birthday. He is buried in Beth Olom Cemetery in Queens, in the Levy family plot
near his illustrious uncle.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">****************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Foundation has marked its
centennial this year with a series of ceremonial events. The latest, in late November,
was a fact-filled livestream presentation by Ann Lucas, Monticello’s Senior
Historian Emerita, titled “The Centennial of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation:
100 Years of Education and Preservation.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In in, Ann Lucas mentioned
the stewardship of the Levy family as she detailed the Foundation’s monumental
work preserving and restoring Monticello over the decades and educating the
public about Thomas Jefferson and his Essay in Architecture. You can watch the
livestream online at <a href="https://bit.ly/TJFLiveStream">https://bit.ly/TJFLiveStream</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">HUNTLAND: </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">My new book, <i>Huntland: The Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its
Owners</i>, has just been published. My tenth book, it’s my second house
history, following the footsteps of <i>Saving
Monticello</i>.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">Huntland, in
Middleburg, Virginia, was built in 1834, has had several memorable owners and visitors
(including Lyndon Johnson when he was Senate Majority Leader and Vice
President), and a triumphant 21st century historic preservation ending.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">The
University of Virginia Press is marketing and distributing the book. It’s available
online at U-Va. Press’s website, on Amazon, and through local bookstores.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzt7UAWcqa0E88QeP9B0LEUJBIvbA4XaM48DoznNuE17u9PbdJUNV5xq3QcbBqXCwXViDjld3CHgoLHnRgk2-CeRxHy4eExJynYWnmnDRSaE8xK8ir3CpzOtmkQ5a0VsF4hsKzVCYQdW0uBn6GTnt6oDNGDzhf6urCWCL6MOhGzxrT3jkVF3i2Ay-8Br38" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="378" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzt7UAWcqa0E88QeP9B0LEUJBIvbA4XaM48DoznNuE17u9PbdJUNV5xq3QcbBqXCwXViDjld3CHgoLHnRgk2-CeRxHy4eExJynYWnmnDRSaE8xK8ir3CpzOtmkQ5a0VsF4hsKzVCYQdW0uBn6GTnt6oDNGDzhf6urCWCL6MOhGzxrT3jkVF3i2Ay-8Br38" width="215" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk152677341"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">CORRECTION:</span></span></b></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In last
month’s newsletter, I wrote that Francis (Fran) Wolff Levy Lewis was “the
second-eldest” of the four daughters of Jefferson Levy’s brother Louis Napoleon
Levy and his wife Lillian. Newsletter subscriber—and Fran’s niece—Nancy Hoffman
emailed to let me know that her aunt actually was the oldest daughter. Nancy,
who was born in 1930, is the last of L. Napoleon Levy’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">living grandchildren.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I am still working on my next book, a slice-of-life biography of
Doug Hegdahl, the lowest-ranking and youngest American captured in North
Vietnam and held prisoner there during the Vietnam War scheduled to be
published in the spring of 2025. So, no events this month.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details on future talks, check
the Events page on my website: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> or the just-published
hardcover of <i>Huntland</i>, e-mail </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I also usually
have a few used <i>Saving Monticello </i>hardcovers, and a stock of new copies
of five of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An
American Biography; Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of the Green Beret.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: You can read back issues of this
newsletter at </span><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-38089717121352914272023-11-07T19:12:00.001-05:002023-11-07T19:12:40.064-05:00November 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 11<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>November 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJv84z1GyMRy5zNDeTbVVH2WxktuuWMwVK_pJTWuL3-qKmBHuDtBZzALs8aVaoozH-2JCFLIVlgQhf3-fmAyZsBPz_QUncNx7fQFx91wLbAr9eTeasgFxCnXteB1ihxW2B5_KDYdZPgNJttg032XYjUOlIr3m5vpsQqOpv_HT5uDlhAiqknWtlUKCZb9v/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJv84z1GyMRy5zNDeTbVVH2WxktuuWMwVK_pJTWuL3-qKmBHuDtBZzALs8aVaoozH-2JCFLIVlgQhf3-fmAyZsBPz_QUncNx7fQFx91wLbAr9eTeasgFxCnXteB1ihxW2B5_KDYdZPgNJttg032XYjUOlIr3m5vpsQqOpv_HT5uDlhAiqknWtlUKCZb9v/w481-h84/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="481" /></a></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">FRAN’S YESTERDAYS: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
June 2020 newsletter included excerpts about Monticello in the early 20<sup>th</sup>
century from “Fran’s Yesterday,” a short, unpublished memoir that Levy
descendant Frances Wolff Levy Lewis wrote in 1960.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fran Lewis was the second-eldest of the four daughters
of Jefferson Levy’s brother Louis Napoleon Levy and his wife Lillian Hendricks
Levy. She was born on January 19, 1893, in New York City and married Harold
Lewis in February 22, 1916. They had three children, including Harley Lewis,
the Levy Family descendant who was a tremendous help to me when I was
researching <i>Saving Monticello</i>.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrtQFs68EJQQ0snWEfAzYrluQ-V-6MB69qc3wyRc33wZGLp6U5NkQ2Ir3NP2_0MM4RVlsRHJyB6WY-2wX8I3qrrQ0a_JNmV-EFa5LvN4yw_592VygC1LMs3940w3V_bSauniKcn8O3Lp626hVO89pSH2ntBql4qKECAZPvFqFVivLmDG_Dt9jC4eGB-R5/s1163/Frances%20Lewis%20at%20Monticello,%201959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="1138" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrtQFs68EJQQ0snWEfAzYrluQ-V-6MB69qc3wyRc33wZGLp6U5NkQ2Ir3NP2_0MM4RVlsRHJyB6WY-2wX8I3qrrQ0a_JNmV-EFa5LvN4yw_592VygC1LMs3940w3V_bSauniKcn8O3Lp626hVO89pSH2ntBql4qKECAZPvFqFVivLmDG_Dt9jC4eGB-R5/s320/Frances%20Lewis%20at%20Monticello,%201959.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Fran Lewis at Monticello in 1960</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;">T<span style="font-size: medium;">hree years ago, Harley’s son Richard Lewis sent me two pages of the memoir in which his grandmother described visiting Monticello as a child with her siblings and parents. A few weeks ago, Richard kindly sent me the entire memoir and a short essay Fran wrote about visiting Monticello in 1908 when she was 15.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What
follows are excerpts about the family and Monticello that weren’t in the June
2020 post or in <i>SM</i>. Fran wrote in the memoir that her father,
L. Napoleon Levy, “came from a large and colorful family,” noting that one of
the most colorful characters was her grandfather Jonas Levy, one of Uriah’s
brothers. She was right about the mercurial Jonas Levy, who spent most of his
adult life, as Fran put it, as a sea captain. She went on describe what the
peripatetic Jonas Levy (1807-83) did after running away from the family home in
Philadelphia at 13 and showing up in New York City where his mother, Fanny, was
visiting other family members. </span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Fanny Levy didn’t take kindly
to her young son making his way from Philadelphia to New York and “boxed his
ears,” as Fran put it. So young Jonas abruptly left, but didn’t go back home. Instead,
as family lore had it, he signed up as a cabin boy, Fran wrote, on “a sailing
boat bound for S. America and was not seen by his family for 7 years.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fran Lewis then went on to
describe her Uncle Jeff in not exactly flattering words. For one thing, she
said that the lifelong bachelor had little use for his young nieces during
visits with their parents. When the family showed up at Jefferson Levy’s large
townhouse on East 34<sup>th</sup> Street, she said. “I don’t think he was at
all interested in greeting” us, Fran remembered. And although her uncle was “a
very wealthy man in those days, we never received anything of value from him or
any gifts on birthday days.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She pointed out that Uncle
Jeff was “entirely different from my father,” even though the brothers practiced
law together and were real estate investor partners. One example: L. Napoleon
Levy thrived in the New York real estate business, while his brother, a
boom-and-bust speculator, died about $2 million in debt.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fran went on to say that she’d
heard that her father wrote most of Jefferson Levy’s speeches during his three
terms as a Congressman from NYC, and that Uncle Jeff’s grammar was “poor.” She
said he always “gave the impression of being a [VIP], which he probably was.
Especially in the Waldorf Astoria, where he was well known and where he gave
many lavish parties.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">***************</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
Fran Lewis wrote an essay she called “The Approach to Monticello” when she was
a student at the all-girls Jacobi School on the Upper West Side, founded in
1896 by Laura Jacobi, now known as the Calhoun School.</span> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt0LKcC2lFZjjcqpsNEXHNLwkBFfNeNoEU5wf3dXSLbPoQbfuG3ooqYLXX1VSEZuEMXZcFbdOPMSOIYJ4J4S0lTxrXWIyRtwANEqyz3TzEU5QjGuLEV2zfdMM4_-7_qEEd1yNREw65jUyq55-DKlur86d2VlRE-luawKicIB7xjLTSLLQOkPnMW1yp-10/s512/111111111111111111111111111111111111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="512" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt0LKcC2lFZjjcqpsNEXHNLwkBFfNeNoEU5wf3dXSLbPoQbfuG3ooqYLXX1VSEZuEMXZcFbdOPMSOIYJ4J4S0lTxrXWIyRtwANEqyz3TzEU5QjGuLEV2zfdMM4_-7_qEEd1yNREw65jUyq55-DKlur86d2VlRE-luawKicIB7xjLTSLLQOkPnMW1yp-10/s320/111111111111111111111111111111111111.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Jacobi School for Girls Class of 1915</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the essay
she evocatively describes what happened after she and her family arrived by
train in Charlottesville from New York City for a visit to Monticello in June 1907.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">As the train pulled “slowly out of
the Charlottesville station,” young Fran wrote, “a large phaeton, drawn by a
pair of fine beautiful horses,” pulled up to take them to Monticello. The
family piled in and the open carriage made its way through the town (or
“village,” as Fran put it) of Charlottesville and then onto a “very rough,
muddy road” on the outskirts of town. Writing in the present tense, she noted
that the carriage “rattles and jolts over the ruts and stones.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A few miles
later, as the sun was setting over the Blue Ridge Mountains, the carriage began
to climb up to </span>Monticello<span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Just as they started up the steep road, the carriage
crossed a “quiet and peaceful” small creek and Fran remembered times when it
was “a roaring torrent, carrying great trees and small huts along with it.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">The road was better that day, but
“very steep” and a “heavy pull” for the “strong Virginia horses.” On the way
up, they encountered a hay cart drawn by a pair of oxen driven by an older
African American man who smiled and tipped his cap as they passed.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The horses
soon grew “tired and thirsty,” she wrote, so the </span>carriage<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> stopped and they drank
the “clear, cold water coming form a natural spring” on the side of the mountain.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">The Levys
soon reached Monticello’s “pretty brick” Gate House, tended by Eliza Toliver
Coleman, whom Fran called “Aunt Liza,” and who swung “back the great gates for
us to pass through.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then came a scary
ride up a “curved and steep” road aside “a seemingly bottomless ravine” on the
way to the house. Eliza had rung the large Gate House bell, “telling travelers
on the top of the </span>mountains<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> not to go down,” Fran said, “as it is very </span>dangerous<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> for two vehicles to pass on such a narrow road.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_1wvmabhhqlI8YDXEOB5jtb5Nnv0OteKCHkixct6NWMYe5NCCLn5MlyuuXTAj-RYOUNC-XJTcHMf5_ttnLgfXIFp4pFgJLP6cF9Hq4-_GXC0QF6EPze_ZNdH5uSA1C-yQ2iBujrMGf_QRtvnQExgt4F0diHlNVd5BxlKEIYugko27N9VSPTlVG1tf1dt/s980/Eliza%20Coleman%20at%20Gate%20House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Eliza Coleman (1845-1932) and a child at the old Monticello Gate House" border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="980" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_1wvmabhhqlI8YDXEOB5jtb5Nnv0OteKCHkixct6NWMYe5NCCLn5MlyuuXTAj-RYOUNC-XJTcHMf5_ttnLgfXIFp4pFgJLP6cF9Hq4-_GXC0QF6EPze_ZNdH5uSA1C-yQ2iBujrMGf_QRtvnQExgt4F0diHlNVd5BxlKEIYugko27N9VSPTlVG1tf1dt/w400-h225/Eliza%20Coleman%20at%20Gate%20House.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Eliza Coleman and a child at the old Monticello Gate House</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">As they
neared the Jefferson Family cemetery<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(visitors
then drove up to the house the opposite way they do now; that is, passing by the
small graveyard before driving along Mulberry Row). silence “dropped over
everything,” Fran wrote, “never have I heard such stillness. The echo of the
horses’ hoofs on the stony road and the occasional cry of a peacock are the
only sounds.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">They passed the graveyard, where the headstones “looked white and ghostly”
in the twilight. Then the refreshed horses ran “quickly across the lawn”
heading for the East Front of the house. “Through the windows the soft light of
the lamps seems to welcome us,” Fran wrote.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">“We go on
past the rustic [long gone] fence, and the sweet scent of the honeysuckle which
is twined around it, is blown gently towards us. We give a long whistle. The
dogs begin to bark and an answering whistle comes back. On we go around the
large lawn.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">“The
carriage stops in front of the great mansion; we are quickly helped to alight
and taken up the long lawn. The doors of the house are thrown open, showing the
Great Hall inside, and we enter amid the barking of the dogs and hearty greetings
of the family.”</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTN2ZUMi6_UlFFkhyphenhyphena-XNPe3joT43zOSDGR-wC6aurYJVy5MIwlzPkRnrm-OfH8uh8mzrOZ5kubP46SRQbeSfre39OC87RNQ1prdPgJsm5JYrJIkZZT9iyLMqyVojj3gS2ZpOa-d790otp8DAblztjWQaoHairhWzGgS7O9ZQP2W_kzLHc3nPf2rIxeAr/s315/Frances%20Lewis%20at%20Monticello%20c%201890.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="315" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYTN2ZUMi6_UlFFkhyphenhyphena-XNPe3joT43zOSDGR-wC6aurYJVy5MIwlzPkRnrm-OfH8uh8mzrOZ5kubP46SRQbeSfre39OC87RNQ1prdPgJsm5JYrJIkZZT9iyLMqyVojj3gS2ZpOa-d790otp8DAblztjWQaoHairhWzGgS7O9ZQP2W_kzLHc3nPf2rIxeAr/w400-h300/Frances%20Lewis%20at%20Monticello%20c%201890.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></span></b></p><p class="MsoCaption"><b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Fran Lewis, her sister Agnes, and their cousin Monroe Levy
on the West Lawn during an earlier visit, circa 1902</span></b><b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">DR. KAMENSKY</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: The Thomas Jefferson Foundation announced in October
that Jane Kamensky will become the organization’s next president, starting
January 15 next year. Dr. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Kamensky, a
Harvard history professor who also directs Schlesinger Library on the History
of Women in America at Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is just the second
historian to lead the nonprofit that has owned and operated Monticello since
1923, and the second woman to hold that position.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dr. Kamensky taught a<span style="color: black;">t Brandeis University and Brown University before joining
Harvard’s History Department.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dan Jordan, a former history
professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, headed the Foundation from 1985-2008;
Leslie Greene Bowman succeeded Dr. Jordan and resigned in April. Gardiner
Hallock has been serving as interim President since then.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“We are thrilled to welcome
Dr. Kamensky, who shares our belief that Monticello plays a pivotal role in
illuminating the enduring ideals and contributions of Thomas Jefferson and
telling the stories of those who built and worked at this incredible World Heritage
Site,” said Tobias Dengel, who chairs the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. “Dr.
Kamensky brings more than 30 years of deep expertise as a distinguished
academic at some of the world’s leading institutions and has displayed a
continued commitment to civic education and engagement to bring people together.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We hope to have an interview with
Dr. Kamensky (<i>below</i>) in next month’s newsletter. It’ll focuse on her take on the history
of the house after Thomas Jefferson died—not coincidentally, the topic of <i>Saving
Monticello</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-aRru4M6dpRSHMP0u_XD-UGf37_s4jKj8Q_8v_fovcx9HrKMIGa_mHxdwbRosAGGSj5om13bGOvOUIog3aPHOPr_p2Mlq1s4yJk4G6X_z8lDmJpKC30dxuVB_cs0XELdssJarFYwqj9tmBLktm5l10zUgtLdBYW6dnR3NyTihV9tzt0czgVflKBv_nVS/s813/111111111111111111111111111111111111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="813" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-aRru4M6dpRSHMP0u_XD-UGf37_s4jKj8Q_8v_fovcx9HrKMIGa_mHxdwbRosAGGSj5om13bGOvOUIog3aPHOPr_p2Mlq1s4yJk4G6X_z8lDmJpKC30dxuVB_cs0XELdssJarFYwqj9tmBLktm5l10zUgtLdBYW6dnR3NyTihV9tzt0czgVflKBv_nVS/w400-h266/111111111111111111111111111111111111.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">HUNTLAND: </span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">My new book, <i>Huntland: The Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its
Owners</i>, has just been printed and copies are being shipped to the
University of Virginia Press, which will begin marketing and distributing the
book by the end of the month. My tenth book, it’s my second house history,
along the lines of <i>Saving Monticello</i>.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">Huntland, in Middleburg, Virginia, was built in
1834, and has lots of history, memorable owners and visitors (including Lyndon
Johnson when he was Senate Majority Leader and Vice President), and a
triumphant 21st century historic preservation story.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">The book will be available
online at U-Va. Press’s website and through local bookstores. Meanwhile, here’s
the link for the U-Va. Press Fall Catalog with more info about the book: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjG8rk2DO_G2zk5oAgy7UnNVp6rrzrjylJphKC-iRqRc_l3XLtvHHhOmh6p-Mm2V13QQlcZuQkaKVjv-H72vxX9-pLnBCJNdTtJ8HxcL7Q9ZBgYcqinpu5BVe0G6Rq3X5a2v2ZZOgs_PRQbab5GLiIiO4Esfl7ecbFBKUxPBp599fiSdfbvSZCAQv90Rj/s697/Huntland%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="529" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkjG8rk2DO_G2zk5oAgy7UnNVp6rrzrjylJphKC-iRqRc_l3XLtvHHhOmh6p-Mm2V13QQlcZuQkaKVjv-H72vxX9-pLnBCJNdTtJ8HxcL7Q9ZBgYcqinpu5BVe0G6Rq3X5a2v2ZZOgs_PRQbab5GLiIiO4Esfl7ecbFBKUxPBp599fiSdfbvSZCAQv90Rj/w304-h400/Huntland%20cover.jpg" width="304" /></a></b></div><b><br /><o:p><br /></o:p></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Still hard at work on m</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">y next book, the slice-of-life biography of
Doug Hegdahl, the lowest-ranking and youngest American captured in North
Vietnam and held prisoner there during the Vietnam War. So, no events this
month.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For details on future talks, check the Events page on my website: <a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I also have
a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with new copies of my other
books: </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Flag: An American Biography;
Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">; </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Flag: An American Biography</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">; and </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Ballad of the Green Beret.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-8938613444682183272023-10-06T13:39:00.003-04:002023-10-07T12:35:43.548-04:00October 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 10<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>October 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_cOaol2xyP7mmOmkUbhgm6_sWzwFK1w3a8IzVVDGNO6S9FbJEOCxVNQLuLGkeajtGWaZ78OyWHPc2V1mzCQfUzbVAOXcbj_JBoZqFrgDf5BN9ezXSkhQ09oGHuWF5qhnZBW1RnnJ9RKHvvC9XCvoUxs7_s-RZgUA9_ITmgdlcFutAJWp7n1B8tVxZw70_" style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_cOaol2xyP7mmOmkUbhgm6_sWzwFK1w3a8IzVVDGNO6S9FbJEOCxVNQLuLGkeajtGWaZ78OyWHPc2V1mzCQfUzbVAOXcbj_JBoZqFrgDf5BN9ezXSkhQ09oGHuWF5qhnZBW1RnnJ9RKHvvC9XCvoUxs7_s-RZgUA9_ITmgdlcFutAJWp7n1B8tVxZw70_=w380-h72" width="380" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">‘100 YEARS’ EXHIBIT: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
year 1923 was a landmark one in Monticello’s long history. That was the year
that Jefferson Levy—who had owned Thomas Jefferson’s Essay in Architecture
since 1879, and had repaired, preserved, and restored the house and grounds—sold
the property to the fledgling Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. That
nonprofit had formed in March with the express purpose of purchasing and
running Monticello.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Foundation has now owned and operated Monticello
for a hundred years and has commemorated its centennial with events throughout
the year. That includes a terrific exhibit at the Foundation’s Jefferson
Library, dedicated in 2002 a stone’s throw from Monticello. It’s called “100
Years of the </span>Thomas Jefferson Foundation,” and is on display at the Library and
online with an informing, and evocative virtual tour.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The exhibit was curated and
designed by Anna Berkes, the Library’s Manager of Public Services and
Collection Development; Megan Brett, the Manager of Collections Processing and
Digital Initiatives; retired Monticello guide </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">par excellence</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Bill
Bergan; and Library volunteer Jeni Crockett-Holme, under the direction of
Endrina Tay, the Foundation’s Fiske and Marie Kimball Librarian.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd8vl-hGhX_qYwhFrLHRJVeJ484sUr-qg_99btZf1TehX6hYyw11izSxU3UnnGDb_wzeO2Ge4c7wNW2J_PRk4prqz7HyBw-h_KiDLNRFqUhfsCvIqwOLkXAvLYFe3ne4m0--X6muLu34c3bxWUyCEwcnl8fP_HH6cAa6K2HvvPWllMpQkmnmBggbXvPUtx" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="628" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd8vl-hGhX_qYwhFrLHRJVeJ484sUr-qg_99btZf1TehX6hYyw11izSxU3UnnGDb_wzeO2Ge4c7wNW2J_PRk4prqz7HyBw-h_KiDLNRFqUhfsCvIqwOLkXAvLYFe3ne4m0--X6muLu34c3bxWUyCEwcnl8fP_HH6cAa6K2HvvPWllMpQkmnmBggbXvPUtx=w400-h254" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Jefferson Library Main Reading Room</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On a personal note, all of
the above folks, and many others at the Foundation, have been strong supporters
of my work since the day in 1997 that I came to the Mountaintop to do research
for what would become <i>Saving Monticello</i>. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s the link for the
virtual tour: <a href="https://bit.ly/JeffLibraryExhibit">https://bit.ly/JeffLibraryExhibit</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here’s the link for the Jefferson Library’s
website with info about visiting hours and access to its extensive collection
of material: <a href="https://www.monticello.org/research-education/jefferson-library">https://www.monticello.org/research-education/jefferson-library</a></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">CENTENNIAL
YEAR CHRONOLOGY</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">: As a date-obsessed, linearly-oriented historian, I felt a burning
need to put together a chronology of the Foundation’s 1923 highlights. Also,
FYI: the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation dropped the M-word in 2000.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">February 1923 -</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> Gregory Doyle of Mountain
Lakes, New Jersey, sets up a meeting at the Vanderbilt Hotel in New York City
to discuss forming a new private, nonprofit to purchase Monticello.
Thomas Jefferson Randolph IV, a great-great grandson of his namesake, representing
Virginia, journeys north to meet with several wealthy and influential New York
City lawyers, including Virginia-born Stuart Gatewood Gibboney.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">March
3</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> - A
follow-up meeting is held meeting at the Lawyers’ Club in New York City at
which the<u> </u>Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation is born. Gibboney assumes
the presidency of the group. Theodore Fred Kuper, a young New York City lawyer
who had immigrated to this country as a young boy from Russia in 1891, is made
national director with a promised salary of $50 a week.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Early April – </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The Foundation announces
that an agreement has been reached with Jefferson Levy to purchase Monticello
and that it would soon launch a nationwide movement to raise $1 million to
purchase and administer the property.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">April
13 – </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On the
180<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Jefferson’s birth, a Certificate of
Incorporation, or charter, of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, Inc. is
filed in the office of New York’s Secretary of State in Albany. A certified
copy is filed that day in the County Clerk’s Office in New York City where the Foundation
would set up its offices.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
The Foundation’s Board of Directors includes U-Va. President Edwin Alderman, Stuart
Gibboney, Moses Grossman, and Maud Littleton—the woman who infamously tried to
wrest control of Monticello from Jefferson Levy; she would resign the next
month. Also on the Board: Nancy Langhorne Astor, better known as Lady Nancy Astor, a
native Virginian who was the first woman to serve in the British House of
Commons, and her sister Irene Langhorne Gibson of Richmond (<i>below</i>), the original Gibson
Girl of the 1890s, the famously beautiful model for hundreds of drawings by her
equally famed artist husband Charles Dana Gibson.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7HYXv3-SKiP6RCGh6av-lhQjEJ6Kqew9xZxRDG1iN_OmXTyWcRUt-WLBkbKeJmKsOvyJUqDiuacc5yO3GJVljeNXihWUhjkQX_3L0ZuB5NbZxhqudwv91k6FFLAvPjdKhfl3v5_0Ej2GHzuZed_qtpQTWp3zzJb7BKF6FUu2Jo9aOK93wryacKn7VMzdQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="427" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7HYXv3-SKiP6RCGh6av-lhQjEJ6Kqew9xZxRDG1iN_OmXTyWcRUt-WLBkbKeJmKsOvyJUqDiuacc5yO3GJVljeNXihWUhjkQX_3L0ZuB5NbZxhqudwv91k6FFLAvPjdKhfl3v5_0Ej2GHzuZed_qtpQTWp3zzJb7BKF6FUu2Jo9aOK93wryacKn7VMzdQ=w282-h400" width="282" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoCaption"><!--[endif]--><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal;">Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., the son of the former president, also is named to the Board, as well as Governor Lee Trinkle
of Virginia and Felix M. Warburg, the extremely wealthy German-born Jewish New
York banker and philanthropist who </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">had tried to purchase Monticello for the nation</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt;"> several years before the Foundation was
created</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoCaption"><b><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">May 31</span></b><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"> - The Foundation and Jefferson Levy sign an option for the purchase of
Monticello, the 640 acres around it, and all of the furniture and furnishings
inside. The price: $500,000. On that same day the Foundation is “domesticated”
in Virginia, giving it the legal right to transact business in that state. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">June 8</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> -The Foundation Board unanimously approves the contract.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">June
30</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> - The deed
of trust is executed. Jefferson Levy gives the Monticello Association (the
organization of Jefferson descendants that owns the family graveyard at
Monticello) an additional half acre of land adjacent to the cemetery to be used
as a graveyard for other Jefferson descendants.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">July
14 - </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The Foundation
issues a statement making a public appeal for $1-million for the purchase price
and for “the proper and effective maintenance of Monticello as a national
memorial throughout all time.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">December
1</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> – Jefferson
Levy receives the first mortgage payment and signs the title of Monticello over
to the Foundation in New York City. Fred Kuper described the scene:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“The
cash and the bonds and mortgage were delivered to Levy, and Levy signed the
deed conveying full title to the property and all belongings to the Foundation.
This was a very emotional scene and he burst out crying. He said that he never
dreamt that he would ever part with the property.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">December
3 - </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Foundation’s Deed of Conveyance is signed in the Albemarle County Clerk’s office
in Charlottesville. The news makes the front page of the next day’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Times</i>. Soon thereafter,
Monticello is open to the public. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Foundation
hires two local African American men, Benjamin Carr and Oliver Johnston, to
guide visitors through the house.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTDqY00YkrxYvxT10-ZEEc4BNn2Z4NxWCo3tXElCCloNpQj_UTCLCw5ShoELJ-sOmlKxGGmOnD6epQOTbaPK2bVZEfndHqjlyfvexU5kbrezuKTV7xsdaBWWYkLZhMpt5xXSKDe365aVMruVtlJY6b7OI57H3scmQmHTi-pMNLoDwsDqA1ceLFUJ9tsKSg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="546" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTDqY00YkrxYvxT10-ZEEc4BNn2Z4NxWCo3tXElCCloNpQj_UTCLCw5ShoELJ-sOmlKxGGmOnD6epQOTbaPK2bVZEfndHqjlyfvexU5kbrezuKTV7xsdaBWWYkLZhMpt5xXSKDe365aVMruVtlJY6b7OI57H3scmQmHTi-pMNLoDwsDqA1ceLFUJ9tsKSg=w400-h309" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif;">T</span><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">homas Rhodes (second from
left) Monticello's long-time superintendent, whom Jefferson Levy hired soon
after he took possession of the property in 1879, in the early 1920s with three
house tour guides: Robert Sampson, William Page, & Benjamin Carr </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">March
6, 1924 - </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">At
his home on East 37<sup>th</sup> Street in New York City, Jefferson Levy dies
of heart disease, five weeks short of his 72<sup>nd</sup> birthday.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">1940</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">. The Foundation pays off
the mortgage.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE HUNTLAND BOOK: </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">The University of Virginia Press will be
distributing and marketing my next book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huntland:
The Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its Owners</i>, which
will be coming out in just a few weeks. My tenth book, it’s my second house
history, along the lines of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">Huntland, in Middleburg, Virginia, was built in
1834, and certainly has lots of history, memorable owners and visitors
(including Lyndon Johnson when he was Senate Majority Leader and Vice
President), and a triumphant twenty-first century historic preservation story.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhghogiwsPJKEXRsIEk2R4RCDEhy2NCnHZdOisjyKnTtbgsua7sieuczuHdTlgH-xTACs5538EZNZrvvttxe3yy0aILyYA-e69x0Nu7YoimBiWbZ5BoFkEK0Kz12WwnuvDnHyf2pR0uCpyaR6faeGTqhxZH4Wwt-YecGKSq7J2z0KK1nevOev6p_Tbmf-fb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="345" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhghogiwsPJKEXRsIEk2R4RCDEhy2NCnHZdOisjyKnTtbgsua7sieuczuHdTlgH-xTACs5538EZNZrvvttxe3yy0aILyYA-e69x0Nu7YoimBiWbZ5BoFkEK0Kz12WwnuvDnHyf2pR0uCpyaR6faeGTqhxZH4Wwt-YecGKSq7J2z0KK1nevOev6p_Tbmf-fb=w303-h400" width="303" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s the link for the
U-Va. Press Fall Catalog with more info about the book: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">By the end
of the month, it’ll be available in bookstores, on the U-Va. Press website, and
through the big online booksellers.</span><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">On <b>Sunday, October 22</b>, I’ll be doing a talk on <i>Saving
Monticello</i> and a book signing as part of Hadassah Charlottesville’s “</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jewish in Virginia – Our Past, Our Present, Our Future”
event at the Hillel Brody Jewish Center at the University of Virginia.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The event runs from 9:30 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m. and includes a continental breakfast and buffet lunch—and live
Klezmer music. Registration closes on October 13. To register, go to: <a href="https://bit.ly/HillelHadassah">https://bit.ly/HillelHadassah</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For details on events later this year, check the Events page on my
website: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I also have
a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with new copies of my other
books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography;
Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of the Green Beret.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-61686720344593289642023-09-07T12:17:00.001-04:002023-09-07T12:17:47.568-04:00September 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>September 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbRLCWpY_EO154MgGzFx66ekFZKHqlNLiHFTtYyNkpyJPmDUpQiI1-amnEGzovS4Bj94kqK0WTnr3jpuKp5BxYNXTL24cKPHw_2sT_4xa3BXqizlhUTGZaFApSoGsLCO1FHTQv3su6jjVnLLIGkPvV8UOlldjOvQmlPWPJCRWc5zLNW6SW8g5Hg7yam_Lx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbRLCWpY_EO154MgGzFx66ekFZKHqlNLiHFTtYyNkpyJPmDUpQiI1-amnEGzovS4Bj94kqK0WTnr3jpuKp5BxYNXTL24cKPHw_2sT_4xa3BXqizlhUTGZaFApSoGsLCO1FHTQv3su6jjVnLLIGkPvV8UOlldjOvQmlPWPJCRWc5zLNW6SW8g5Hg7yam_Lx=w504-h88" width="504" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ISABELLA & MARCUS: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In my ongoing quest to research
the Levy and Nunez families, I recently came across an evocative image I’d
never seen before. It’s a circa 1859 daguerreotype displayed on the John L.
Loeb, Jr., Database of Early American Jewish Portraits website. It’s identified
as a photographer’s studio image of seven-year-old Jefferson Monroe Levy (in
curls and the dress-like shirt on the right) and his nine-year-old sister Isabella,
and is in the collection of the American Jewish Historical Society in New York
City.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1rJOVbopBVl0ZHT8ncEqnSllkDg-LU0zsOKSJlPVEEqYaFAc9CXzqXywCPC2T51XYeFs2mM3vvTvv0PZb24Y2IqxIdtvU5LlQTFi-5An3mebvIcPa4EpMsZsywjYcSGn6C955tSTZyF99u2tFgOrW0mFPHILdKzDmwH40KlZD4x_VzNRHiCHXaSs6lB0z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="368" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1rJOVbopBVl0ZHT8ncEqnSllkDg-LU0zsOKSJlPVEEqYaFAc9CXzqXywCPC2T51XYeFs2mM3vvTvv0PZb24Y2IqxIdtvU5LlQTFi-5An3mebvIcPa4EpMsZsywjYcSGn6C955tSTZyF99u2tFgOrW0mFPHILdKzDmwH40KlZD4x_VzNRHiCHXaSs6lB0z=w308-h400" width="308" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">Aside
from the thrill of seeing what appears to be a photograph of Jefferson Levy as
a child, coming across the image also piqued my curiosity about Isabella, whom
I mentioned only briefly in <i>Saving Monticello</i>. To wit: that she was
known as “Belle,” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">was the oldest of Jonas
and Fanny Levy’s five </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">children, married Marcus Ryttenberg, and often visited her younger brother
at Monticello after her son Clarkson Potter Ryttenberg was born in 1881.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">According
to the late Malcolm Stern’s authoritative <i>The First American Jewish Families</i>
genealogies, Isabella </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">was born on
December 12, 1849, in Vera Cruz in Mexico where her peripatetic father, a ship
captain, and his wife Fanny were living. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Her younger sibling Jefferson Monroe, came along on
April 15, 1852, when the family was living in New York City. Two years later,
their second son, Louis Napoleon, was born in NYC. Then came Amelia, born in
Washington, D.C., on June 1, 1862; and Mitchell Abraham Cass, born 13 months
later in New York.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I
have since learned that on January 15, 1879, when she was 30 years old, Belle married
Marcus Ryttenberg (<i>mea culpa</i>: I spelled his name incorrectly—<i>Ryttenburg</i>—in
<i>Saving Monticello</i>), who was born in Russian-occupied Poland in January 1846
and emigrated to the U.S about 20 years later with his family. The wedding took
place in New York City. Just two months later, another Levy family big event
took place: On March 29, 1879, Isabella’s brother Jefferson took control of
Monticello by buying out his uncle Uriah Levy’s other heirs after a 17-year
legal battle over who would inherit the property.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Marcus
and Belle had a son they named Clarkson Potter Ryttenberg in 1881. The family
lived in several places in New York City, moving in the nineteen-teens to a
large townhouse at 17 E. 37<sup>th</sup> Street, between Fifth and Madison
Avenues, less than a block from what is today the Morgan Library and Museum,
the former home of J.P. Morgan. It also happened to be where Jefferson Levy
lived.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It's
likely that Isabella moved in with Jefferson Levy (a bachelor) because Marcus
Ryttenberg spent</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> most of his time, mainly
in the fall and winter, in the small city of Sumter in central South Carolina, about
100 miles northwest of Charleston. Marcus ran J. Ryttenberg & Sons, a
flourishing dry goods store in Sumter, along with two other family businesses.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Marcus, his father Joseph,
older brother Harry, and younger brother Abe had fled Poland and settled in Sumter
in the late 1860s, mostly likely in 1867, just two years after the end of the American
Civil War.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
According to an 1889 article in the local newspaper, <i>The Watchman and
Southron</i>, Joseph Ryttenberg moved to Baltimore in 1870 and his son Marcus,
“the first member of this family to live in Sumter, is credited with beginning
the business here.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCXZmMFLVzE2slohYeHA4AL3iVAfOaKwQxtEX5KQcCzzKWAmTD6V9wkh9a6QqDHQr6xv3JAHWlrZMaeV7iuYdSmI4sDa8Ov1ubdptLqjsOBUphZ0T_P1HVzSdGQdE2WINBpQMGfUWMGMSmowNgSBK7p5XenDapPSk4u_jKZwRNPCJ6yXCqwzbB2_DvscKq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="545" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCXZmMFLVzE2slohYeHA4AL3iVAfOaKwQxtEX5KQcCzzKWAmTD6V9wkh9a6QqDHQr6xv3JAHWlrZMaeV7iuYdSmI4sDa8Ov1ubdptLqjsOBUphZ0T_P1HVzSdGQdE2WINBpQMGfUWMGMSmowNgSBK7p5XenDapPSk4u_jKZwRNPCJ6yXCqwzbB2_DvscKq=w308-h400" width="308" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The store, as one of its
frequent local newspaper advertisements put it—carried an “elegant line of Dry
Goods, Notions, Carpets, Cloaks, Shoes, Clothing and Groceries,” much of it
brought in from New York. By 1888, the “mammoth establishment” was “by far,”
another ad proclaimed, “the largest business of any house in Sumter.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Ryttenbergs, who
worshipped at Temple Sinai, a reform synagogue in Sumter, also owned their own
brickyard on the outskirts of Sumter. “Known as the Sumter Brick Yard,” it was
“one of the leading industries of the Sumter community in 1890,” the local newspaper
article reported. “The brick produced was used by numerous individuals in
building the city. The Ryttenbergs shipped their bricks to all points via a
railroad which had constructed a branch to the yard in order to expedite the
loading of the shipments. The brick yard at one time had nearly one million
bricks on hand for sale.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">One other thing about the Ryttenbergs and
Sumter. Researching the family took me to the 1880 U.S. Census, which reported
that the Marcus—listed as a Drygoods Merchant—and Isabelle, “Keeping house,”
were living in what must have been a large house on Main Street in Sumter, along
with two adult servants and the seven-year-old daughter of one of them. Then I
saw something shocking.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">As
you can see from the image below, the Ryttenberg Family also included an their
infant son, whom they named Jefferson L. Ryttenberg after her brother. The boy
was born in New York City in November 1879, and there is no trace of him in any
Census, genealogy, or other record after 1880, leading to the only conclusion
that the child died that year.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfVyYe6e_kmDuQBSwXLoHa6fW-K7kctb_ZUQnrAqoox0Din0eqr6b3GbYdlCXTy5Kel2UdhFYPf1P-EkWPwyM4XEiE7CGwRTEoikim-G2L1jz2aYlAleDIBOG5-IRJ_lgOg7_dQDO_TUlyBdG0lt5W4BUw6nJMhlsm_A2U_X8TPgC_W6hhWgYD602VqPrt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="975" height="58" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfVyYe6e_kmDuQBSwXLoHa6fW-K7kctb_ZUQnrAqoox0Din0eqr6b3GbYdlCXTy5Kel2UdhFYPf1P-EkWPwyM4XEiE7CGwRTEoikim-G2L1jz2aYlAleDIBOG5-IRJ_lgOg7_dQDO_TUlyBdG0lt5W4BUw6nJMhlsm_A2U_X8TPgC_W6hhWgYD602VqPrt=w400-h58" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Marcus Ryttenberg died
suddenly of a heart attack in Sumter on September 21, 1906. He was 50 years old
and the family shipped his body by train to New York City for burial. Isabella
died on July 7, 1925, and is buried at Beth Olom Cemetery in Queens, where her
brother Jefferson Levy, uncle Uriah Levy and other family members are buried.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-no-proof: yes;">THE PIER MIRRORS: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-no-proof: yes;">Only a handful of
furniture and furnishing in Monticello today have been in the house </span><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">since Thomas Jefferson’s time. They
include the famed </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">seven-day Great Clock framing the door of
the Entrance Hall, the ladder Jefferson designed to wind the clock, and the
striking pier mirrors also in the Entrance Hall.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jefferson purchased the
mirrors when he served as U.S. Minister (Ambassador) to France from 1785-89,
and had them shipped to Virginia in 1790. They were installed in the Parlor’s
Entrance Hall sometime before 1900 and have been there ever since.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit", serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I mention the mirrors several
times in <i>Saving Monticello</i>, as visitors throughout the 19<sup>th</sup>
century and into the early 20<sup>th</sup> century often commented on them. They
also played a role in the legal wrangling over what conveyed with the sale of
Monticello by James Turner Barclay to Uriah Levy in 1834. Barclay claimed the
mirrors and the Great Clock were his. Levy sued, saying they should be part of
the sale. The matter was not settled until two years later when the sale closed
and the parties agreed that </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">clock and pier mirrors would stay in the house.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I
also reported that in 1903, Jefferson Levy told a newspaper reporter in
Washington that the architects then in charge of remodeling the White House had
asked to buy the mirrors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“I
replied that I did not feel at liberty to part with them, even for so laudable
a purpose as letting them go to the White House,” Levy said.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“I
wrote to the architects saying that I had no objection to having the mirrors
copied, and I understand that this will be done. The mirrors at Monticello are
beautiful specimens of the Louis XVI period, and were purchased by Jefferson in
France.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheKfhPRz9AUD8xiEgcIWUi-p9_dBwSWXH4iLEAN_CKbcHYUzca9K3FPV27LCJRmFHx0gAYALfptOxb6dhWXkwEz85K4XUxLrSeOWYVi_tn1dnrtxLO1q_AX6njEZaRZcopUh6K7_UovxRvRkM-tReVWZRM3_JG0slHnOg_fekgkRROvy0a-ZRp3JYETpf-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="540" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheKfhPRz9AUD8xiEgcIWUi-p9_dBwSWXH4iLEAN_CKbcHYUzca9K3FPV27LCJRmFHx0gAYALfptOxb6dhWXkwEz85K4XUxLrSeOWYVi_tn1dnrtxLO1q_AX6njEZaRZcopUh6K7_UovxRvRkM-tReVWZRM3_JG0slHnOg_fekgkRROvy0a-ZRp3JYETpf-=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
next time you’re in Monticello’s Parlor be sure to stop for a minute and admire
those historic mirrors—not to mention the fully preserved and functional Great
Clock.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE HUNTLAND
BOOK: </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The University of Virginia Press will be distributing and
marketing my next book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huntland: The
Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its Owners</i>, which will
be coming out the first week of October. It’s my tenth book and my second house
history, along the lines of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>. Huntland, in Middleburg, Virginia, was built in 1834, and
certainly has lots of history, memorable owners and visitors (including Lyndon
Johnson when he was Senate Majority Leader and Vice President), and a
triumphant twenty-first century historic preservation story. Stay tuned for
more details. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s
the link for the U-Va. Press Fall Catalog with more info about the book: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland</span></a><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m still in full-time writing mode on what will be my 11<sup>th</sup>
book, a slice-of-life biography of Doug Hegdahl, the youngest and
lowest-ranking American held as a POW in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. It will
be published by Stackpole Books, most likely next fall. As a result, I don’t
have any book talks scheduled for September. For details on events later this
year, check the Events page on my website:
</span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I also have
a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of new
copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An
American Biography; Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and Wars
of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-42196490937690987312023-08-03T15:52:00.003-04:002023-08-03T16:39:22.616-04:00August 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 8<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>August 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeLXGgo7_pQI5NZfe-QUh6luSQ6iMMqhrx7vc2wQ13zGgDrVWcZz7oaG6zWjfbivD-m-s2MJmDhrOZT53An0W2iHDlFxvaMfZXJo1qPN27pMVjNwkvS5fqsC7b5VWU_FpnpU0OufTvhe5Biu8q-Uw-3VS5Gep3I4Qrv3TPEG3L-gtH1QZLcRrJHDIz2sD/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeLXGgo7_pQI5NZfe-QUh6luSQ6iMMqhrx7vc2wQ13zGgDrVWcZz7oaG6zWjfbivD-m-s2MJmDhrOZT53An0W2iHDlFxvaMfZXJo1qPN27pMVjNwkvS5fqsC7b5VWU_FpnpU0OufTvhe5Biu8q-Uw-3VS5Gep3I4Qrv3TPEG3L-gtH1QZLcRrJHDIz2sD/w363-h64/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="363" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">‘READ
<i>SAVING MONTICELLO</i>’: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">One of the most rewarding aspects of having researched, written, and
spoken widely about <i>Saving Monticello</i> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">for all these years has been getting to know (in person and online)
descendants of Uriah and Jefferson Monroe Levy and of Samuel Nunez, UPL’s
great-great grandfather.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Most recently, I had the pleasure
of meeting Nancy Hoffman, a grandniece of Jefferson Levy, and her son Rob for
the first time in July. They had just made a pilgrimage to Monticello and stopped
by for a short visit here in the Northern Virginia Piedmont before heading to
Annapolis, Maryland, for a tour of the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center and
Jewish Chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Nancy Hoffman, who was born
in 1930, is a grandniece of Jefferson Levy and a granddaughter of JML’s brother,
fellow lawyer and real estate business partner Louis Napoleon Levy. Nancy’s mother, Alma Hendricks Levy Bookman, was one of L.
Napoleon Levy’s four daughters.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci0yD-hnFqCHwu1JSmhx7kJB06JnW4NpyRp8biTrj-cOpbkhp96LsUa8nQYe1n5UdoGxLu3OIdl9dz0ZQBO0pbC550NBCXF8DaVp5vZ6oA5ooCnAOdUZLVaqLJ9-xZAEZFovD3vArM5dvyJG8wHqNbEAgQgraM97cKHJVC3HZ7gzNDk15YxWZ_QNAGQIg/s960/L.%20Napoleon%20Levy%20-%20via%20Rob%20Hoffman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="679" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci0yD-hnFqCHwu1JSmhx7kJB06JnW4NpyRp8biTrj-cOpbkhp96LsUa8nQYe1n5UdoGxLu3OIdl9dz0ZQBO0pbC550NBCXF8DaVp5vZ6oA5ooCnAOdUZLVaqLJ9-xZAEZFovD3vArM5dvyJG8wHqNbEAgQgraM97cKHJVC3HZ7gzNDk15YxWZ_QNAGQIg/w283-h400/L.%20Napoleon%20Levy%20-%20via%20Rob%20Hoffman.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Nancy—like her great-uncle
Jefferson Levy, her grandfather, and their uncle Uriah P. Levy—lives in New York
City. Rob Hoffman was visiting from his home in Michigan.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The day before I had let the folks
at Monticello know that the Hoffmans were on their way to the mountaintop for a
visit, and the staff gave them a warm welcome. Their guide on the house tour “gave
a good spiel,” Nancy later told me in an email, “and he dutifully included the
Levys. He even admitted us to the dome [room] and the upstairs [bed] chambers.”<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">After their special house
tour, Rob and Nancy took a walk around the grounds and popped in on another
tour guide, <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Dick Ruffin </span></span> as he was concluding a tour in the
post-1809 kitchen located in Monticello’s South Pavilion near the house.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Nancy said that not long
after they joined the group as the tour was ending, Dick Ruffin “launched right
into the Levy ownership, unprompted.” After he did, Nancy said, “we revealed
our connection and he was very excited to have the family on the premises.” So
excited—and happy—that the guide exclaimed, “Oh, Hallelujah!” when Rob told him
that he and his mother were Levy descendants. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">Nancy told
the group that she remembers the first time she came to Monticello for a visit
when she was ten years old, and was “mesmerized” when she learned that her mother
and her sisters played in the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dome Room
of “Uncle Jeff’s house” when they visited as young children a generation
earlier.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">Rob posted a
four-minute video of Dick Ruffin </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">(</span><i style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">below, in the light blue shirt</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">) </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ending his tour talking about Uriah purchasing
Monticello in 1834 and Jefferson Levy selling the property to the Thomas
Jefferson Foundation a hundred years ago, in December 1923. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauQjG1y_LSNBFEqL4ZeI-1yMXFSzpMAIlUOka-Ltux66FcdE-y0buQzREolZLeNrqlY4wcnk3j3YtZh_XMTlPdfAjGJ_ClvZ3Vh1bg2u6CZU7_p9AV4B4D9FINYDlWhFv25xgKD4lqR8yV5xRe5g8pB54t3XCR_AXcMBTWWRWQYQpfU7xhrg-aH0LFZJW/s632/1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="632" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauQjG1y_LSNBFEqL4ZeI-1yMXFSzpMAIlUOka-Ltux66FcdE-y0buQzREolZLeNrqlY4wcnk3j3YtZh_XMTlPdfAjGJ_ClvZ3Vh1bg2u6CZU7_p9AV4B4D9FINYDlWhFv25xgKD4lqR8yV5xRe5g8pB54t3XCR_AXcMBTWWRWQYQpfU7xhrg-aH0LFZJW/s320/1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">It includes
his reaction to meeting the Hoffmans and his recommendation to them and the group
to “Read <i>Saving Monticello</i>. It’s a book about Uriah Phillips Levy” and
the family’s stewardship of Monticello. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You can
watch the short video at </span><a href="https://bit.ly/ReadSMonticello" style="font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/ReadSMonticello</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Hoffmans’ visit to the Naval Academy the following day was “extremely
special, too,” Nancy Hoffman told me. Jan Zlockie, the administrator of the Friends
of the Jewish Chapel (the nonprofit that raised the funds to build the Levy
Center and Chapel), arranged for them to drive onto and explore the Academy’s
grounds.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Then we went to Friday night
services at the chapel (<i>below</i>) and everyone we met bent over backwards
to show us their large collection of Uriah memorabilia.”</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">At the end of the evening, David
Hoffberger, the USNA’s Chapel Facilities Manager, had a surprise for the
Hoffmans. He “took us to a closet inside the temple,” Nancy said. From
there, he gave us a piece of a wooden fence from Uriah’s time at Monticello. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">We were thrilled.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">That </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">rare artifact of the Levys’ ownership of Monticello is
now on display in Nancy’s Greenwich Village townhouse, “near my oldest family object,
an advertisement for Jonas Phillips’</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> Philadelphia Vendue Store from 1776,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE HUNTLAND
BOOK: </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The University of Virginia Press will be distributing and
marketing my next book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huntland: The
Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its Owners</i>, which will
be coming out the first week of September. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s
my tenth book and my second house history, along the lines of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>. Huntland, in
Middleburg, Virginia, was built in 1834, and certainly has lots of history,
memorable owners and visitors (including Lyndon Johnson when he was Senate
Majority Leader and Vice President), and a triumphant twenty-first century
historic preservation story. Stay tuned for more details. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMf_h383PVs3tnPC12yrbix3cnIAGw0LeakPZ4HsoOzg-VpQqc9YtcGe579OMGAUTx5J7nEGdLdJOIO9t2vaxU0W40nzOUc0CsmwyyXkrK0ZnBLOTvr0-0G4FC8i3iGs-kTt6mzg0P4ZN6pQUsomql87g5JQFLHedO8036x9vrvexM1NIhI4td0N3C5t6/s697/333333333333333333333333.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="529" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMf_h383PVs3tnPC12yrbix3cnIAGw0LeakPZ4HsoOzg-VpQqc9YtcGe579OMGAUTx5J7nEGdLdJOIO9t2vaxU0W40nzOUc0CsmwyyXkrK0ZnBLOTvr0-0G4FC8i3iGs-kTt6mzg0P4ZN6pQUsomql87g5JQFLHedO8036x9vrvexM1NIhI4td0N3C5t6/s320/333333333333333333333333.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><br /><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s
the link for the U-Va. Press Fall Catalog with more info about the book: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland</span></a><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m in full-time writing mode on another book, a slice-of-life
biography of Doug Hegdahl, the youngest and lowest-ranking American held as a
POW in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. It will be published by Stackpole Books,
most likely next fall. As a result, I don’t have any book talks scheduled for August.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details on events later this year,
check the Events page on my website:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I also have
a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of new
copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An
American Biography; Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and Wars
of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-32775644653252968362023-07-07T16:29:00.001-04:002023-07-08T07:50:38.623-04:00July 2023<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>July 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicgiN0YmcZqbfx3q_CoWBOP99HitnBADMrWeSpGZVn72IO9QEKYygRdxylsOJzc7GK9EIHgoAd6uN5k8nXYczu7fNH_3MYJfiWQ0viKGdNhPRWCZi8FNsmLjUnTcH-98ku8B7ndA3bcL4MwzOTjrYJokUJojN0EoyXZkBxXxDIwMlNHAQAl3ODzR_IhIhY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicgiN0YmcZqbfx3q_CoWBOP99HitnBADMrWeSpGZVn72IO9QEKYygRdxylsOJzc7GK9EIHgoAd6uN5k8nXYczu7fNH_3MYJfiWQ0viKGdNhPRWCZi8FNsmLjUnTcH-98ku8B7ndA3bcL4MwzOTjrYJokUJojN0EoyXZkBxXxDIwMlNHAQAl3ODzR_IhIhY=w518-h82" width="518" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE MEDAL:</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">While doing the research for my 2005 book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography</i>, I learned about—and was fascinated by—what
historians call the Golden Age of Fraternity of the 1880s and early 1890s.
During that time scores of patriotic, veterans, hereditary, and fraternal
organizations came into being, many of which took a keen interest in promoting
the American flag.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="tab-stops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Most of the groups established national
organizations, augmented with affiliated groups in the states. That included </span>the
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, formally established
on April 30, l889, the l00th anniversary of George Washington’s first
inauguration.<span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="tab-stops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">The SAR received its
charter from Congress in l906. It was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt,
himself an SAR member. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The SAR, which remains active today, was formed to honor the
memory of those who fought in the Revolutionary War. Membership is open only to
descendants of those who served in the American military in that war or otherwise
supported the war effort.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
SAR, which had allowed women to join, changed its policy in 1890 and admitted
only men. That led to the founding on October 11, 1890, of the women-only
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the DAR.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jonas Phillips
joined </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">the
Philadelphia City Revolutionary War Militia as a private in Col. William
Bradford’s First Battalion 1777</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;">, at age 43. Which means that, as I wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monticello</i>, all if his descendants are eligible to be members of
the SAR and DAR. I didn’t learn that his great grandson Jefferson M. Levy
became an SAR member until five years ago—and wrote about it in the
newsletter’s December 2018 issue at </span><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="https://bit.ly/SMNesltr">https://bit.ly/SMNesltr</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I found out that Jefferson Levy joined the SAR in 1894 after my
friend and colleague Maral Kalbian sent me an image of his SAR application,
which she came across while doing research in that time period.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Last month I received another image related
to J.M. Levy’s SAR membership from Jim Maples of Huntsville, Alabama. He
contacted me after learning about the Levy family’s role in preserving
Monticello and about my book after he </span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">bought a rare, late-1890s SAR Membership Medal on </span>eBay<span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGt2gzUyuYBmHN0LVGNYLdEISZD81iqUIvd6ppIVfNMvrEl1dUvIydPiaTNJC98OqvtHGRqPE3il6YGAjm1ob_dONhHCgxu1uoQECc7V3UJozaL2-UZytKkrG-ogJKPuIWC1DsTmXXvjw2AcMxFS4YN90nciomlxfkXaIySQJatIJc8Gr3ZGaMjDeOS2tw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="569" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGt2gzUyuYBmHN0LVGNYLdEISZD81iqUIvd6ppIVfNMvrEl1dUvIydPiaTNJC98OqvtHGRqPE3il6YGAjm1ob_dONhHCgxu1uoQECc7V3UJozaL2-UZytKkrG-ogJKPuIWC1DsTmXXvjw2AcMxFS4YN90nciomlxfkXaIySQJatIJc8Gr3ZGaMjDeOS2tw=w371-h269" width="371" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jim has been collecting antique SAR
Membership Medals for nearly twenty years, he told me in an email, and said
that Jefferson Levy’s medal is an extremely rare one, made by Tiffany & Co.
from 1890-94.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“Most members have their membership
number engraved on the side of one of the arms of the cross on the medal,” Jim
told me in an email. “After wearing it for a couple of years, I remembered that
it didn’t have a membership number, but rather someone’s name engraved.” Said
someone: none other than Jefferson M. Levy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">
What’s more, Levy had “Of Monticello” engraved on the other side, as you can
see in the above photo. “I had no idea who Jefferson M. Levy was,” Jim told me,
“but I began to do a little research and quickly discovered that he and his
uncle had owed Monticello for some 89 years.</span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-no-proof: yes;">” </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-no-proof: yes;">Which led Jim
Maples to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, to
donating a copy of the book to the SAR Library in Louisville, and to
subscribing to this newsletter—and kindly giving me permission to use the
images.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPRYPkkEtI5cCUIFmFeLUkz5YO-_BIEKXcFVuUtYfAhakwn3FxIJ-FXJZ7PbpUpgrzTNeYll4z1qU_sh0Az_9UctpsfmdXHqlTjAcaJgCdTPOoeVOCjyFs4FY-05YZcG51GE_9pdVLbBIs9a91DxUVpOcbW01xcJ-K3mODyBvX9Y9-0qBGX0lOA5xzmm8v" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="498" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPRYPkkEtI5cCUIFmFeLUkz5YO-_BIEKXcFVuUtYfAhakwn3FxIJ-FXJZ7PbpUpgrzTNeYll4z1qU_sh0Az_9UctpsfmdXHqlTjAcaJgCdTPOoeVOCjyFs4FY-05YZcG51GE_9pdVLbBIs9a91DxUVpOcbW01xcJ-K3mODyBvX9Y9-0qBGX0lOA5xzmm8v" width="313" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE
HUNTLAND BOOK: </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I mentioned last month, the University of
Virginia Press will be distributing and marketing my next book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huntland: The Historic Virginia Country
House, the Property, and Its Owners</i>, which will be coming out in August. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s
my tenth book and my second house history, along the lines of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>. Huntland, in
Middleburg, Virginia, where I live in the Northern Virginia Piedmont, was built
in 1834, and certainly has lots of history, memorable owners, and a triumphant twenty-first
century historic preservation story. Stay tuned for more details. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3e-nSVvCseMf9BmC2bl_vhN3rXEekKUKfp640b0mlVtFIQFChpW3pH0OLMgTFy7LYKkXL2HVeOV7OkHrPhsEbV4jVK9ykRMcrCUWkeKHLdEmcorsgeyUhZ5r8npXS60OLF6Zy6d769gwD5ooEPjfqnMr_KtaaiThSHJ3S5XyQBpfisFjRzrNN4n_0nV3U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="361" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3e-nSVvCseMf9BmC2bl_vhN3rXEekKUKfp640b0mlVtFIQFChpW3pH0OLMgTFy7LYKkXL2HVeOV7OkHrPhsEbV4jVK9ykRMcrCUWkeKHLdEmcorsgeyUhZ5r8npXS60OLF6Zy6d769gwD5ooEPjfqnMr_KtaaiThSHJ3S5XyQBpfisFjRzrNN4n_0nV3U=w303-h400" width="303" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s
the link for the U-Va. Press Fall Catalog with more info about the book: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland</span></a><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m in full-time writing mode on another book, a slice-of-life
biography of Doug Hegdahl, the youngest and lowest-ranking American service
member held as a POW in Hanoi during the Vietnam War, which will be published
by Stackpole Books, most likely next year. That's Doug after and during his two-year-plus years in the Hanoi Hilton. So, no book talks
scheduled for July.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwDYQtZUFRTP2F5O_OmpiN-SYlA4hWAfXPhFvaKoZr9xsil8QDf0Et_DqcXMXg3j9SMOLcf6oigNcrLedXKr73hVasFlaSvvwVWn5YAY0aBhW1Sy4ffHRNdKDc2G3SuNeVMWFD1931ZUROXigoGn0kimJO2_zQn0oQVRJApXm156P5YHwwJiqq8VbbvX7z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="572" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwDYQtZUFRTP2F5O_OmpiN-SYlA4hWAfXPhFvaKoZr9xsil8QDf0Et_DqcXMXg3j9SMOLcf6oigNcrLedXKr73hVasFlaSvvwVWn5YAY0aBhW1Sy4ffHRNdKDc2G3SuNeVMWFD1931ZUROXigoGn0kimJO2_zQn0oQVRJApXm156P5YHwwJiqq8VbbvX7z" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For details on other upcoming events, check
the Events page on my website: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">marcleepson@gmail.com</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I also have
a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of new
copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An
American Biography; Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and Wars
of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: You can read back issues of this
newsletter at </span><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-7931772133533460642023-06-09T14:22:00.000-04:002023-06-09T14:22:29.613-04:00June 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>June 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhE5UXFrcJKcTfbyezQEWbEKWzMb_FXXaRJ5SkVdZoiCTpAYZtsKRQKv9sWzCJv9zCbJAqshlrY9eIk4lPFRUj_Kl4SV-_RilOA3-arfiT-wCfKTfEU7aO7DlTB8dU98aMTTwtf2DBlv5Hq-_AGnBi2ipdqukDhHneF8TaFjjSVRyB02EATknhTmtdtZQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhE5UXFrcJKcTfbyezQEWbEKWzMb_FXXaRJ5SkVdZoiCTpAYZtsKRQKv9sWzCJv9zCbJAqshlrY9eIk4lPFRUj_Kl4SV-_RilOA3-arfiT-wCfKTfEU7aO7DlTB8dU98aMTTwtf2DBlv5Hq-_AGnBi2ipdqukDhHneF8TaFjjSVRyB02EATknhTmtdtZQ=w395-h75" width="395" /></a></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">IN HALLOWED REPOSE: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Visitors to Monticello who take in the fenced-in Jefferson family
graveyard about 2,000 feet from the house often presume that the small cemetery
conveyed with the property when Jefferson’s heirs sold Monticello. But that is
not the case.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The graveyard, containing Thomas Jefferson’s
gravesite and plots of many of his descendants and their families, was retained
by the family after they sold Monticello to James Turner Barclay in 1831, five
years after his death. The family continued to maintain and preserve the graveyard
after Barclay sold Monticello to Uriah Levy in 1834, when Jefferson Monroe Levy
took control in 1879, and when he sold the property to the Thomas Jefferson
Memorial Foundation in 1923.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZjfDm73A1L0Z9GO0dm5DPG_Q6P6C4HIy8rGfeBuIu6anOGO3CAbnSwgNryIW7RiVIlum7_aCbgSsvSZuqKTyY7UcxdU5-CER8LNmYpQEl2cFS0eSjl6Esrv2wlYH2qf9fD5TTrWk8n6O7PQktq29GLyBMwqztEriD_4skVDGKyTrW3l821U_Yx9vHA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="467" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZjfDm73A1L0Z9GO0dm5DPG_Q6P6C4HIy8rGfeBuIu6anOGO3CAbnSwgNryIW7RiVIlum7_aCbgSsvSZuqKTyY7UcxdU5-CER8LNmYpQEl2cFS0eSjl6Esrv2wlYH2qf9fD5TTrWk8n6O7PQktq29GLyBMwqztEriD_4skVDGKyTrW3l821U_Yx9vHA" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Since 1913, the graveyard has come under
the purview of the Monticello Association, a nonprofit founded that year. Most
of its members are lineal descendants of Thomas Jefferson.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Which brings us to a bit of drama surrounding Thomas Jefferson’s
grave that I just learned about—although it happened in 1882. I discovered it
while searching the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America historic newspaper
archive, which contains hundreds of thousands of searchable digitized images of
newspapers (mainly, but not exclusively, small and medium-sized city newspapers)
from 1770-1963.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">As I was searching for potential material
to use in this newsletter, I happened upon a few articles about a kerfuffle instigated
in 1882 by Thomas Jefferson’s oldest surviving grandchild, Septimia, so named because
she was the seventh (and last) daughter of Thomas Jefferson’s daughter Martha
Randolph and her husband Thomas Mann Randolph. <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Septimia Anne Randolph, was born on January 3, 1814, and grew up at Monticello. Not
long after Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, she moved to Boston with her mother
and younger brother George where she continued her education at the home of her
older sister Ellen, who had married Joseph Coolidge and moved north with him to
Massachusetts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Septimia
spent the next ten years living with relatives and family friends back home in
Virginia, in Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Florida, and in Havana, Cuba. While
in Havana, she met a Scottish doctor, David Scott Meikleham. They married on
August 13, 1838, at the Randolph family’s Edgehill Plantation near Monticello,
then moved to Havana. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">The couple
settled in New York City, where Dr. Meikleham practiced medicine until his
death on November 20, 1849. His early demise was a financial burden to Septimia
and her four children. To make ends meet, she ran a boardinghouse, then left New
York to return to Edgehill, and then moved to Washington, D.C., where she lived,
as one newspaper reported, with three of her “middle-aged” children “in a
humble cottage” in Georgetown, “which rents for $20 a month.” She died in Washington
at age 73, on September 14, 1887.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Septimia </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Meikleham (<i>in portrait below</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">) made national headlines in the
spring of 1882 when she announced that, as Jefferson’s oldest direct
descendant, she’d decided that her grandfather’s remains should be disinterred
from the family gravesite on the mountaintop in Charlottesville and reburied in
Glenwood Cemetery in Northeast Washington, D.C. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Glenwood,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> not far from the present-day Washington
Hospital Center, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">is the site of
the early 19<sup>th</sup> century Clover Hill Farm, which became a cemetery in
1854 and remains one today.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizXnpCF06r9g4ikoB3BN6t8Zk6Mm0bg3L4wZAuA9fu0oP9u1uIoGWH3jBYIKTwpNwn2nu4QqGHoIbajXRXWWHuAhzsGUIXsySK-UOBjGizDi1Mam84Q7E-uCxcVbfvPQoVSOcxXCpr-UQOpmkXVBsZLKr64YKVeoY2BfgKWq3YT-Q9lr2JP3n4xxzQQA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="382" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizXnpCF06r9g4ikoB3BN6t8Zk6Mm0bg3L4wZAuA9fu0oP9u1uIoGWH3jBYIKTwpNwn2nu4QqGHoIbajXRXWWHuAhzsGUIXsySK-UOBjGizDi1Mam84Q7E-uCxcVbfvPQoVSOcxXCpr-UQOpmkXVBsZLKr64YKVeoY2BfgKWq3YT-Q9lr2JP3n4xxzQQA=w298-h359" width="298" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The reason for the move, Septimia said, was
that the Monticello graveyard had “passed out of control of the family” three
years earlier, in 1879, when Jefferson Monroe Levy settled a family lawsuit
over Uriah Levy’s will and took ownership of the property. That simply was not
true as the graveyard never conveyed with the property and remained in the
hands of the descendants of her brother, Thomas Jefferson Randolph.
Nevertheless, the Glenwood Cemetery Board of Trustees agreed to accept
Jefferson’s remains at its June 1882 annual meeting.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The backlash came a few days after the meeting
when the heirs of Thomas Jefferson Randolph (who had died in 1875), the
co-executor of his grandfather’s will, hired an attorney to oppose the move.
The heirs “will not allow Jefferson’s remains to be moved to another cemetery,”
the attorney wrote to the Glenwood board. He also pointed out that the
graveyard did not convey with the sale of Monticello, and that T.J. Randolph’s heirs—not
Septimia—owned and managed the site. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">To his credit, Jefferson Monroe Levy spoke
out forcefully against Septimia <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Meikleham</span>
’s proposal. He was quoted at length in several newspapers giving the history
of the graveyard and making it clear he strongly opposed moving the Thomas
Jefferson’s remains from the place where he let it be known he wanted to rest
in peace.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The spot where Jefferson was buried was
selected by himself,” Levy said, “and there are peculiar reasons why his wishes
should be respected. When Jefferson and [his close friend and brother-in-law]
Dabney Carr were young men, they made an agreement that whichever of them should
die first should be buried by the survivor under a certain oak tree at
Monticello, which was a favorite with them both.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Dabney Carr died in France, in the time of
the Revolutionary War, and after the war was over, Jefferson, in accordance
with his agreement, had the body of Carr brought to this country and buried
under the oak. When Jefferson died, he expressed in his will his desire to be
buried in the same secluded spot beside his friend. He also left directions as
to the monument to be erected over him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">“His wife and children were buried in the
same spot of ground. The Randolph family has used it as burying ground ever
since.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbJDFQnykzZOjHs5-hMwDjatlso3ycewPamtFse8U5IpCPDZ0kYzq_vklscFchiED9LAqZbeykbXCIZau6cA2EDnhAPNCrBfaCiSxwFuT-TDyA5JQW4VEa-54ahEfqv2ZmcTVD2kEjSAJ88ISdFuJ4cfltwns-EHC3dz6mcgHbK1FiKsQnUMz0V0vpFw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="379" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbJDFQnykzZOjHs5-hMwDjatlso3ycewPamtFse8U5IpCPDZ0kYzq_vklscFchiED9LAqZbeykbXCIZau6cA2EDnhAPNCrBfaCiSxwFuT-TDyA5JQW4VEa-54ahEfqv2ZmcTVD2kEjSAJ88ISdFuJ4cfltwns-EHC3dz6mcgHbK1FiKsQnUMz0V0vpFw=w351-h263" width="351" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newspapers throughout the country agreed
with the other descendants and with Jefferson Levy, and editorialized against
the move, some of them intimating that Septimia pushed for the move for
financial gain. The St. Paul (Minnesota) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daily
Globe</i>, for example, editorialized on June 18, 1882, that </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-no-proof: yes;">Thomas Jefferson had
“the wish that his remains might rest forever undisturbed, and it was only left
for modern, mercenary ghouls to prepose to desecrate the hallow burial lot at
Monticello.”<br />
<br />
The editorial concluded: </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Would it
be anything short of sacrilege to remove from ground so hallowed, selected by
himself, for any purpose, and especially for a mercenary one, the remains of
the venerated patriot, philosopher and statesman? Let the remains rest
undisturbed, in hallowed repose, ‘until the last syllable of recorded time.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Glenwood Board took the hint and
dropped the matter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">HOUSE HISTORY NO. 2: </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you
go to the University of Virginia Press Fall 2023 catalog online and scroll down
the left side, you’ll get a preview of my next book. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huntland: The Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its
Owners</i>, which will be coming out in August. It’s my tenth book and my
second house history, along the lines of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>. Huntland, in Middleburg, Virginia, was built in 1834, and
certainly has lots of history, memorable owners, and a triumphant 21<sup>st</sup>
century historic preservation story. Stay tuned for more details. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s
the link for the U-Va. Press Fall Catalog; <a href="https://www.upress.virginia.edu/fall23.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1vkLbtxUcL8vk-XdC6AO9OrU-CfgI5KDi6iqQxvs5jAbkJE-NkU3Sz9Jc" target="_blank"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: blue; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://www.upress.virginia.edu/fall23.pdf</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Just one in June, a talk on my only Civil War book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Desperate Engagement</i>, the story of the
little-known but crucial July 11, 1864, Battle of Monocacy near Frederick,
Maryland, and Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s subsequent attack on Washington,
D.C., that takes place on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday, June
17</b>, for the Alexandria (Va.) Civil War Roundtable.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details on other upcoming events, check
the Events page on my website:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-6507739448552054392023-05-05T13:52:00.007-04:002023-08-03T15:33:18.950-04:00May 2023<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 5 May 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxScfEcQRnx6gWF_2BnZTq8C7Fk8kHd6rEyTbEvqaruhjFLqfjU-oeALcpFYtLqPvxmBS-l5TASxerdvuY6eUFhw6SP9nZWjrq0LK8Ck-Ps0Shb8NUrVK0xTDbAFx08lWlBMlhvaM_teNuHFHw4aTXICgF_uE7zHozQb8lfEz-HWAo8nzbhi2PK4E33w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxScfEcQRnx6gWF_2BnZTq8C7Fk8kHd6rEyTbEvqaruhjFLqfjU-oeALcpFYtLqPvxmBS-l5TASxerdvuY6eUFhw6SP9nZWjrq0LK8Ck-Ps0Shb8NUrVK0xTDbAFx08lWlBMlhvaM_teNuHFHw4aTXICgF_uE7zHozQb8lfEz-HWAo8nzbhi2PK4E33w=w400-h76" width="400" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">AN
EXCELLENT MAN: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As I found out while doing the
research for <i>Saving Monticello</i>,
Jefferson M. Levy, like his uncle Uriah P. Levy, was a New York City resident
who did not live full time at Monticello during the years (1879-1923) that he
owned it. But Jefferson Levy did spend considerable amounts of time, including many
summer weekends, at Thomas Jefferson’s Charlottesville, Virginia, “Essay in
Architecture” during the 44 years when he was its proud owner.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-4x03kAYZu2JY-bBwzeuqhSkI_Obon1-Hw0cioAlJHtndGNmfuoRgbWTxpaio5EMG24OiZWreCKbyBJByNN5ihnahslfV2ch_m19IlmJysuUC4hBQHakjo8Of8V7IXpZ_v0DOf7zvKX2baU2H0tJw2tu533Qev4jSeUfm97cZEwsfY8jJLHr4rYQyjg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="282" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-4x03kAYZu2JY-bBwzeuqhSkI_Obon1-Hw0cioAlJHtndGNmfuoRgbWTxpaio5EMG24OiZWreCKbyBJByNN5ihnahslfV2ch_m19IlmJysuUC4hBQHakjo8Of8V7IXpZ_v0DOf7zvKX2baU2H0tJw2tu533Qev4jSeUfm97cZEwsfY8jJLHr4rYQyjg=w130-h260" width="130" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I recently found more evidence to buttress the
fact that Jefferson Levy frequented Monticello regularly, especially in the
early twentieth century, in a recently digitized newspaper clipping. It’s
contained in one of the massive scrapbooks of clippings of newspaper articles*
in which Jefferson Levy (<i>in a 1914
newspaper photograph, right</i>) is mentioned in the archives of the Center
for Jewish History. You can browse through them online at <a href="https://bit.ly/JMLCollectionCJH">https://bit.ly/JMLCollectionCJH</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Said evidence: a brief, kind-of gossipy article
in the May 22, 1911, <i>New York Herald</i>,
on the occasion of JML’s “return to the halls of Congress.” Levy, an extremely
successful lawyer and real estate and stock speculator, had been re-elected to the
House of Representatives in the fall of 1910 and took his seat in March 1911. A
decade earlier he had served in the House for one term, from 1899-1901, representing
New York's 13th Congressional District in Manhattan.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Levy, a conservative Democrat, would be “an
excellent man for his district,” the article predicted, pointing to the fact
that he’d had experience on Capitol Hill with his earlier term in the House,
and that he therefore knew “the ropes and wires better than a new man.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The article went on to say that as proud as
he was to be a member of Congress, Jefferson Levy was “prouder yet,” of owning
Monticello, which in 1911 he had owned for more than three decades. Keeping up the
“reputation for hospitality” that Monticello “enjoyed in Jefferson’s time,” the
article noted, Levy “takes down a gay party of his cronies nearly every
week-end.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I couldn’t help pondering the ironic fact that at the time the
article was published and Jefferson Levy was hosting regular jolly parties at
Monticello, the ardent Thomas Jefferson devotee Maud Littleton was launching
her national campaign to take Monticello from him and turn it into a government-run
house museum—a campaign, as I show <i>in
Saving Monticello</i>, tainted by the stench of anti-Semitism.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">After resolving that the property should
not belong to Jefferson Levy, Maud Littleton spent the first half of 1911
furthering her knowledge of the history of Monticello. That resulted in her
writing and publishing “One Wish,” a sixteen-page tract mailed out to
influential friends around the country that summer. That emotional plea for an
end to the Levy family’s ownership of Monticello was the start of a bitter,
contentious, three-year battle between Mrs. Littleton and her allies and
Jefferson Monroe Levy and his supporters over who would own Monticello.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The bitterness ended in the fall of 1914
when Jefferson Levy—who once said that he would sell Monticello only when the
White House was for sale—agreed to let the government have the house and its
600-plus acres, plus all its furniture and furnishings, for $500,000. That
mollified Maud Littleton, but the sale never happened as Congress couldn’t come
to grips with the asking price.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">All interest in Monticello on Capitol Hill ended
when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917. Five years after the war Jefferson
Levy sold Monticello to the newly formed Thomas Jefferson Foundation for his
$500,000 asking price.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0pxlvGUC6L066w-e5ReHyCvK4gvdch8D4PvWXYpf9M1Os3XS9w3eiCIEFy_YOs7tACLHu7gV7iON6bOQvc5eZDey5EPGIRk0NHENiR9t018gYLv9ktQb2elprTbM9Qk5sEm3Y2RMFhd6O-Jp90GLCDKCJJepamJmQpEM_13esBjsnpVTH4TdsGkf4QQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="642" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0pxlvGUC6L066w-e5ReHyCvK4gvdch8D4PvWXYpf9M1Os3XS9w3eiCIEFy_YOs7tACLHu7gV7iON6bOQvc5eZDey5EPGIRk0NHENiR9t018gYLv9ktQb2elprTbM9Qk5sEm3Y2RMFhd6O-Jp90GLCDKCJJepamJmQpEM_13esBjsnpVTH4TdsGkf4QQ=w369-h258" width="369" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">*</span><span style="color: #2f5597; font-size: 12pt;">Those big scrapbooks, which I went through page-by-page at the
Center for Jewish History archives back in pre-digital days (1999), are made up
primarily of newspaper articles in which Jefferson Levy is mentioned. He
employed a clipping service, a long-gone, pre-Internet business that searched
for and then physically cut out newspaper articles and sent them to clients.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2f5597; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #2F5597; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent5; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 191;">When I started my journalism career in 1974 at Congressional
Quarterly we had two full-time people serving as our in-house clipping service.
Every day they’d go through scores of daily newspapers with a red pencil searching
for topics that the magazine’s and other CQ news services’ reporters were
working on and then “clip” them out with a metal ruler and deliver them to us. That
low-tech “search engine” had nothing on Google, but it worked very well back in
the 1900s.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">MEA CULPA: URIAH
LEVY’S WORTH: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the April issue I mentioned that, as I wrote in <i>Saving Monticello</i>, Uriah Levy </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">was listed as one of the
wealthiest men in Manhattan in the 1855 edition of Moses Beach’s <i>The Wealth and Biography of the Wealthy
Citizens of the City of New York</i>. And that Beach estimated Levy to be worth
$500,000.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
I had an email from an attentive newsletter subscriber, Harry Zimmerman, who
said that while doing research for a play he is writing about Uriah Levy, he
came across the Beach book and saw that the figure was not $500,000, but $250,000.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I checked my files and he is correct, as you can
see from the image of the entry below—although the comma looks like a period
and the last zero somehow was dropped. How I managed to double that figure when
I wrote the book more than </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">twenty
years ago escapes me. But it happened. And if the book ever goes into a second
edition, I will correct that error.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiET89VTKZfdE3DQ1KP49Qf7W9vEeKxnvnYzJdW1T8vBep3shacjE2XJiweAVGqVmVQBzat5w8xXAR5AdQzk0nMniTIl-mrp2IbTZ5oElXvnbgGDLjRCqIAqcuoR4VeBFct8acX3LGYDI3V5mBW_68tcBsMprNYJqPP8t4ZSvplQ4TxdokWx46ta4DdRA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="662" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiET89VTKZfdE3DQ1KP49Qf7W9vEeKxnvnYzJdW1T8vBep3shacjE2XJiweAVGqVmVQBzat5w8xXAR5AdQzk0nMniTIl-mrp2IbTZ5oElXvnbgGDLjRCqIAqcuoR4VeBFct8acX3LGYDI3V5mBW_68tcBsMprNYJqPP8t4ZSvplQ4TxdokWx46ta4DdRA=w400-h161" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That
misstep got me thinking about how much $250,000 in 1855 would be worth today. So
I went online and found several inflation calculator websites. I also found out
that the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">sites use educated guesses for
pre-1913 inflation figures because the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics only began </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">tabulating inflation data in 1913.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I went to three inflation
calculator sites, plugged in $250,000 and 1855, and they all came up with approximately
the same figure: that Uriah P, Levy that year was worth the equivalent of more
than $8.5 million in 2023.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE DOC</span></b>: <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Steven Pressman’s great documentary, “The Levys of
Monticello,” which was inspired by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>, is making its last round of film festivals this spring. Next up
is a screening in Brookline, Mass., on May 8 during the National Center for
Jewish Film’s annual Film Festival. For info, go to </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">https://bit.ly/ScreeningBoston </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvQ1IbyYe_yMO88KBzlRerkaWqZ-MUID55erqht6Sbf2WCZYFjM7gTmSJyDaZ0g2pillUJ9ENkoP-Yg-7rmqkDCUykt0c4FAOpWBBanr_S20N-rneP_01mSedB9ew5wYGetKfQq4AKSMX0qF3EXKMCm78fAAeH8k_WaQ_0Zw2OzSqXzpTtG1w7gOdNA/s960/Mass%20Historical%20Society,%20May%202017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="960" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvQ1IbyYe_yMO88KBzlRerkaWqZ-MUID55erqht6Sbf2WCZYFjM7gTmSJyDaZ0g2pillUJ9ENkoP-Yg-7rmqkDCUykt0c4FAOpWBBanr_S20N-rneP_01mSedB9ew5wYGetKfQq4AKSMX0qF3EXKMCm78fAAeH8k_WaQ_0Zw2OzSqXzpTtG1w7gOdNA/s320/Mass%20Historical%20Society,%20May%202017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Here are details about my May author events:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tuesday,
May 9</b>, I’ll be doing a talk and book signing on the life of Francis Scott
Key, based on my book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What So Proudly We
Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life</i>, at the McLean (Virginia) Historical
Society.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tuesday,
May 23</b>, the topic will be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>
for my talk and book signing for the Resident Forum speaker series at the Heritage
Hunt Retirement Community in Gainesville, Virginia.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
details on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-62950373227197309792023-04-08T13:36:00.002-04:002023-04-09T18:33:45.301-04:00April 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 4<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>April 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjylZJwmrbjKP30r1N759WF8G_xwyD16D_xEHsUkp18lEEAxiqFU-b_rAjmVVjQZfCHjYFRD8aNy1LbVBgsQa91NDQxW3WEmOr3tI8DatlBVVhy2yNMYbiTRoXy5hlBLU7ql51xmyBWK2iB_4ETg7iH6WvUXcMW_aPeYuVzGnLItWfnnvBMCwjMKVy8tQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjylZJwmrbjKP30r1N759WF8G_xwyD16D_xEHsUkp18lEEAxiqFU-b_rAjmVVjQZfCHjYFRD8aNy1LbVBgsQa91NDQxW3WEmOr3tI8DatlBVVhy2yNMYbiTRoXy5hlBLU7ql51xmyBWK2iB_4ETg7iH6WvUXcMW_aPeYuVzGnLItWfnnvBMCwjMKVy8tQ=w353-h67" width="353" /></a></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">URIAH LEVY’S BUSINESS
DEALINGS: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">People
often ask me how Uriah Levy, a U.S. Navy lieutenant, had the means to buy
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in 1834, and then oversee repairing and restoring
it, and then run the house and plantation until his death in 1862. The short
answer is that Levy, who was born in 1792 and started his Navy career in 1812,
made a small fortune mainly through savvy real estate dealings in New York.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
As I wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, when
the 35-year-old Navy lieutenant (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in
uniform, in the painting below, circa 1815</i>) moved to New York City in
January 1828, he began investing in real estate. That year he bought three
rooming houses in Greenwich Village, two on Duane Street and one on Greenwich
Street. Levy subsequently purchased seven additional rooming houses in the
Village and elsewhere in lower Manhattan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a propitious time to do so.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGcc3pGQtVPKg6HerwHVBK5AGl3Q7G8X8wfRgoDgLkTPG2pkKUKq8VjH2hl89gtIBwD3nj3CGjnMv7W8aStC2DUGoxXBDKwdlKEom9Vc5hTHPAFNbQ0u9NJRVayt1cUtT2ujOslXSKI7dY2dA1DP4fCvOK5SaC8ypUNUWsMRPv573c6KwIf1AGym7GIg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="286" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGcc3pGQtVPKg6HerwHVBK5AGl3Q7G8X8wfRgoDgLkTPG2pkKUKq8VjH2hl89gtIBwD3nj3CGjnMv7W8aStC2DUGoxXBDKwdlKEom9Vc5hTHPAFNbQ0u9NJRVayt1cUtT2ujOslXSKI7dY2dA1DP4fCvOK5SaC8ypUNUWsMRPv573c6KwIf1AGym7GIg=w295-h400" width="295" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Greenwich
Village experienced a growth spurt in the 1820s. As the old farming village’s streets
were paved and sidewalks flagged, the area’s population increased, property </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">values rose and hundreds of new businesses opened. It
became home to carpenters, masons, painters, stonecutters, and other
blue-collar workers, soon followed by middle-class merchants and tradesmen.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Levy
amassed a not inconsiderable fortune through his New York City real estate
holdings. In 1855, he was listed as one of the wealthiest men in Manhattan in Moses
Y. Beach’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wealth and Biography of
the Wealthy Citizens of the City of New York</i>. Beach estimated Levy to be
worth $500,000. He and August Belmont (1816-90), the German-born banker and
diplomat, were the only Jewish people on Beach’s list.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
That was the extent of my knowledge about Uriah Levy’s business dealings—until
a few weeks ago. That’s when I received an email from Lori Kimball, a historian
and archivist who specializes in the history of Loudoun County, Virginia—where
we both live.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Lori
told me that in her work in the Historic Records Room at the Loudoun County
Courthouse in Leesburg she and her colleague Eric Larson had come across two
documents that showed that Uriah P. Levy had other business dealings aside from
those in New York City.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">One
was a May 17, 1834, Deed of Trust, in which Uriah Levy “in the Navy of the
United States,” his cousin Mordechai Noah, and a man named James Monroe (not
the President, who lived in Loudoun, but had died in 1831), “both of the city
of New York,” loaned $6,000 to a prominent Loudoun County citizen, George Rust,
and his wife Maria Clagett Rust.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1_ktzJzbjECclqFsQrr73Y5c81V3BNkXo5YIH3akWk_YB88cEJeyodj8vmUzIbLWDn5JZ5quOt8rEd441Eidf79-O6QVsrAeBi0VEfKSUdLei6fwQV5kfQnkSmAZ3l_cpgQWI0HoCtJ-RPRMVk-ScldHvpVftXEcCNmokJKqn1-p91J3TfRzjgrbSJA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="443" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1_ktzJzbjECclqFsQrr73Y5c81V3BNkXo5YIH3akWk_YB88cEJeyodj8vmUzIbLWDn5JZ5quOt8rEd441Eidf79-O6QVsrAeBi0VEfKSUdLei6fwQV5kfQnkSmAZ3l_cpgQWI0HoCtJ-RPRMVk-ScldHvpVftXEcCNmokJKqn1-p91J3TfRzjgrbSJA" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
Rusts put up three piece of property as collateral for the loan: Rockland, his 503-acre
country home outside Leesburg, a parcel of land in the town of Leesburg, and a
44-acre tract on the Potomac River. They made the semi-annual 7 percent
interest payments on the loan for nearly six years. Then, as a February 3,
1840, Deed of Release (<i>in the above image</i>)
showed, George Rust paid back the principal four years later, and Levy and
company released the properties.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This
fairly high-level business deal led me to two questions. Was Uriah Levy in
the habit of lending money? And did he venture to Loudoun County in May
1834—about a month after he purchased Monticello? Going through my research
materials accumulated over the last 25 years, I was unable to find the answer
to either question.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">My
supposition is that it’s unlikely this was the only such loan Uriah Levy made
and that he could have been in Loudoun at this time as we know that he was in
Albemarle County about a hundred miles south of Leesburg in the spring of 1834.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">But
that’s conjecture, and I will continue to look for evidence of Levy’s other
business dealings and his travels to the northwestern part of Virginia. Stay
tuned.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqf-0pq3L5NO6pw9XV0WyKBga4GFp72xtoa_7fJvQv2OhKMTnWBuYDc_5ny7bAbsTXg7LZhk5WOrb9Rw-aK8Uw4vs5tU9_VVVpvXUffkC_L1UntvhekT6y94yBRp3oeVQJzflgQzYe9pBVConxReWiGzV0hjA-EeKmkP6mgC9rA7lKih8Sm1f9crh09Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="530" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqf-0pq3L5NO6pw9XV0WyKBga4GFp72xtoa_7fJvQv2OhKMTnWBuYDc_5ny7bAbsTXg7LZhk5WOrb9Rw-aK8Uw4vs5tU9_VVVpvXUffkC_L1UntvhekT6y94yBRp3oeVQJzflgQzYe9pBVConxReWiGzV0hjA-EeKmkP6mgC9rA7lKih8Sm1f9crh09Q" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Postscript</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: On the signature page of
the Deed of Trust, as you can see in the image above, Uriah Levy (barely
legibly) signed his name, “U.P. Levy of Monticello.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 1.2pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE
RIMONIM, PART II: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Last month I
reported on the two ornate eighteenth century silver Torah finials called Rimonim
that had been at the center of a dispute between Congregation Shearith Israel in
New York and Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. I mentioned that they
had been on loan to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and illustrated the posting
with a generic image of Rimonim. Then I learned, through emails from attentive
newsletter subscribers, that the finials are still on display at FMA, and that
the Museum’s website includes a photo (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">below</i>)
of them, along with excellent interpretation, which provides more details about
the unique—and valuable—objects.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 1.2pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj432-WntoWW0hDzcF62AarUqmK1_0o2M_RALfqUbvNgOG610B5pfOeNssTYmZAmMu-b2wu2o2klfXD1QkhhBhm-Qdh-DBKg6NSeP64Lnx5NDz2fuXs_4ceM9w1y7FzR2Et1txPAlkgAlIcM3Nxp9sdfmNs51v7UZ_0eDId0tr0HT8-KqIsZ_UE_kMDEg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="441" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj432-WntoWW0hDzcF62AarUqmK1_0o2M_RALfqUbvNgOG610B5pfOeNssTYmZAmMu-b2wu2o2klfXD1QkhhBhm-Qdh-DBKg6NSeP64Lnx5NDz2fuXs_4ceM9w1y7FzR2Et1txPAlkgAlIcM3Nxp9sdfmNs51v7UZ_0eDId0tr0HT8-KqIsZ_UE_kMDEg=w318-h400" width="318" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Rimonims’
finial bells make “festive sounds when they are carried around the synagogue,”
the museum notes. “Their Hebrew name ‘Rimonim’ means pomegranates, because of
the round shape recalling the biblical symbolic fruit</span>.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“This splendid pair, on loan from Congregation Shearith Israel in New York
(est. 1654), is an exceptionally rare example of colonial American Judaica.
They were made by Myer Myers, a Jewish silversmith who led the market in
18th-century New York.” Myers “produced luxury silverware for both domestic and
religious use for [his] Jewish and non-Jewish clients.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“These finials hold a very special place in Jewish American history…. They were
… probably in the</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 12pt;"> Newport synagogue during George
Washington’s famous visit on August 18th, 1790. Today the New York congregation
uses the beautiful Rimonim during the High Holidays.”</span><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The U.S.S. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">LEVY</i>: </span></b>As I reported in S<i>aving Monticello</i>, the first time the
United States Navy honored Uriah Levy’s exceptional 50-year naval career
came during World War II when a destroyer escort was christened the USS Levy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That ship, one of the first of its kind in the Navy, served
in the southern and central Pacific from August 1943 through the end of the war
two years later, seeing action in many engagements, including the two-month
Battle of the Philippine Sea in the summer of 1944. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In August and September 1945 the ship’s officers took part
in surrender ceremonies of the Japanese Navy in the southeastern Marshall
Islands. They negotiated and accepted the surrender of Mille (sometimes spelled
Mili) Atoll on August 21 and witnessed the surrender of Jaluit Atoll later that
month. On September 4, the Japanese officially surrendered Wake Island to
Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Lawson. H. M. Sanderson aboard the Levy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not long after Saving Monticello came out in
November 2001, my friend Julie Coles told me that her late father, Daniel F.
Evans, had served as a 22-year-old gunnery officer on the ship during the war.
And that he took part in the surrender ceremonies. Then, just last week, she
sent me the image at left that her father kept in his scrapbook. <o:p></o:p></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 7.5pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGuTDNm20kaxzEMpJgaSZWZd3oTrNGxZ0XG_zTzrGB20nnqVs1qguGIAjmu82EOaPQHX-ofZFnvWyNGBv0-n_bWcX6XeVGK0xsYZyHM-Hnb8jo2dZLIUj93s9CwJtBjhnEBQ2mW-r9azXa9fO_76tMVzzqDOT0DvJJFnuO0r-y05R88nrtj8MppzxtXw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="444" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGuTDNm20kaxzEMpJgaSZWZd3oTrNGxZ0XG_zTzrGB20nnqVs1qguGIAjmu82EOaPQHX-ofZFnvWyNGBv0-n_bWcX6XeVGK0xsYZyHM-Hnb8jo2dZLIUj93s9CwJtBjhnEBQ2mW-r9azXa9fO_76tMVzzqDOT0DvJJFnuO0r-y05R88nrtj8MppzxtXw=w359-h361" width="359" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">That’s Daniel Evans with the binoculars around his neck,
saluting one of the three Japanese officers who came on board on August 21,
most likely Navy Capt. Masanori Shigaone <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Julie told me that her father
said that he and Lt. Cmdr. William Clarenback (<i>to <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Evans’ lef</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>t</i>) were chosen to greet the Japanese officers because they
were tall men and their commanding officer Capt. Harold B. Grow wanted them
there to tower over and humiliate the Japanese. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">She also said her father told
her that after the picture was taken the officer committed ritual suicide.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You can find more info on the
U.S.S. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Levy </i>during World War II on
two excellent, well-illustrated web sites:<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://bit.ly/USSLevy">https://bit.ly/USSLevy</a>
</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">and</span> <a href="https://bit.ly/4USSLevyPhotos">https://bit.ly/4USSLevyPhotos</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE DOC</span></b>:
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Steven Pressman’s great documentary, “The Levys
of Monticello,” which was inspired by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>, continues to appear at film festivals across the country. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wednesday, April 19</b>, there’ll be an in-person
screening at the Center for Jewish History at the American Jewish Historical
Society in New York City. For details, go to: <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/AJHSLevys">https://bit.ly/AJHSLevys</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
had a screening on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">March 14</b> at The
Hill School in Middleburg, Virginia, where I live, sponsored by our town’s
library friends group, the Middleburg Library Advisory Board. It was a great
event, after which I took questions from the audience and then signed copies of
the book at the best book-signing table I’ve ever had, which was set up by a
local shop, Crème de la Crème. Yes, that’s a lamp, a potted plant, and two
table cloths adorning the table. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Here are details about my four events in April:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sunday</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">April 2</b>, talk on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>, and book signing at Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn’s
Landing, Pennsylvania. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tuesday, April 11,</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> talk for the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp, in Winchester,
Virginia, on my only Civil War book, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Engagement-Little-Known-Washington-American/dp/0312382235/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=" target="_blank">Desperate Engagement</a></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Saturday, April 15,</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> talk at historic City Tavern in Washington,
D.C. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">on<span style="color: #333333;"> </span><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-So-Proudly-We-Hailed/dp/1137278285" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">the life of Francis Scott Key</span></a></span></u><i><span style="color: #333333;">, </span></i><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">s</span><span style="color: #333333;">ponsored by the </span><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://citytaverndc.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">City Tavern Preservation Foundation</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333;">.<i> </i>This is a free event and is open to the
public, with registration required through Eventbrite at </span><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/551699807977"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.eventbrite.com/e/551699807977</span></a></span></u></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Sunday,
April 16, </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">talk<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">on </span><i><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Engagement-Little-Known-Washington-American/dp/0312382235" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Desperate Engagement</span></a></span></u></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">for the Washington, D.C., chapter of
the<b> </b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Daughters of the
Union Veterans of the Civil War<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
For details on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-70140782663115473172023-03-09T15:53:00.008-05:002023-03-10T07:59:07.965-05:00March 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>March 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9RRDkWUCIDKYRG5t0YX_axvSFuqq1eCS2bHR9mN452d-u1M2g3BWCx_45QJvpfULNjx-Td5SyKFbzH71cLvoHgitrE50uJLlfCr5uIqDlqZ23TfdmKPLoG28V4nFe7KTtGCyoIaTOq_wah-mkMWpot2JTXwNTd04G2uNGyODqq8OJt2hI8mwrGVB4gQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9RRDkWUCIDKYRG5t0YX_axvSFuqq1eCS2bHR9mN452d-u1M2g3BWCx_45QJvpfULNjx-Td5SyKFbzH71cLvoHgitrE50uJLlfCr5uIqDlqZ23TfdmKPLoG28V4nFe7KTtGCyoIaTOq_wah-mkMWpot2JTXwNTd04G2uNGyODqq8OJt2hI8mwrGVB4gQ=w456-h87" width="456" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">SHEARITH ISRAEL V.
TOURO: </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s a quick, two-part Jewish-American History quiz that has connections to the Levy and Nunez families: Name
the oldest Jewish Congregation in the United States and the oldest synagogue in
the country. Hint: They are two different entities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you said Shearith Israel in New York City and Touro
Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, you are correct. Congregation Shearith
Israel has the distinction of being the first Jewish Congregation in the
nation, having been founded in 1654 by Sephardic Jews who had immigrated to
Nieuw Amsterdam, as the city was then known, from Brazil.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Touro Synagogue, formally known as Jeshuat Israel, is the
second oldest congregation, having been founded a few years later, also by
Sephardic Jews. But it holds the honor of being the oldest American synagogue,
as its current building was erected 1763.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shearith Israel’s massive Beaux Arts building on Central
Park West (the Congregation’s fourth, <i>in photo below</i>) is a relative newcomer,
having been completed in 1897. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigDp8fc9IhBGkunMspq_qjELvkhH_zHTWYqhhAQvqoTAnpyRP2ZpNHZCcrMTRxfNVvORrNcwVX-ovHDoynxQV4b5NCLfEsUQQoBH0D37Zew2omewAXoe0oPB1fvcPUNjreK1lUYKynlBLOzvOZhE5vXWH7mIvmUvx0TidGfr2badgXizOEKt4gLOEJqQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="469" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigDp8fc9IhBGkunMspq_qjELvkhH_zHTWYqhhAQvqoTAnpyRP2ZpNHZCcrMTRxfNVvORrNcwVX-ovHDoynxQV4b5NCLfEsUQQoBH0D37Zew2omewAXoe0oPB1fvcPUNjreK1lUYKynlBLOzvOZhE5vXWH7mIvmUvx0TidGfr2badgXizOEKt4gLOEJqQ=w347-h291" width="347" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Members of the Nunez and Levy families have been associated
with Shearith Israel since around 1735 when Uriah Levy’s great grandmother
Maria Caetana Nunez (known as Zipporah), and her husband, David Mendes Machado,
moved to New York from Savannah, Georgia, when he was appointed hazzan at
Shearith Israel. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fast forwarding to the late 19th century, Louis
Napoleon Levy—Jefferson Levy’s brother, fellow attorney, and real estate
business partner—served as the president of Shearith Israel for many years
beginning in 1895.* <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Which brings us to something I just learned: the longtime
and not always harmonious relationship between Shearith Israel and Tou</span><span style="font-size: large;">ro,
and L. Napoleon Levy’s role in the late 1890s and early 1900s dispute between
the two congregations that had its roots in the mid-18th century—and
ramifications that continued until 2019. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 1.2pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s a very long and complicated story, spelled out in legal
documents that run to hundreds of pages. What follows is a short summary of the
dispute, which centered on which party owned the physical Touro building
and religious ornaments housed there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The ownership question hinged on the fact
that in the mid-1700s religious institutions in Rhode Island could not
incorporate or own land. So when a group of Jews in Newport raised the funds to
buy land for its synagogue—including money donated by Shearith Israel—three
community leaders were chosen to serve as trustees for the building and land:
Jacob Rodrigues Rivera, Moses Levy, and Isaac Hart. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Soon after that, around the time the Touro Synagogue
was consecrated in 1763, a noted silversmith named Myer Myers made an elaborate
pair of silver Rimonim (finials for the synagogue’s Torah) for the
congregation. In 1793, after most of Newport’s Jews departed the city during
the Revolutionary War, regular services ended; by 1822, there were no Jewish
people in the city.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Some of the departed Newport Jews joined
Shearith Israel. They brought with them the Rimonim and other religious articles,
which were kept at Shearith Israel for safekeeping, with the understanding that
they would be returned to Touro once worship services started again. The word
“Newport” was engraved on their bases so as not to confuse them with a similar
pair owned by Shearith Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the time that Touro (<i>below</i>) was inoperative
Shearith Israel helped take care of the synagogue, including holding the
building’s keys and making it available for occasional funerals, high holiday services,
and special occasions. During that time period, too, Shearith Israel
became the official trustee for Touro—although as with the case of the original
and subsequent trustees, Shearith Israel never owned the building or the
Rimonim. </span><o:p style="font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMKdzSJ57eyzHqRAk1p7MMghDWCyYwIMzhFrm4eo_8B1Xjcah5moZnDJsJr9ahWXDowT6G6418LeNJbmut9R8ZpGBczSwlhD65ykAsCSX6MxNgN7rYjEWiF3ghkvQSpB1oqoEpBbCzSysdZxIWRqp_HHPcQUWvSEqUcyAyM4lI3wXWA_0fi1U3VdhabQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="543" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMKdzSJ57eyzHqRAk1p7MMghDWCyYwIMzhFrm4eo_8B1Xjcah5moZnDJsJr9ahWXDowT6G6418LeNJbmut9R8ZpGBczSwlhD65ykAsCSX6MxNgN7rYjEWiF3ghkvQSpB1oqoEpBbCzSysdZxIWRqp_HHPcQUWvSEqUcyAyM4lI3wXWA_0fi1U3VdhabQ=w342-h219" width="342" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the
1870s Jews began returning to Newport and religious services began again at
Touro. The new rabbi, Abraham Pereira Mendes of London (<i>in photo below</i>), was chosen by Shearith
Israel, in its role as Touro’s trustee. In 1894, the Rhode Island Legislature
granted articles of incorporation to the newly named Jeshuat Israel congregation
which to this day worships at Touro Synagogue.</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Shearith Israel returned the Rimonim to
Jeshuat Israel in the late 1800s or early 1900s. During that time, though, a
series of legal battles took place between Shearith Israel and Touro over the
former’s concern that Newport synagogue was moving away from Sephardic forms of
worship. To make matters more complicated, in March 1899 Touro’s congregants
split into two groups, both claiming control of the synagogue. Following
several lawsuits, the synagogue temporarily closed.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI2ktaICrnomTbGUyNtgae76_euQvo7_mcXt3fc75w6COUC6O_1xNrFPIKaUriKjn9Y0K5CNbv3gRrnteKf-CaTjwsBAuRVtWr0NOGVqDpT82xx7d9vyF2NbNuMqg1JnNP-GE2-6VbhmuMxHCCT00lnjA3MMmfknzPdJb8w-lnBpXH_WITBJ716WcIsQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI2ktaICrnomTbGUyNtgae76_euQvo7_mcXt3fc75w6COUC6O_1xNrFPIKaUriKjn9Y0K5CNbv3gRrnteKf-CaTjwsBAuRVtWr0NOGVqDpT82xx7d9vyF2NbNuMqg1JnNP-GE2-6VbhmuMxHCCT00lnjA3MMmfknzPdJb8w-lnBpXH_WITBJ716WcIsQ" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">One group, calling itself “Touro
Congregation,” tried to hold services in the building, but was forcibly removed.
There was a brief reconciliation, but on January 1, 1901, Shearith Israel and like-minded
Touro congregants closed the synagogue. A year later, a group made up primarily
of members of the self-described Touro Congregation broke into the building to
pray and then staged a sit-in. It lasted for a year during which regular
religious services were held.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Meanwhile the Newport and New York congregations
faced off in the courts. A federal judge ruled in January 1903 for Shearith
Israel in a case that was argued by L. Napoleon Levy, the congregation’s
president. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">David v. Levy</i> Jeshuat
Israel, agreed “to admit and recognize without qualification the title and
ownership of L. Napoleon Levy and acting trustees [of Shearith Israel] to the
synagogue building, premises and fixtures…”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6iXRS4YDuMycc9VQm__HT5YcrUE4_O1YlEvsxUABGuQ8vcDw1Fj8ybZ-FygFKQ88nkbH9VwK0UBAv4jCkMz31J-5R7oBfJSnF0YqhAw0u-P3fcyuD8vbDgNdb7CiwfJT1H1N6YhHDhQdGIKdd7ln9GEXP-OoATXfusc1ErjEV1W6N6ZybhcSFBRuyHA" style="background-color: #fafafa; clear: left; display: inline; float: left; font-size: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="482" data-original-width="338" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6iXRS4YDuMycc9VQm__HT5YcrUE4_O1YlEvsxUABGuQ8vcDw1Fj8ybZ-FygFKQ88nkbH9VwK0UBAv4jCkMz31J-5R7oBfJSnF0YqhAw0u-P3fcyuD8vbDgNdb7CiwfJT1H1N6YhHDhQdGIKdd7ln9GEXP-OoATXfusc1ErjEV1W6N6ZybhcSFBRuyHA" title="Rimonim" width="168" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The court ruling also ordered L. Napoleon
Levy and the acting trustees to “make a lease thereof to the Congregation
Jeshuat Israel for five years from February 1, 1903, at the nominal rent of one
dollar year.” Not long after that ruling Jeshuat Israel chose its first
Ashkenazic rabbi, Jacob M. Seidel, while agreeing to conduct services using
Sephardic rituals.</span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #212121; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #212121; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">That situation remained in
effect—with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jeshuat Israel </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">running Touro Synagogue, Shearith Israel acting as
trustee for the building—for more than a century. Then, in 2012, the two
congregations once again faced off after the Touro moved to sell some items to
raise funds for restoring its building. That included, according to court
documents, a $7.4 million offer from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for the
Rimonim.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On June 29, 2012, Shearith
Israel issued a letter demanding that Jeshuat Israel cease and desist from
selling the Rimonim, based on the fact that it remained the trustee of the
building and its contents. When mediation attempts failed, both sides were to
trial in 2015. The case is officially called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Congregation Jeshuat Israel v. Congregation Shearith Israel.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A year after a U.S. District
Court Judge ruled in 2016 against Shearith Israel the congregation appealed
that order to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, which overturned the
decision. Touro appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which
declined to take up the case on March 18, 2019. And today the Rimonim remain in
Touro—and Shearith Israel remains the trustee of Touro Synagogue.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At least that’s how I read it. You can read the detailed
history of the entire matter—up to the 2016 ruling—on line at <a href="https://bit.ly/TourovShearith">https://bit.ly/TourovShearith</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">************************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #c00000; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">*As for L. Napoleon Levy’s
presidency of the Shearith Israel Congregation, I mentioned in the January
newsletter that he held that office from 1895-1896. That was not correct. In
fact, L. N. Levy was president of Shearith Israel for much longer.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> How much longer I am still
trying to find out, but I have found primary source materials showing that he
was president in the following years: 1897, 1908, 1910, 1919, 1920, and 1921
and very likely in the years in between. L.N. Levy died at age 66 on April 9,
1921<i>.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif;">THE DOC</span></b>: <span>Steven Pressman’s great documentary, “The Levys of
Monticello,” continues to appear at film festivals across the country. Here are
details on three upcoming screenings:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><o:p> </o:p></span><span>On </span><b>Sunday, March 13</b><span>, it will be shown at the St. Louis Jewish
Community Center as part of the 28</span><sup>th</sup><span> annual St. Louis Jewish Film
Festival. Details: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/StLouisJFF">https://bit.ly/StLouisJFF</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: medium;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wednesday,
March 22</b>, it will be part of the New Hampshire Jewish Film festival with a
in-theater screen. Steve Pressman will take part in a Q&A following the
screening. Details: <a href="https://tinyurl.com/47sydvf3">https://tinyurl.com/47sydvf3</a><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On <b>Wednesday, April 19</b>, There’ll
be an in person screening at the Center for Jewish History at the American
Jewish Historical Society in New York City. Details: <a href="https://bit.ly/AJHSLevys">https://bit.ly/AJHSLevys</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">:</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> The
highlight of my March is a Q&A I will be doing on <b>Tuesday, March 14</b>, at the Hill School auditorium in Middleburg,
Virginia, following a screening of “The Levys of Monticello.” The event, sponsored by the Middleburg Library Advisory Board (the Library's Friends group)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> begins
at 6:00 p.m. Details:</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> <a href="https://bit.ly/ScreeningMB">https://bit.ly/ScreeningMB</a></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHdBj-TCDKCtA2DpdKOm3co_Mnx1AmijJ_GDe4rAwuP9QgqOc7wvRyCYYiqQiJQqpyaVO2nykUoVGtL_sMbXCV4xLYX5lGaaPWNWf9_uzm7paXXzI1_8BP3bI0nErVtt0Rjqnsd3lbCpc5V_80lXzNywrM5bb6T3P6sxsiciU644QbQeJ14vukSoNYqw" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="553" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHdBj-TCDKCtA2DpdKOm3co_Mnx1AmijJ_GDe4rAwuP9QgqOc7wvRyCYYiqQiJQqpyaVO2nykUoVGtL_sMbXCV4xLYX5lGaaPWNWf9_uzm7paXXzI1_8BP3bI0nErVtt0Rjqnsd3lbCpc5V_80lXzNywrM5bb6T3P6sxsiciU644QbQeJ14vukSoNYqw=w331-h245" width="331" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> <br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> or for any of my other books, email me at </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
For details on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-5982369756095469642023-02-05T16:13:00.002-05:002023-02-05T16:13:49.957-05:00February 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>February 2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c1839; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ0v4mWMvqXZLOH-dz-17ATuuuI48jxU_P7UwlgVCp4tIcwZ56EOHpC7ZIca6J_Cq5Kz3KPV_MYSPE-zhWSyRqKYi2tm7YHAjw7CKh6YEQytRUfDYtepr1JtYSBFl4Q3zlxbNZ68ES5PDKx9S9GGsjEkGRwnTXK9xTv0U4jZqQqAr9uBLBpwtb229FiA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ0v4mWMvqXZLOH-dz-17ATuuuI48jxU_P7UwlgVCp4tIcwZ56EOHpC7ZIca6J_Cq5Kz3KPV_MYSPE-zhWSyRqKYi2tm7YHAjw7CKh6YEQytRUfDYtepr1JtYSBFl4Q3zlxbNZ68ES5PDKx9S9GGsjEkGRwnTXK9xTv0U4jZqQqAr9uBLBpwtb229FiA=w454-h86" width="454" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">ANATOMY OF A
PHOTOGRAPH</span></b>: <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In early 1917, the bitterly
contentious effort to take Monticello from Jefferson Levy and turn it into a
government-run presidential house museum was entering its fifth year. The first
congressional hearings on the idea had taken place in the summer of 1912, a
fiery spectacle as Maud Littleton, a Long Island, New York, socialite, and her allies
battled it out with Jefferson Monroe Levy over his ownership of Thomas
Jefferson’s Essay in Architecture.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For more than two years, Jefferson Levy had vowed he
would not let Monticello go. Why should he? It had been in his family since his
uncle Uriah Phillips Levy purchased it in 1834; he and his uncle saved it from
ruin twice; and he had not the slightest inclination to sell.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“When
the White House is for sale,</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> then I will consider an offer for the sale of Monticello, and not
before</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">,” he said soon after Mrs.
Littleton (as she was known in the press) began her single-minded campaign to
wrest Monticello from “outsiders,” as her literature put it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
Then, in the fall of 1914, Jefferson Levy, a well-heeled real estate and stock
speculator, made a shocking announcement: After a plea from President Woodrow
Wilson, Levy said</span> he<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> would sell Monticello—for
$500,000. That number, he said, was about a third of what he had spent in the
previous 35 years repairing, restoring, running, and persevering the house and grounds—as
well as adding significant acreage to the property and lavishly furnishing
every room in the mansion.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLGLqUgJ7e1O-hsyl4PSApl4lRuCK9UZE9P000gxA9If-ExtcUn6l1vG-6aJqwClsx-B7VAlD5J6ItdX9aB2sufNb3n8JfUwWXfUGxRGdJ--3ZCLUff-gP1Zz_u_0XaMtahan87oOO70BtYQ5XMCs0IlnHnt50fgcvabkove4Vm2hv3hagoy-wf6vdQQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="380" data-original-width="546" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLGLqUgJ7e1O-hsyl4PSApl4lRuCK9UZE9P000gxA9If-ExtcUn6l1vG-6aJqwClsx-B7VAlD5J6ItdX9aB2sufNb3n8JfUwWXfUGxRGdJ--3ZCLUff-gP1Zz_u_0XaMtahan87oOO70BtYQ5XMCs0IlnHnt50fgcvabkove4Vm2hv3hagoy-wf6vdQQ=w346-h241" width="346" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As I wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, on January 9,
1917—while Europe was stalemated in the third bloody year of what would become
known as World War I—yet another congressional hearing convened to debate Monticello’s
fate. This time the Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds met to
discuss a resolution that called for the government to purchase Monticello for
Levy’s asking price and use it as a Virginia getaway for U.S. presidents, what
Camp David in Maryland is today. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the weeks following that hearing there still seemed
to be fairly widespread sentiment in Congress for the government purchase of
Monticello. In an effort to keep the momentum for a sale alive, Daisy Allen
Story the Present
General of the Daughters of the American Revolution—which had volunteered to
run the house museum—arranged for a large group of congressmen to make a
personal inspection of Monticello</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On
Sunday morning, January 28, 1917, a party of 40 men and 27 women—including many
members of the House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and their wives—boarded
two chartered Southern Railway cars for the trip to Charlottesville. The train arrived
shortly after <st1:time hour="12" minute="0" w:st="on">noon</st1:time>.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
party—which also included Daisy Story (</span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">in photo, below</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">) and members of the DAR’s national Board
of Directors—was met at the train station by a delegation from the local
Chamber of Commerce and whisked up to snow-covered Monticello in two dozen
automobiles. The lead vehicle was decorated with two huge American flags donated
by the DAR. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2XtI3yIp50pH7wH9JqunbTv_vS6sxukS2YyGXJ6Z3yggJCrZbaeRQ2bKXdXm-bnwlqd1ezLmcOU_fDtQb1y9KHln8UqdG7tDDJ7bynfz0JuGeXEW428CUwI1dQzLqgmOq0A4pOSqZJW5Gcxnl2ObkkhgOrQwRa1hC6VUQt7afxYokUj_4MIIacc0b1g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="329" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2XtI3yIp50pH7wH9JqunbTv_vS6sxukS2YyGXJ6Z3yggJCrZbaeRQ2bKXdXm-bnwlqd1ezLmcOU_fDtQb1y9KHln8UqdG7tDDJ7bynfz0JuGeXEW428CUwI1dQzLqgmOq0A4pOSqZJW5Gcxnl2ObkkhgOrQwRa1hC6VUQt7afxYokUj_4MIIacc0b1g" width="206" /></a></div><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
group gathered on Monticello’s East Lawn to take in the mountain views and then
proceeded to the East Front steps where Jefferson M. Levy greeted them. The
guests took a guided tour of all of Monticello’s rooms before sitting down to a
lavish lunch in the dining room. Levy brought in a phalanx of Black waiters and
maids for the occasion.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“The
spread set out by the genial host of today was in keeping with the traditional
hospitality of the famous mansion,” the Charlottesville <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daily Progress</i> reported. “An elegant menu was served the many
guests, whose appetites had been whetted by the three-mile drive in the bracing
mountain air, and they did full justice to the elegant and toothsome viands
which had been provided.” Several newspaper and newsreel photographers were on
hand, although the images they took have not survived.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Until now, that is. Bill Bergen,
a former long-time Monticello guide and one of the most knowledgeable
Monticello historians I know, has unearthed a striking photo that almost
certainly portrays the group posing on the East Front steps. Bill filled me in
on the detective work he performed to identify the photo.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgExOGBMJwXRstD8Ajw7h6OSZ6RwyylkQZu-KvEEKup23ipk59RSZNmYr_8Kp5cFjxauGkrv1ikVB6H0QuYnlm0hSeKRlUlcERqjIv45e85KxTCqkqI09VATQ8B8jpDpQzf19GTIYWsOc5ytys-UYJK0OlgGn3wmSRvuVgH4BOLt78WZ9_kUPyFjpYMLA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="397" data-original-width="962" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgExOGBMJwXRstD8Ajw7h6OSZ6RwyylkQZu-KvEEKup23ipk59RSZNmYr_8Kp5cFjxauGkrv1ikVB6H0QuYnlm0hSeKRlUlcERqjIv45e85KxTCqkqI09VATQ8B8jpDpQzf19GTIYWsOc5ytys-UYJK0OlgGn3wmSRvuVgH4BOLt78WZ9_kUPyFjpYMLA=w400-h165" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">More than a few years ago, Bill
said, he had scanned the image, which he found in the Thomas Jefferson
Foundation photo files in the Jefferson Library.” The image was simply labeled
“unidentified group.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then, a couple of weeks ago,
Bill immediately thought of that undated and unidentified group photo after
reading a Facebook post by the Richmond (Va.) journalist Coy Barefoot. In it,
he posted several articles from the January 29, 1959, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Charlottesville Daily Progress</i>, one of which looked back on that
date in local history an item for the newspaper’s January 29, 1917 edition.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">To wit: “A delegation of
about 70 from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the House of
Representatives inspected Monticello yesterday in connection with the
proposed purchase of Jefferson's home by the national government.”</span><span style="color: #c45911; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“I had forgotten about the
visit,” Bill told me, “and it occurred to me the mystery photograph might
depict that occasion.” His first step was to go to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> where he found the passage that I paraphrased
above with the details of the January 29, 1917, congressional visit. Next, Bill
unearthed a list of the committee’s 1917 members, as well as images of nearly
all 21 of them. “By comparing those online images with the men in the attached
picture,” he said, “I identified 12 people whose visages seem to match.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">More evidence pointing to
this being the 1917 images, Bill said, was the fact that everyone in it is
wearing winter clothing, as well as “the presence of women [presumably spouses
and DAR members], two individuals in uniform (the U.S. had not yet declared
war, but National Guard units were expanding at that time), and the general
fashions depicted, which suggest a date somewhere close to the U.S. entry into World
War I.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What’s
more, he said, other images of the Entrance Hall taken early in early 1917 show
the windows adorned with curtains, as the photograph in question does. And
photographs depicting the same Entrance Hall in the early 1920s after the
Thomas Jefferson Foundation purchased Monticello from Jefferson Levy “show the
same windows without curtains,” which “supports the idea that the congressional
delegation photo was not taken during the Foundation’s ownership.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As for the nine men aside from the committee members
in the images, they most likely were “hangers-on, aides, or, quite likely,
other politicians, including members of the Virginia congressional delegation. Fewer
than the 70 or so people mentioned [in the newspaper article] are in the
photograph, so not everyone who made the trip posed for the photographer.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8jqz9Mhfn-RZzfhXU0vPf1U46dZpPUqDhbH-gB38Clt4EyrOPxYk_nFajBJD9vwgaOQVKTd3KRJNkjnM0f1x1FuiufDPjOn5CV5h9-_cGM5a2-NQMcoEnBmWkRDXhSGuEo_cINqufCAwoFIkA68ruMWboKPbyu-eqeQU1YQfC6mIDhmhsKWORvudo1g" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="246" data-original-width="243" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8jqz9Mhfn-RZzfhXU0vPf1U46dZpPUqDhbH-gB38Clt4EyrOPxYk_nFajBJD9vwgaOQVKTd3KRJNkjnM0f1x1FuiufDPjOn5CV5h9-_cGM5a2-NQMcoEnBmWkRDXhSGuEo_cINqufCAwoFIkA68ruMWboKPbyu-eqeQU1YQfC6mIDhmhsKWORvudo1g=w173-h175" width="173" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">After a closer look, Bill and
I believe we recognized one of the non-committee members in the photo. The bald-headed
man with the bushy white moustache wear the fur-collared jacket in the third
row from the bottom just to the right of the man with the full beard very likely is </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Judge R.T.W. “Tom” Duke Jr.,
Jefferson Levy’s Charlottesville lawyer (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in
right photo</i>). Alas, Jefferson Levy—not exactly a camera-shy man—does not
appear in the photo.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I am thankful to my friend
Bill Bergen for some great historical sleuthing and for sharing it with me.
When he suggested that I might want to report on it in the newsletter, I replied,
“Let me think about it for a minute—Yes!”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">***********************</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">By
the way, that congressional visit was not exactly a success. The problem—of all
things—was Jefferson Levy’s refusal to serve wine with lunch. When the thirsty
congressmen and company asked Levy to show them Jefferson’s wine cellar, he
responded, according to a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Roanoke Times</i>
article I dug up, that “he had left the keys in New York.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“‘Well,
that’s all right,’ said some of the leading committee members. ‘We’ll just
break in the door and make a hole in the floor.’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“But
Levy said, ‘No’ and would not budge from the decision.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">That
brought about “much grumbling” from the distinguished guests, the newspaper
said, “and it was freely rumored that Mr. Levy would have to materially reduce
his offer [to sell Monticello to the government] below $500,000 if he expected
Congress to buy the old Jefferson home.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Whether
or not that last line was sarcastic, and whether the lack of wine accompanying
that meal had any impact on the congressmen, the fact remains that the 64<sup>th</sup>
Congress adjourned on March 3, 1917, without taking any action on any of the
Monticello resolutions.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And
when the U.S entered the Great War the next month the matter was dropped.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE DAVID STATUE</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">: </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As we noted in
the October and November 2021 issues of the newsletter, the New York City
Council decided two years ago that it no longer wanted the larger-than-life
statue of Thomas Jefferson that had been in its chambers since it was donated
to the city by Uriah Levy in 1834. The statue—to be more precise, the plaster
model of said statue commissioned by Levy from the great French sculptor David
d’Angers, the original of which is in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda—was then moved
to the lobby of the New-York Historical Society building on Central Park West
at 77<sup>th</sup> Street.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbVrMKMjki1D9KHCp3__nLLBfckJdxh95dMa_yO077kg6chX3sIgANYXptt7gcQXw0HPxYaNuOfsy6ykGBchGUlnuXFZCik1oDA_354ul_p-GcQc6YN_7akMWjo5miFXA3IjSF5lShoK-VIHvJ9FENT83RBBtcgFIxgjp_D7stkWDK6GYrmb6YrBvBPg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="345" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbVrMKMjki1D9KHCp3__nLLBfckJdxh95dMa_yO077kg6chX3sIgANYXptt7gcQXw0HPxYaNuOfsy6ykGBchGUlnuXFZCik1oDA_354ul_p-GcQc6YN_7akMWjo5miFXA3IjSF5lShoK-VIHvJ9FENT83RBBtcgFIxgjp_D7stkWDK6GYrmb6YrBvBPg" width="183" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">My friend and colleague Steve Pressman, the writer and
director of “The Levys of Monticello,” paid a visit to the museum last month, and
kindly sent me the photo (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">right</i>) and
the following on-the-spot report:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was in New York City to see some art exhibitions and dropped
by the New-York Historical Society to take in a fun exhibit about Jewish delis—alas,
a vanishing breed both in NYC and the rest of the country.</span><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before entering the world of pastrami-on-rye and bagel schmears,
I was delighted to come across an instantly recognizable figure right inside
the main entrance to the building—a seven-foot statue of Thomas Jefferson,
quill pen in hand, gazing earnestly at the passersby.</span><span style="color: #002060; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12.0pt;">On the day of
my visit to the Historical Society, most of the other visitors brushed right by
the Jefferson statue, apparently far more eager to pay their respects to the
memories of the Carnegie and Stage Delis, both of which, sadly, are no longer
with us.</span><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #002060; font-size: 12.0pt;">But I chose
instead to linger, at least for a few moments, out of respect for both Thomas Jefferson
and Uriah Phillips Levy. Both men, to be sure, owned enslaved people—and I’m
mindful of their moral contradictions that we continue to grapple with
centuries later. Still, I was happy to see the d’Angers statue at its new home
in New York City—with or without half-sour pickles.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE DOC</span></b>: <span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Steve’s great documentary, “The Levys of Monticello,”
continues to appear at film festivals across the country. On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wednesday</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">February 8</b>, at 7:00 p.m. it will be screened at the Charlotte
(North Carolina) Jewish Film festival at that city’s Temple Israel. For more
info, go to <a href="https://bit.ly/CharlotteLevys">https://bit.ly/CharlotteLevys</a></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVEACOJ-aNIGaMRWppBJVOuKsbP_C13ZBUmqrlsKfY7NjmN3TS99tLwNqCnFY0qB-p4_qpiY0Pg34KRFcEI2XwcAbN7FjtihXPD6qmeJICd6dFcC5eQ5ir571ACh6_UDaRw114KrUB948uWH5XAudeSi3Zc4oCimsam_ROKdFOLCB70ic03elqCI23Tg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="268" data-original-width="397" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVEACOJ-aNIGaMRWppBJVOuKsbP_C13ZBUmqrlsKfY7NjmN3TS99tLwNqCnFY0qB-p4_qpiY0Pg34KRFcEI2XwcAbN7FjtihXPD6qmeJICd6dFcC5eQ5ir571ACh6_UDaRw114KrUB948uWH5XAudeSi3Zc4oCimsam_ROKdFOLCB70ic03elqCI23Tg=w200-h135" width="200" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wednesday</b>,
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">February 15</b>, the film will be shown
as part of the 33rd Annual Orange County International Jewish Film Festival in
Southern California. Info at: <a href="https://bit.ly/OrangeCoFestival">https://bit.ly/OrangeCoFestival</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday, February 26</b>, I’ll be taking part in a post-screening
Q&A at the Samuel C. Johnson Theater at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk,
Virginia, as part of the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film. The event begins at
2:30 p.m. More info: <a href="https://bit.ly/NorfolkFestival">https://bit.ly/NorfolkFestival</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">FEBRUARY EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> In
addition to the event in Norfolk, I’ll be doing a talk on the life of Francis
Scott Key, based on my biography <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What So
Proudly We Hailed</i>, on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monday,
February </b>5, via Zoom for the Peter Minuet DAR chapter of New York City. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monday, February 20</b>, at 2:00 p.m. I’ll be
talking about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> via
Zoom for the Bender JCC of Greater Washington (D.C.). Steve Pressman will be
joining me as we also discuss the making of “The Levys of Monticello.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For details on other upcoming events, check
the Events page on my website: <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6z3WjFo63WArqi8C4oDNLwP6G4dKzRn5AcvKS6BM7WaAEoxzZJPVfiHxZ8CLft4k-vK66GC8MjLjMLWfcqdTOCO1jyHnQSp2-aKc8FbXtuoQQ2ljNsDkxf-TO5yQFtioA7Wpv_e0I0ctLPuVSQy8kCcm7XrnFMLiW_r2DgPG_twXoPJW_znZHE4PowQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="230" data-original-width="790" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6z3WjFo63WArqi8C4oDNLwP6G4dKzRn5AcvKS6BM7WaAEoxzZJPVfiHxZ8CLft4k-vK66GC8MjLjMLWfcqdTOCO1jyHnQSp2-aKc8FbXtuoQQ2ljNsDkxf-TO5yQFtioA7Wpv_e0I0ctLPuVSQy8kCcm7XrnFMLiW_r2DgPG_twXoPJW_znZHE4PowQ=w400-h116" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i>Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b> </b> I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i>Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i>Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i>Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: You can read back issues of this newsletter
at <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic";"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-39524086919355597062023-01-09T14:00:00.001-05:002023-01-17T13:44:12.107-05:00January 2023<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XX, Number 1<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>January
2023<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvdddjSlxQIdj9WAA0oQis3SUzUyaMDFEdbKw_PEYkF3QMaTJGPq8Xt1QZF2jh10RQCuePDe41MJSdW0PemQowEMAMHp4nrxSEFPRK51mU7586I6qOWu1-I0Wbvw6Q_WU-NC9G-OQhhJphLZkcy3PNWhqjvXEIwVzHXfsAb-Kqp6K2Vb_buHgqOzm9w/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvdddjSlxQIdj9WAA0oQis3SUzUyaMDFEdbKw_PEYkF3QMaTJGPq8Xt1QZF2jh10RQCuePDe41MJSdW0PemQowEMAMHp4nrxSEFPRK51mU7586I6qOWu1-I0Wbvw6Q_WU-NC9G-OQhhJphLZkcy3PNWhqjvXEIwVzHXfsAb-Kqp6K2Vb_buHgqOzm9w/w480-h84/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE LEVYS OF NEW YORK:
</span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Saving
Monticello</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, the story of Uriah Levy
and Jefferson Monroe Levy’s 89-year stewardship of Thomas Jefferson’s Essay in
Architecture in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, naturally focuses on
Monticello and Charlottesville. But the story of the Levys also threads through
New York City, where both men lived for most of their lives.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So here’s a
brief tour of the Big Apple through the lives of Uriah and Jefferson Levy and their
forebears and close relations who lived and worked there, primarily in Lower
Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Murray Hill, and Central Park West.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
begin with Uriah Levy’s great grandparents, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Maria Caetana Nunez</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">David
Mendes Machado</b>, who helped settle Savannah, Georgia, in July 1733 with 38
other Sephardic Jews who had escaped the Portuguese Inquisition, sailed to
London, and then to the New World.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not long after arriving in
Savannah with her family, 19-year-old Maria Nunez (known as Zipporah) married
David Machado. Soon thereafter, the young couple relocated to NYC, where
Machado, a Jewish theologian and scholar, became </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">hazzan at Congregation Shearith Israel, the
first Jewish congregation established in North America.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8_skCQ_4KNk7DzpHqNzhjCcU_EwAehpHLpyCodJnAzRgmZ35aoCTyNxra5EMqUybcSGurnIQUTMPslkNb9fVnEVriYXrP20bMjjpd-KfCBuP9KY0xY5yfhJDWOR29yOWDQapzPN7W4x6Q3yyWlstFc8hURrdu-vkc2mN51zXUNMQEzHv0BEsMq2oxHw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="533" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8_skCQ_4KNk7DzpHqNzhjCcU_EwAehpHLpyCodJnAzRgmZ35aoCTyNxra5EMqUybcSGurnIQUTMPslkNb9fVnEVriYXrP20bMjjpd-KfCBuP9KY0xY5yfhJDWOR29yOWDQapzPN7W4x6Q3yyWlstFc8hURrdu-vkc2mN51zXUNMQEzHv0BEsMq2oxHw=w362-h248" width="362" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That
Sephardic congregation was founded in 1654 by the first Jews who had come to <i>Niuw Amsterdam</i> from Brazil. Until 1825,
it was the only Jewish congregation in the city. When the Machados arrived in
Manhattan, the congregation was meeting in a small house on <b>Mill Street </b>(<i>in drawing, above</i>)—the first building designed
to be used as a synagogue in North America. Mill Street, now known as <b>South William Street,</b> is in Lower
Manhattan near Wall Street.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Zipporha
and David’s oldest daughter, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rebecca
Machado</b>, was born in New York in 1746. She married <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jonas Phillips—</b>a merchant who had immigrated to the colonies from
Germany—in 1762 in Philadelphia. They lived in Manhattan for a while, where
Jonas Phillips owned and operated a retail store. The couple moved to
Philadelphia in the early 1770s. Their grandson, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Uriah Phillips Levy</b>, was born there in 1792, the son of their
daughter <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rachel Phillips</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Michael Levy</b>, who had come to the U.S.
from Germany.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Uriah
Levy grew up in Philadelphia and joined the U.S. Navy in 1812 to fight in the
war against England. That brought him to New York for the first time, when on
October 21, 1812, the 20-year-old received his official U.S. Navy appointment as
a Sailing Master from President James Madison and briefly served on the U.S.S. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alert </i>in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">New York Harbor</b>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">After
the war, in January of 1828, Uriah returned to New York City, and never
left—except for his Navy postings and his visits to Monticello, which he
purchased in 1834. Soon after arriving in New York, Uriah began investing in
real estate, specializing in rooming houses in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Greenwich Village </b>and elsewhere in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lower Manhattan</b>. He quickly amassed a not inconsiderable fortune
through his New York City real estate holdings.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Sometime
in the winter of 1836-37, Uriah bought and moved into a four-story brick house on<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> East 9<sup>th</sup> Street</b> in what is
now known as the East Village. That structure, between 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup>
Avenues, is long gone.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">UPL
lived there with his widowed mother, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rachel
Phillips Levy</b>, and his unmarried sister Amelia. His mother died at
Monticello in 1839 while Uriah was at sea and is buried there. In the early
1850s Uriah moved to another large <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">East
Village</b> house at <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">107 St. Mark’s
Place</b> between First Ave and Avenue A. That building was demolished
and today is the site of a six-story brick apartment building.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonas Phillips Levy, </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Uriah youngest brother, who
was born in Philadelphia in 1807, lived in New York City periodically
throughout his life, and settled there for good in 1866 after the Civil War. He
had married Frances Mitchell (known as Fanny) in 1848.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Their four children,
including Jefferson Monroe Levy, were born and raised in Manhattan. When
Jefferson Levy was born in 1852 his parents were living on <b>Bank Street</b> in the West Village. Earlier, they had lived at <b>498 West Houstan (Houston) Street</b> on a
block near the Hudson River that no longer exists. At his death in 1883, Jonas
Levy was living with his wife Fanny at <b>108
E. 40th St</b>., between Lexington and Park Avenues in Murray Hill. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jefferson Levy, a lawyer by
trade, became an extremely successful real estate and stock speculator. Over
the years, he rented office space in several buildings in Lower Manhattan,
including at </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">38 Park Row, 30 Pine Street</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
and </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">100 Broadway</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, one block from </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Wall Street</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Today, the latter is the
site of the Neo-Renaissance, 26-story American Surety building, one of New
York’s earliest skyscrapers, which was completed in 1896. (</span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">See recent photo of the entrance below</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxaQ78pyygqP3GMqblVPxYpHcwqc3Hco-WlP1I5XPyl7LnoX3kmHHuya1Zgqt6fUe3HddarktlSnhC4MpoxKd51LzfzYN5j3uXeUUeMdV33ClP0mM8CEa-ohF64d6Y3HfIEsnfneMyXk-hN6sKsX8AMdheiN_-LWJMwRMUtQ7xRCvtL0ImJpOhgsGqUg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="334" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxaQ78pyygqP3GMqblVPxYpHcwqc3Hco-WlP1I5XPyl7LnoX3kmHHuya1Zgqt6fUe3HddarktlSnhC4MpoxKd51LzfzYN5j3uXeUUeMdV33ClP0mM8CEa-ohF64d6Y3HfIEsnfneMyXk-hN6sKsX8AMdheiN_-LWJMwRMUtQ7xRCvtL0ImJpOhgsGqUg=w177-h329" width="177" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jefferson
Levy’s younger brother and business and law partner<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, Louis Napoleon Levy</b>, lived with his wife Lillian Hendricks Wolff
and their four daughter at <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">18</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">West 72<sup>nd</sup> Street</b>, a stone’s
throw from Central Park on the Upper West Side not far from Shearith Israel,
where he served as president of the congregation for many years beginning in 1895. The family later
moved a few blocks south to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">26 West 69<sup>th</sup>
Street.</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jefferson
Levy’s sister,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Amelia Levy Mayhoff</b>, who
was born in 1858, married Carl Mayhoff, a New York City cotton broker, in 1890.
They lived most of the year on<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> East 34<sup>th</sup>
Street</b>, on the same block where Jefferson Levy lived between Lexington and
Park Avenue, a few blocks from the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Empire
State Building</b>.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jefferson
Levy later moved three blocks north to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">17
East 37<sup>th</sup> Stree</b>t, between Madison and Fifth, close to famed
financier John Pierpont Morgan’s library, now known as the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Morgan Library & Museum</b>. That’s where Jefferson Levy died on March
6, 1924, of heart disease, five weeks short of his 72<sup>nd</sup> birthday.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISpUDDsY8zmSBff1zBhS87OnlBkRx1Cb4VtQrumSG_y-A0RSd4w3RAmtWk-7AUpdtEHk1Pq306Ymp7f4qCmMQJ4X5rRkryQEbgJov5Iz8GxeMKYnJfsWKo7xxcfayvdJ6o897eNAd0zqeJ58byll37EuAoIp_s6_XpxHrDaU2-svne3mJ2BKNzzbvmw/s590/Lewis%20family%20at%20Monticello,%201905.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="590" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISpUDDsY8zmSBff1zBhS87OnlBkRx1Cb4VtQrumSG_y-A0RSd4w3RAmtWk-7AUpdtEHk1Pq306Ymp7f4qCmMQJ4X5rRkryQEbgJov5Iz8GxeMKYnJfsWKo7xxcfayvdJ6o897eNAd0zqeJ58byll37EuAoIp_s6_XpxHrDaU2-svne3mJ2BKNzzbvmw/s320/Lewis%20family%20at%20Monticello,%201905.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE DOC</span></b>:
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Steven Pressman’s great documentary, “The Levys
of Monticello,” continues to appear at film festivals. And get great reviews:
Here’s the latest from the <i>St. Louis
Jewish Light</i>: <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/mw6t7t88">https://tinyurl.com/mw6t7t88</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And here are this month’s screenings,
both live and virtual:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">January 12</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, 7:00
p.m. in person screening at the New Orleans JCC. Info: <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/2p82dhpm">https://tinyurl.com/2p82dhpm</a></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">January 13-25</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
Miami Jewish Film Festival, streaming. Info at</span> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/mws7687x">https://tinyurl.com/mws7687x</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">January 22</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
at 2:00 p.m, at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, Va.,
as part of the 14<sup>th</sup> annual Israeli and Jewish Film Festival.
Info:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/36334a35">https://tinyurl.com/36334a35</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">January 29</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, at
the James City County Library in Williamsburg, Va., as part of the Virginia
Peninsula Jewish Film Festival<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>info:</span>
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/2dvkps8v">https://tinyurl.com/2dvkps8v</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">
February screenings include in-person events in Charlotte, North Carolina;
Norfolk, Virginia; and Orange County, California. We’ll have details on those and
more in the February newsletter. Meanwhile, for more information on these and
other screenings, go to </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/557313016269332364/8887220805205097642"><span style="color: blue;">https://bit.ly/LevyDoc</span></a></span></u><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"> or Google, “The Levys of Monticello
screening.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Just
one this month. On <b>Thursday, January 26</b>,
I’ll be doing a talk on <i>Saving Monticello</i>
and book signing at the monthly luncheon meeting of the Northern Virginia
Questers chapter in Falls Church.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For details on other upcoming events, check
the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: You can read back issues of this
newsletter at <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-86937383253743418152022-12-07T12:30:00.001-05:002022-12-08T12:44:09.526-05:00December 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 12<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>December
2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY0UXVqJCILA2SePEpqc0Mn5NTL8TF_Tcb-nzttzZnx49PI_eVM2GftPdhsiI1zSuylgTn-UImSsmMGAaadXM-ejdVpliyZMLq6P2X3xRDDlaqjLfPXEon1jnMn9Jfigm_fKtG9D4NdSPmWg27f6kVlMhbrGGlKi3RQ8kDvYcgfE4qEwgphmKxddv7sA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY0UXVqJCILA2SePEpqc0Mn5NTL8TF_Tcb-nzttzZnx49PI_eVM2GftPdhsiI1zSuylgTn-UImSsmMGAaadXM-ejdVpliyZMLq6P2X3xRDDlaqjLfPXEon1jnMn9Jfigm_fKtG9D4NdSPmWg27f6kVlMhbrGGlKi3RQ8kDvYcgfE4qEwgphmKxddv7sA=w519-h99" width="519" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE JONAS PHILLIPS
VENDUE STORE: </span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;">Jonas
Phillips, Uriah Levy’s beloved maternal grandfather, was a remarkable man. He
was born Jonah Phaibush in 1735 in Busek, a village in Prussia. He made his way
to London in his early twenties, and at 21 arrived in Charleston, South
Carolina, to seek his fortune after an arduous trans-Atlantic journey aboard
the ship <i>Charming Nancy</i>.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">One
of the first things the young man did after arriving in the colonies was
Anglicize his name to Jonas Phillips. As I wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, a few years later he moved to Albany, New York,
where he became a Free Mason and opened a store selling food and spirits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonas
Phillips left Albany in 1761. He married into the Nunez family on November 10,
1762, when he and 16-year-old Rebecca Nunez Machado—the daughter of Maria
Caetana (Zipporah) Nunez and the Rev. David<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b>Mendes Machado—took their vows at Hickory Town just outside of
Philadelphia.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
couple immediately began raising a family. They had 21 children, although
several died as infants. The offspring included Uriah Levy’s mother Rachel, who
was born on May 23, 1769.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
couple moved from Albany to New York City, where Jonas once again owned and operated
a retail store. He also was an auctioneer and served the Jewish community as a <i>shohet</i> (ritual slaughterer) and <i>bodek</i> (meat examiner). Around 1774 he
moved his growing family to Philadelphia where he opened a vendue store at the
upper end of Third Street. Jonas Phillips’ Vendue Store </span><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 254); font-size: 12pt;">hosted auctions for estates, land, and
market goods, and also sold sundries.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjox7eWHApakU3GIHnl9Mmx_r_xq5d7Hl6Q8wbp1czNUlolfILe9HuIokhFbgG16sofp3DAeLV-UbXNFxyH86k6KC7zk6oHkdAp4HV0yXwxqv9wITXODOvXxqj4yyDKNGIu_zCt8vMzxT3kWt5_6ZPz3vlHWRXpn7TEMx82NUCUXXnktODGoG2uTjv_lQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="343" data-original-width="281" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjox7eWHApakU3GIHnl9Mmx_r_xq5d7Hl6Q8wbp1czNUlolfILe9HuIokhFbgG16sofp3DAeLV-UbXNFxyH86k6KC7zk6oHkdAp4HV0yXwxqv9wITXODOvXxqj4yyDKNGIu_zCt8vMzxT3kWt5_6ZPz3vlHWRXpn7TEMx82NUCUXXnktODGoG2uTjv_lQ=w263-h320" width="263" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
store owner and family man (<i>above</i>) was swept up in the revolutionary fervor in New York
and Philadelphia in the 1770s. He spoke out publicly on British abuses of
colonists’ rights and signed a letter that was published in the <st1:date day="23" month="1" w:st="on" year="1770">January 23, 1770</st1:date>, <i>New York Gazette</i> supporting the strongly
anti-British Non Importation Resolutions of 1765. He also participated in
running the British blockade of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:city>.
On <st1:date day="31" month="10" w:st="on" year="1778">October 31, 1778</st1:date>,
at age 43, Jonas Phillips joined a Philadelphia militia unit, Capt. John Linton’s
Company of Col. William Bradford’s Battalion, as a private.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonas Phillips also was an
outspoken proponent of freedom of religion. He famously wrote a September 7,
1787, letter on that subject to the Constitutional Convention, which had been
meeting since May of that year in Philadelphia to draft a document—which would
become the U.S. Constitution—that addressed </span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">problems with the
weak central government created by the Articles of Confederation.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Identifying
himself in the letter as “one of the people called Jews of the City of Philadelphia,”
Jonas Phillips called on the Convention to insert provisions in the forthcoming
Constitution to provide all men “the natural and unalienable Right to worship
almighty God according to their own Conscience and understanding.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">*************</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Jonas
Phillips was instrumental in raising funds to purchase a new building for the
Mikveh Israel synagogue in Philadelphia in 1782. He later was elected the
president of that Spanish and Portuguese Congregation, which had been
established in 1740. As the head of the congregation, he invited George
Washington to attend the dedication ceremonies of its new building.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonas
Phillips died in Philadelphia in 1803. Rebecca Phillips outlived him by 28
years. Their daughter Rachel had married Michael Levy in Philadelphia in June
1787 when she was 18 years old. Uriah came along in 1792. Family lore has it
that the boy idolized his patriotic grandfather. Uriah, the story goes, influenced
by his grandfather, had two idols growing up, George Washington and John Paul
Jones.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Which
might explain why Uriah ran away from home at ten to be a cabin boy on a ship,
was part owner of a merchant ship when he was 19, and the following year, 1812,
joined the U.S. Navy to fight the British in the war that began that year. In
1834, Uriah purchased Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, in part because of his
admiration for Jefferson’s strong advocacy of religious freedom.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
grandson did not fall far from his grandfather’s tree, inheriting—and acting
upon—his love of country and devotion to freedom of religion.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3bVpxl9uu2gYkXmpgzfRMXSF_P_Z-Usor0JFKx1LzqFbFs6zip0ln9b0pJ3ke2gWBcorljoqzKSgWnNz2TSbX-2Ly4B9PzekvskRSpdV0DzXZPspNHHfcbkLIiS3SK5RZNqA4C-Cr33awK3woQ2mpA2gQCL7jL0biKSve0Fx8mUzLuqgWz2eVH1tnrA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="552" data-original-width="416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3bVpxl9uu2gYkXmpgzfRMXSF_P_Z-Usor0JFKx1LzqFbFs6zip0ln9b0pJ3ke2gWBcorljoqzKSgWnNz2TSbX-2Ly4B9PzekvskRSpdV0DzXZPspNHHfcbkLIiS3SK5RZNqA4C-Cr33awK3woQ2mpA2gQCL7jL0biKSve0Fx8mUzLuqgWz2eVH1tnrA=w241-h320" width="241" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As
for the 1776 advertisement above, I am indebted to Nancy Hoffman, a Phillips
family descendant, who kindly sent me the image. It’s “</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">the oldest piece of my family’s history that I own,”
she said in an email. “I do have a few jewelry objects too, but nothing beats
this!”</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE DOC</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Steven Pressman’s great documentary, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Levys of Monticello,</i> continues to
appear at film festivals. <span style="color: #222222;">Last month the film
received the Audience Award for Best Feature documentary at the 42<sup>nd</sup>
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival.</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">It continues to
get great reviews, including this one by Julia Klein published November 30 in The<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Forward</i>: </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/43nv3cyw">https://tinyurl.com/43nv3cyw</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In it, she notes that the doc
“draws the essentials of this distinctively American story” from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, and opines that Susan
Stein, Niya Bates, and I offer “pithy commentary” in the movie. I don’t
disagree.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi8WNAnHWMcLmw8iRkT5j0QmPdBA8K58uATRRrN1s7l5YmHvmwiQagVWQQhT_NzkCCbq6IkI_djmAC34567ccJsNLqmp1BQNeGVES5RuRyp73aZq_XWvCkUqSkaq8Ws6p6eoKpCN_AwlYMSL-8KD_Be7iRBxPt4YApt5ASE4eYT7mboRL4wFqoky3jhw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="268" data-original-width="397" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi8WNAnHWMcLmw8iRkT5j0QmPdBA8K58uATRRrN1s7l5YmHvmwiQagVWQQhT_NzkCCbq6IkI_djmAC34567ccJsNLqmp1BQNeGVES5RuRyp73aZq_XWvCkUqSkaq8Ws6p6eoKpCN_AwlYMSL-8KD_Be7iRBxPt4YApt5ASE4eYT7mboRL4wFqoky3jhw=w200-h135" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">For more on the
film, go to</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><a href="https://tinyurl.com/43nv3cyw" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">https://tinyurl.com/43nv3cyw</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> On <b>Thursday Evening, November 3,</b> I took
part in one of the most memorable events I’ve had since the publication of <i>Saving Monticello</i> in November 2001: a
reception, a screening of <i>The Levys of
Monticello</i>, and a Q&A at the Monticello Visitor Center for the trustees
of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and guests.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was a
crisp fall evening as we mixed and mingled in the Visitor Center courtyard and
feasted on a buffet prepared by the Monticello Farm Table café.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then came the screening—complete with popcorn (and wine)—following
a gracious introduction by Leslie Greene Bowman, the Foundation’s president.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJSpMe9YVh_7bJMTfGsS0B0vzGqCbwgzejgB45X3XamyrsbcdeGzB-ShpTLBkcWXfJD0I-FRMwgN1vyWgXCgxBsFTyhFXUUH_ukXG9wGQYIVPCHOrVb9LKtMsVCd40zEPfj835wwruA4askkmnlby8GhKz6XgB6eLH9ql1LB6Q1BqEoqUH0ASUr4E9xQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="418" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJSpMe9YVh_7bJMTfGsS0B0vzGqCbwgzejgB45X3XamyrsbcdeGzB-ShpTLBkcWXfJD0I-FRMwgN1vyWgXCgxBsFTyhFXUUH_ukXG9wGQYIVPCHOrVb9LKtMsVCd40zEPfj835wwruA4askkmnlby8GhKz6XgB6eLH9ql1LB6Q1BqEoqUH0ASUr4E9xQ" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Afterward,
we had an engaging Q&A moderated by Susan Stein, Monticello’s long-time
curator. I joined U-Va. History Professor Emerita Phyllis Leffler and Niya
Bates, the former head of Monticello’s pioneering </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Getting Word African American Oral
History Project (<i>flanking me the photo</i>)—both
of whom are featured in the documentary, along with Steve Pressman.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On,
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday, November 5</b>, we took in a
Virginia Film Festival screening of the doc at the beautifully restored
Paramount Theater on the Charlottesville downtown mall, which drew some 850
people. Wjke followed that with another Q&A. It was a memorable weekend.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbOaEFa5KGxpOuLbv3RzPjwTfcpoIPARVANtDHUljEoZ6X9JwkIRVlmHGPBRKBqyDrcpj6J5k2lLe-fr-ma8UDwoDIq7WtvPIHalDbC6yZeFrwcdB8Z8ruTIcUX2I8Yph7UXlnNt8sI_8q_sUZhLJiDkYqxcj6FGxh0lluXv6JvD8wJV79h7qaFu26HQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="451" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbOaEFa5KGxpOuLbv3RzPjwTfcpoIPARVANtDHUljEoZ6X9JwkIRVlmHGPBRKBqyDrcpj6J5k2lLe-fr-ma8UDwoDIq7WtvPIHalDbC6yZeFrwcdB8Z8ruTIcUX2I8Yph7UXlnNt8sI_8q_sUZhLJiDkYqxcj6FGxh0lluXv6JvD8wJV79h7qaFu26HQ" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Saving
Monticello</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> or for any of my other books, please email me at </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
For details on upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-13868610941282591232022-11-08T13:12:00.001-05:002022-11-08T13:12:52.840-05:00November 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 11<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>November
2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRW0qQQrCXgStbqWe8DiJynXlQTKhMQ8et1vdrH0Wiundd9ZLaXhkCcXqR6We61rPYaXT20ZEwwAIM9bllI4mnUJJR6FI6nK3rpg9e8QfRmQcxK-8-b6P6_D_oO4uzR1e9px_os63XhJSZJqzn76w90OX7SiI2-TDSEvxpVOR1M_5KS406mUx0HxVb2w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRW0qQQrCXgStbqWe8DiJynXlQTKhMQ8et1vdrH0Wiundd9ZLaXhkCcXqR6We61rPYaXT20ZEwwAIM9bllI4mnUJJR6FI6nK3rpg9e8QfRmQcxK-8-b6P6_D_oO4uzR1e9px_os63XhJSZJqzn76w90OX7SiI2-TDSEvxpVOR1M_5KS406mUx0HxVb2w=w336-h64" width="336" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE MISTRESS OF
MONTICELLO:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“The greetings of South Carolina to the
Master of Monticello—Floride Cunningham.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Those words are inscribed to Jefferson Monroe Levy in
a copy of the second edition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss
Washington of Virginia</i>: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Semi-Centennial Love Story, </i>a privately published novel by Jeannie
Blackburn, writing as “Mrs. F. Berger Moran.” Originally published in 1889,
this edition of the short, melodramatic fictional account of the courtship of
young Marie Washington, a grandniece of George Washington, came out in 1893.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Levy descendant Richard Lewis
recently came across the volume among his late mother Harley Lewis’ books, and
kindly sent images of the inscription. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss
Washington</i> is a 19<sup>th</sup> century romance novel with a plot and
ending that will surprise no one. Plus, it’s filled with cringe-worthy racist
tropes whenever an enslaved person is mentioned.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That said, there is historical
value in the book: the short but illuminating sketch of Jefferson Levy’s
mother, Francis Mitchell (Fanny) Levy, which mentions, her role at Monticello
during the first 13 years that her son owned the property. Jefferson Levy paid
for the second printing; and Jeannie Blackburn wrote a short “In Memorium” about
his mother, who had died in 1892 and was a fan of the book.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">While
researching <i>Saving Monticello</i>
twenty-plus-years ago, I found a small amount of material that that shed light
on the time Fanny Levy’s spent at Monticello, primarily letters that she wrote in
1881 to her sons Louis and Jefferson Levy and her son-in-law Marcus Ryttenburg
in New York. They contained first-person accounts of the work Jefferson Levy
did to repair, preserve, and restore the place after he bought out the other
heirs of Uriah Levy in 1879, following a seventeen-year period in which the
house and grounds had been all but neglected since his uncle’s death in 1862.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-SKsg5lG4VEtdS9CuUHV_j-oqDqoEIpTHgetHWuPFHSZln2-AWEXVZxhrDdNyx2keBmMMzadlporudhGdEVKeFK4wmXBbo-otAXM_2fAGDUuBqJollU_6LBlJjmcisXagjNCgt4qtI42cIy_LbYrarybkKN3C3xCgzQJjq9iMFDOakXHLO5wdF6qf4A" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="357" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-SKsg5lG4VEtdS9CuUHV_j-oqDqoEIpTHgetHWuPFHSZln2-AWEXVZxhrDdNyx2keBmMMzadlporudhGdEVKeFK4wmXBbo-otAXM_2fAGDUuBqJollU_6LBlJjmcisXagjNCgt4qtI42cIy_LbYrarybkKN3C3xCgzQJjq9iMFDOakXHLO5wdF6qf4A" width="179" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Portrait of Fanny Levy</b></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Monticello,
Fanny Levy wrote on July 4 1881, to her son Louis, “is looking elegant,” the “grounds
and scenery [are] magnificent.” Fanny Levy said, enjoyed a staff of “splendid
servants,” including "a good cook and waitress."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I
also found references to one of the first large events held at Monticello, a
fund-raising Colonial Ball Jefferson Levy put on to benefit the Albemarle
County chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. A local newspaper
reported that Fanny Levy “came down from New York to be [her bachelor son’s]
hostess,” wearing “a colonial outfit of lavender in which she had her portrait
painted later." The newspaper called the fundraising event “one of the
most brilliant entertainments ever given in Albemarle County.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What Jeannie Blackburn wrote
in </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Miss Washington</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">’s “In Memorium” adds
to the picture of Fanny Levy’s time at Monticello. She “was widely known as the
charming hostess of Monticello,” Blackburn wrote, “and will always be
remembered as a lovely woman, cordial in her manner, giving genuine kind
welcome to Monticello, taking great pleasure in showing the beauties of the old
home to all her guests, and taking great care to have Monticello kept in the
colonial style of the days of Jefferson.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
Fanny Levy “entertained many visitors at this grand old homestead, among them
many prominent personages.” In 1889, Blackburn noted, “President Cleveland and
some of his cabinet were guests.” Virginia, she said, “has lost a good friend
in Fanny Mitchell Levy, Monticello a cherished mistress, and her children a
mother who can never be replaced.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfMjzclio96m3y9dql_y29l8NxjeyJwQj0rGpfS95aMW8YNwIqZA_9aKEQxepvjcX0DMIxME4nUJOjJYgRg96t5doZGGhvJBjlwSN59w7lIrcNoWRb7Ph_hcFgUtsRbfLCun7dcBEDKUCFPe4SdKPUAVlcGeQa9Sir7i2TwgkufD4EonfvSo0D3mqWFg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="522" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfMjzclio96m3y9dql_y29l8NxjeyJwQj0rGpfS95aMW8YNwIqZA_9aKEQxepvjcX0DMIxME4nUJOjJYgRg96t5doZGGhvJBjlwSN59w7lIrcNoWRb7Ph_hcFgUtsRbfLCun7dcBEDKUCFPe4SdKPUAVlcGeQa9Sir7i2TwgkufD4EonfvSo0D3mqWFg" width="304" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As far as the inscription to
Jefferson Levy is concerned, the woman who wrote it, Floride Cunningham of
South Carolina, was the niece of Ann Pamela Cunningham, who founded the Ladies
Association of Mount Vernon in 1856, which purchased George Washington's home—and
owns and operates it to this day—from Washington’s nephew, who was about to
sell the property to become residential housing lots.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Anne
Pamela Cunningham often is cited as the first American house preservationist—but
I’ve long contended that that honor should go to Uriah Levy, who did what she
did at Monticello twenty years earlier, in 1835.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">JEFFERSON’S JEWISH GRANDCHILDREN</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">: Yes, you read that correctly. I recently learned the
details in a revealing November 2020 essay, “The Jewish Grandchildren of Sally Hemings
and Thomas Jefferson,” by University of Virginia History Professor J<span style="background: white; color: #444444;">ames Loeffler</span>, who directs the
university’s Jewish Studies Program.</span><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">The story begins early in the
early 19<sup>th</sup> century with the common law marriage of David Isaacs and
Nancy West. Isaacs was a Jewish man who had emigrated from Germany and ran
Charlottesville’s general store. West was a “free mixed-race woman,” Professor
Loeffler writes, who “owned local<span style="background: white; color: #0c1839;">
property, ran a bakery, and launched one of the country’s first
African-American newspaper</span>s.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="background: white; color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;">In 1822, the couple—who were raising seven
children—were hauled into court and indicted for the crime of “</span><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;">interracial miscegenation.” After
fighting the charges for five years, the couple prevailed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;">In 1832, one of their daughters, Julia
Ann Isaacs, married Eston Hemings. He was the youngest son of Sally Hemings, a
mixed-race (her mother was biracial and her father was John Wayles, Thomas
Jefferson’s father-in-law) enslaved woman at Monticello. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;">DNA and historical evidence strongly
suggest that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Eston Hemings and his six
siblings. Eston Hemings, who was born in 1808, had been freed by Thomas
Jefferson in his will following his death on July 4, 1826. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqBdOiY2kHn71LtFMEWLeqthxPH42JTlRDirwuH7YxgMWu1JJAKINU0Lwyvvg04HqQ8A2GF6-UqCOcxohVNU-SGJxEgtIeXgko4L55WyjbXFP32hArylEeaXtVDRgjQPw6gLlwVhPwhjITfjQl11fbkENVmyVSV0vmIte7Vil_eOHb3eTVYwwlcFrzOw" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-size: 12.5pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="532" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqBdOiY2kHn71LtFMEWLeqthxPH42JTlRDirwuH7YxgMWu1JJAKINU0Lwyvvg04HqQ8A2GF6-UqCOcxohVNU-SGJxEgtIeXgko4L55WyjbXFP32hArylEeaXtVDRgjQPw6gLlwVhPwhjITfjQl11fbkENVmyVSV0vmIte7Vil_eOHb3eTVYwwlcFrzOw=w263-h178" width="263" /></a><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;">Eston and Julia Ann Hemings’ first
child, John Wayles Hemings, was born in Charlottesville in 1835. He later served
as a Union officer in the Civil War. The couple had two other children,
including Beverly Frederick Hemings (<i>in the photo with his sons)</i>, who was born in Ohio in 1839 after the
family moved west.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;">They later moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where
they changed their last name to Jefferson. And, although Julia Ann’s father was
Jewish, the entire family “began to identify publicly as [Thomas] Jefferson’s
white, Christian descendants.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: #444444; font-size: 12.5pt;">You can read the entire essay at </span><b><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/TJGrandchildren">https://tinyurl.com/TJGrandchildren</a></span></b><b><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Special thanks to my friend and Saving
Monticello Newsletter subscriber Amoret Bruguiere for bringing Professor
Loeffler’s essay to my attention.</span><span style="color: #0c1839; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE DOC</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">: Steven Pressman’s great documentary, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Levys of Monticello,</i> continues to
appear at film festivals. <span style="color: #222222;">There’s an in-person
screening on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday,</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">November 6</b>, at the </span>Virginia Film
Festival <span style="color: #222222;">in Charlottesville, after which I’ll
be taking part in a Q&A with Steve, Susan Stein, Phyllis Leffler, and Niya
Bates. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The next
screening is set for </span><b style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">November 13</b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> at the
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival in partnership with Philadelphia’s National
Museum of American Jewish History.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">For more info,
go to</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/557313016269332364/8887220805205097642"><span style="color: blue;">https://bit.ly/LevyDoc</span></a></span></u><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday afternoon, November 5</b>, I will
sign copies of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> at the
Monticello Gift Shop on the Mountaintop—the day before the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">November 6</b>
screening at the beautifully restored Paramount Theater on the Downtown Mall in
Charlottesville.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6g9JrBtWYxOfOQkJ8sYDpbGghbG9Rs9Pp-9ToCvSYOcelx5fWfXXdQLLsL6RTzXkfBB7DEOPMNmy9NY3h-vdP4lu4rz5PbLTjdGSqwMAJ2waD6TsX4jN1774MqqY6bNH1J9ulz7nipLTmcy68GhJKt8m4OjbjjG8QCnmj6uDXXzpQfmwDY09w3I1uJQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="515" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6g9JrBtWYxOfOQkJ8sYDpbGghbG9Rs9Pp-9ToCvSYOcelx5fWfXXdQLLsL6RTzXkfBB7DEOPMNmy9NY3h-vdP4lu4rz5PbLTjdGSqwMAJ2waD6TsX4jN1774MqqY6bNH1J9ulz7nipLTmcy68GhJKt8m4OjbjjG8QCnmj6uDXXzpQfmwDY09w3I1uJQ" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
For details on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-36245635286651987802022-10-06T16:21:00.001-04:002023-08-03T15:33:38.967-04:00October 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 10<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>October 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLnP9ugyThXpWds30Ov8oPOxbX4IT6g1v0J6wo7sMUbTbsVl_kr7t5HhIv-X2148JbMGkGHLZ8y_cQb5lqqzMBKLX3W-6A5iHskmtLYbfnUZEQ-1kkPx_q51TU3NkBqlrww_avL3jaxj37YfcgUvCTV6ZKZYGY_-HZbUyhyWbwnI4rYwcyxbzHnonqNA" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLnP9ugyThXpWds30Ov8oPOxbX4IT6g1v0J6wo7sMUbTbsVl_kr7t5HhIv-X2148JbMGkGHLZ8y_cQb5lqqzMBKLX3W-6A5iHskmtLYbfnUZEQ-1kkPx_q51TU3NkBqlrww_avL3jaxj37YfcgUvCTV6ZKZYGY_-HZbUyhyWbwnI4rYwcyxbzHnonqNA=w503-h96" width="503" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p><br /><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">AN IDEAL PLACE TO
PLAY:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s not every
day that you get to read a first-person account of a visit to Monticello in
1940, much less one written by a Levy Family descendant. But I was fortunate
enough last month to receive a copy of “Spring at Monticello,” a scrapbook
entry written by Nancy Hoffman, a granddaughter of L. Napoleon Levy—and a
grandniece of his brother, Jefferson M. Levy who owned Monticello from 1879 to
1923.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In her
short account, Nancy Hoffman describes a visit to the mountaintop she made that
year when she was ten years old with her sister Pam, their mother Alma
Hendricks Levy Bookman, and three family friends—a mother and her two daughters.
Many thanks to Nancy’s son Rob Hoffman for kindly scanning and emailing it to
me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
mothers and daughters piled into the Bookman family station wagon in New York
and drove south to their first stop in Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg. Touring
the restored 18<sup>th</sup> century buildings, Nancy Hoffman wrote, was “a ten-year-old’s
dream come true.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhX7zFaLtkZoJoi2_esXQhuSaZm5bdkB6qUfR0d-bTt3_qBe_rSJqZw_XJEtC1HzPuRgSfshZcYNFZo5r0daKOYVE_EMS1CQcMBBTZhQUvQYEO4-hWd-j1ritdE0payWvcsNJ4KYls0GlP9XAzTYKmUjHTqLCaTWf8uQbNkwdkuyOZX4riEeakwNwXOSw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="436" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhX7zFaLtkZoJoi2_esXQhuSaZm5bdkB6qUfR0d-bTt3_qBe_rSJqZw_XJEtC1HzPuRgSfshZcYNFZo5r0daKOYVE_EMS1CQcMBBTZhQUvQYEO4-hWd-j1ritdE0payWvcsNJ4KYls0GlP9XAzTYKmUjHTqLCaTWf8uQbNkwdkuyOZX4riEeakwNwXOSw=w325-h252" width="325" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A highlight for the New Yorkers was a meal featuring
Southern fried chicken and Virginia ham biscuits; another was running into
Katherine Hepburn in one of the historic houses. “For us kids, it was a first,”
she wrote, “and a huge treat to have been so close to living, breathing, big
movie star.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
next stop was Monticello. When Nancy’s mother drove up to the old gatehouse that
was used to greet visitors in those days, an older African American man “came
out to see who we were,” Nancy remembered. “When he saw my mother behind the
wheel, his face lit up and he cried out incredulously, his voice rising as he
spoke, ‘Alma??? Alma???’”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
man “recognized my mother from long ago [visits],” Nancy wrote, as he had worked
at Monticello for Jefferson Levy. “But the astonishing part was that he had not
seen my mother since she was a young girl. Here she was all grown up, behind
the wheel of an automobile, yet he knew her immediately, and with obvious
affection, called out her name.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Her
mother, Nancy said, “called his name with some surprise, nodded her head and
affirmed that she was indeed Alma. Mother offered him a ride up to the house.”
The “fragile, white-haired” man seemed reticent at first, then said he would
have to get permission to join them. So, Nancy said, “He got on the phone and
received the okay to accompany us.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
man—whose name Nancy could not recall when she wrote the remembrance—likely was
William Page, the husband of Lucy Coleman Barnaby Page, who had been the
gatekeeper at Monticello since 1932. William Page was one of the first tour
guides at Monticello in 1923 when the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation purchased
the place from Jefferson Levy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The family drove up from the
gatehouse to Monticello and had a private tour of the house. As the man and her
mother reminisced,” Nancy wrote, “he took us up to the third floor, the
closed-off rotunda where my mother, her siblings and cousins used to stay when
they spent the summer there with their Uncle Jeff.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
Monticello, she remembered, “appeared like a vast open indoor space, flooded
with light and an ideal place to play. I could picture us dressing up and
putting on plays. My mother seemed like the luckiest little girl in the world
to have spent summers there with her family.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghwKq8Kub_5rSVPb0SssiudNf4GkLexntg8lUEuN3sEW7AIpa-2vwYg1FCJ72vcaOqwoYofGHCvJia9R_iV98DT8K1Z8aVvEH4Z20auhy3ZSWaFQEKNb4USowDhP30pq8CmyWVWgRmshqLCHg7pxLGHsvZYVxD8wzLVl5X2ViBOi-U3576KnZRUqOlYg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="573" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghwKq8Kub_5rSVPb0SssiudNf4GkLexntg8lUEuN3sEW7AIpa-2vwYg1FCJ72vcaOqwoYofGHCvJia9R_iV98DT8K1Z8aVvEH4Z20auhy3ZSWaFQEKNb4USowDhP30pq8CmyWVWgRmshqLCHg7pxLGHsvZYVxD8wzLVl5X2ViBOi-U3576KnZRUqOlYg=w345-h252" width="345" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It
“was a glorious visit and one of the best vacations I ever spent, wallowing in
America’s past, enjoying Virginia’s culinary expertise and being treated so
royally at my young age in such a magnificent mansion that my mother, for
several summers, had called home.”</span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE DOC</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">: Steven Pressman’s great doc, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Levys of Monticello,</i> is being screened at several film
festivals this fall. <span style="color: #222222;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">October 10</b>, it’ll be shown at the </span>Jacob Burns Film
Center <span style="color: #222222;">as part of the Westchester Jewish Film
Festival. There’s an in-person screening on Sunday, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">November 6</b>, at the </span>Virginia Film Festival <span style="color: #222222;">in Charlottesville, after which I’ll be taking part in a
Q&A with Steve, Susan Stein, and Niya Bates. The next screening is set for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">November 13</b> at the </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">Philadelphia
Jewish Film Festival in partnership with Philadelphia’s National Museum of
American Jewish History. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">For more info,
go to</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/557313016269332364/8887220805205097642"><span style="color: blue;">https://bit.ly/LevyDoc</span></a></span></u><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGj1iiXHkEFrIDMMsgiKJNl7DhFZSstda7TTc3FyaHPMBDfRee-gXjKwryoL1vN8pr5rCbZtRdvDbZhhoaGaeJv6da3Pebwyy-XEBMEpKKRCQFrR6JflRK6Heof-un2idL5VceHmW8O5J6SJtxB-IeNt5RvUiBav5z_8XzpBF6rtNgMv06pzyErcTcyA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="515" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGj1iiXHkEFrIDMMsgiKJNl7DhFZSstda7TTc3FyaHPMBDfRee-gXjKwryoL1vN8pr5rCbZtRdvDbZhhoaGaeJv6da3Pebwyy-XEBMEpKKRCQFrR6JflRK6Heof-un2idL5VceHmW8O5J6SJtxB-IeNt5RvUiBav5z_8XzpBF6rtNgMv06pzyErcTcyA=w338-h191" width="338" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> I’ll
be doing three book talks in October. On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday,
October 2</b>, I have a Zoom talk on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> for the </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Shearith Israel
Sisterhood book club in Dallas. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll
be speaking about my book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What So Proudly
We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life</i>, on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thursday, October 6</b>, at the luncheon meeting of the Alexandria
(Va.) Committee of Colonial Dames. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And
I’ll be doing a talk on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American
Biography</i> on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tuesday, October 11</b>,
for the Kate Waller Barret DAR Chapter in Mount Vernon, Virginia. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
For details on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: You can read back issues of this
newsletter at <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a></span></u></span><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-65131926811061479562022-09-06T13:26:00.004-04:002023-02-04T14:59:59.718-05:00September 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 9<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>September 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNz7B7FMf08LQ9uTAAYqi0Eyd0i7-eOjrw3WNgOhyaznG7_hc8FeLVrjUDq6PYDSXk6cmqZldyZ1JNydYeNMNyce1GqLrmLl5oRfCB1FBFoFUfu8ugLIKVEArBhaaJBI7j4dWtZjyn34R4Z644SHsHIQZxEp_AR2sxJtJ-kO0xgEsQWEBTmtam61JlQg/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNz7B7FMf08LQ9uTAAYqi0Eyd0i7-eOjrw3WNgOhyaznG7_hc8FeLVrjUDq6PYDSXk6cmqZldyZ1JNydYeNMNyce1GqLrmLl5oRfCB1FBFoFUfu8ugLIKVEArBhaaJBI7j4dWtZjyn34R4Z644SHsHIQZxEp_AR2sxJtJ-kO0xgEsQWEBTmtam61JlQg/w533-h93/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="533" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">THE REAL SAMUEL NUNES STORY: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In <i>Saving Monticello</i> I told the
fascinating story of one of Uriah Levy’s great-great-grandfathers, Samuel Nunes
Ribiero, whom I described as “a prominent, well-to-do Portuguese physician,”
and went on to say that he and his family were crypto-Jews, sometimes
called <i>conversos</i> or <i>marranos </i>(which can be
translated as “swine” or “pig”) and by one account made a thriller-worthy
escape from the Spanish Inquisition.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Said
escape involved a miraculous reprieve from the Grand Inquisitor; a stealth Passover
Seder; and a British sea captain masterminding a daring plan for him, his
mother, his wife, and their two sons and a daughter under the noses of their
Inquisitorial overseers to London in 1726.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The Nunes family openly
practiced Judaism in England. In 1733 they were among 40 Jews who immigrated to
the colony of Georgia, where they changed the family name to Nunez, as indicated
in the document, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Early Settlers of
Georgia</i> (1783) below. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFdfKsNYO4WPy4Ytq585Fw1PtAg6-_-IJy6JnUUSxHOEHqCWsmfX0Kt2M2V0rd17kuqRyxqjoBhZv3yJoZ6VtY4hBGSCeAAeS3G-dN5H-Spf6Eiwh5jSWOVD5YZAsGHGYYH0a8nAEWX9Yf17qg0FD1auWgKFR6-1t2YoiGppJwvXSewVF9q66yLSPTg/s539/Nunez%20family%20emigration%20document.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="539" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFdfKsNYO4WPy4Ytq585Fw1PtAg6-_-IJy6JnUUSxHOEHqCWsmfX0Kt2M2V0rd17kuqRyxqjoBhZv3yJoZ6VtY4hBGSCeAAeS3G-dN5H-Spf6Eiwh5jSWOVD5YZAsGHGYYH0a8nAEWX9Yf17qg0FD1auWgKFR6-1t2YoiGppJwvXSewVF9q66yLSPTg/w344-h333/Nunez%20family%20emigration%20document.jpg" width="344" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>Last month I saw a post on
the Nunez Family Descendant’s Facebook page by the historian Alex Bueno-Edwards
in which he wrote about the <a href="https://gw.geneanet.org/alexbueno?n=nunes+ribeiro&oc=&p=samuel">Dr. Samuel Nunes page</a> he had created on Geneanet, a
widely used European genealogical database. In preparing the page, he relied
heavily on <a href="https://arlindo-correia.com/120412.html">research done by Arlindo Correia</a>, a retired Portuguese tax official
who has dug deeply into official Portuguese Inquisition records. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 2012 Arlindo
Correia uncovered a vast amount of material about the Nunes family’s
Inquisition horrors—one that made no mention of the oft-repeated family story
of their dramatic 1726 escape from Lisbon.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“The true story,” Alex Bueno-Edwards—who
translated the page into English—wrote, “is less dramatic than the fantastically
embellished version found all over the Internet, but much more compelling.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
What follows are facts that I found particularly compelling about the Samuel
Nunes family and the Inquisition from Correia’s research—facts that I didn’t
know when I was doing the research for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>. That includes information about Dr. Nunes and his wife Gracia’s—and Uriah
and Jefferson Levy’s—Portuguese ancestors.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">First, a bit of genealogy:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Samuel Nunes’
father, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Manuel Henriques de Lucena</b>, was
born about 1641 in São Vicente da Beira, about a 150 miles northeast of
Lisbon. A customs officer, he moved to Lisbon in 1703. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sometime around
1668 Manuel had married Samuel Nunes’ mother, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Maria Nunes Ribeiro</b>, who was born circa 1653, most likely in Idanha-a-Nova
not far from São Vicente da Beira, close to the border with Spain. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Samuel Nunes’ paternal
grandparents were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Diogo Gomes Henriques</b>
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Isabel Henriques</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">His maternal
grandparents were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Luis Lopes</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Maria Riberio</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Samuel Nunes married
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gracia Caetana da Veiga,</b> born in
1676 in Lisbon. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Gracia (later
known as Rebecca) was the daughter of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">André
de Sequeira</b>, who was born about 1646 in Lisbon, a merchant and
businessman. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Gracia’s mother
was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Maria Isabel da Veiga</b>, born in
Lisbon sometime before 1676.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Inquisition
records show that Dr. Samuel Nunes was Jewish, but was baptized a Roman
Catholic to hide that fact. He had established himself in Lisbon by the turn of
the 18<sup>th</sup> century, a particularly violent time of the Inquisition. After
being denounced by about a dozen people, Dr. Nunes and his wife Gracia were
arrested on August 23, 1703, along with his father Manuel. They were locked up
in the prison at the Estaus Palace, the Portuguese Inquisition headquarters.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As
for the testimony of their accusers, Arlindo Correia wrote: “As usual, the
content of the complaints is repeated, with… variations and additions, following
the established formulas: between [Catholic] practices, they declared
themselves to be [observers] of the law of Moses for the salvation of their souls.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dr.
Nunes testified that his wife was “a New Christian,” and that he was baptized,
confirmed, learned catechism, and attended “the sacraments and Sunday Mass.” An
Inquisitor challenged him, urging him to confess his guilt. He replied that he always
“acted like a good Catholic,” and that he “never had any practice of Judaism or
Jewish ceremony.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
trial dragged on into the next year. On July 24, 1704, Dr. Nunes decided to
“confess” in order to avoid being executed. In a long statement, he denounced “his
father, his friends and acquaintances, coinciding greatly with the names of
those who had denounced him.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Inquisitors accepted his confession on August 18, but because he didn’t
denounce his wife—and perhaps because some of them were his patients—they
spared his life. However, Dr. Nunes was tortured, according to the Inquisition
records, for the crime of “not having mentioned his participation in any Jewish
ceremony.” He underwent what Correia called “a Hurried treatment.” which “was
longer and therefore more painful than the expert treatment.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">No
need to go into the gruesome types of torture the Inquisitors subjected Jews
and Muslims to. However, the records show that “strings”—most likely ropes—were
involved and that the torture was so painful that Dr. Nunes made more
confessions, even though he was unable to sign them.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrJOMHZ0In6sSpPvQiEVGW-Gs5rX441uI-pxgGtgAFZKoEzdSm4FjdIcYY8KOayOBja64_ctT-v9mRtYvVVlv2Vl0lv7c44wzm-kC7Lt933_qgF_yqWalKbf5BP58iKtRx7ZAFEhZL48UqT_I8AyOOwARYUKy7mATwH_11zfAiKWShFbMgArnGLV6Jg/s600/AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="600" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrJOMHZ0In6sSpPvQiEVGW-Gs5rX441uI-pxgGtgAFZKoEzdSm4FjdIcYY8KOayOBja64_ctT-v9mRtYvVVlv2Vl0lv7c44wzm-kC7Lt933_qgF_yqWalKbf5BP58iKtRx7ZAFEhZL48UqT_I8AyOOwARYUKy7mATwH_11zfAiKWShFbMgArnGLV6Jg/w400-h260/AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When
the torture ended, he was tossed back into the Inquisition prison. Meanwhile, “all
of his goods” were confiscated.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Samuel
Nunes was not released until May 14, 1706, although his wife Rebecca remained in
prison because she refused to confess or give testimony against other family
members. She was then tortured more severely than her husband was and eventually
denounced several of her relatives. She was released on September 12, 1706.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Twenty
years later Dr. and Mrs. Nunes and their six children followed the path of
other crypto-Jews in Portugal and escaped Lisbon and headed to London. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next
month we’ll pick up the story of what happened to the family in England, leading
to their second adventure, the trip across the Atlantic Ocean to Georgia in
1733.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">ELI EVANS, 1936-2022:
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Eli Evans, best known for his pioneering,
best-selling book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Provincials: A
Personal History of Jews in the South, </i>died July 26 in New York City of complications
from COVID-19. He was 85. Published in 1971, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Provincials</i> <span style="color: #2a2a2a;">is widely regarded as
the seminal history of Jews in the American South.</span></span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 12.0pt;">The book
“explores the nuances of Southern Jewish identity,” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New York Jewish Week</i> said, “and belongs on bookshelves next to
Irving Howe’s classic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">World of Our
Fathers</i>,” the famed 1976 history of Eastern European Jews who emigrated to
the United States in the late 1890s and early 1900.</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Eli Evans was born and grew up in North Carolina where
his paternal grandfather had settled after fleeing Lithuania in the late 1800s.
His father, Emmanuel “Mutt” Evans, was born in Fayetteville, owned a chain of
general stores, and was the first Jewish mayor of Durham. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">His grandmother, Jennie
Nachamson, founded the first Hadassah chapter in the South.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51fHsi0O+SL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51fHsi0O+SL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Eli Evans graduated from the University
of North Carolina in 1958, where he became the first Jewish student body president
and spent a summer on a Kibbutz in Israel. He then served for two years in
the U.S. Navy, after which he went to Yale Law School, getting his law degree
in 1963.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 12.0pt;">
He moved to Washington, and worked as a speechwriter for President Lyndon
Johnson, then for North Carolina Gov. Terry Sanford before relocating to New
York City. He was working for the Carnegie Corporation when he wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Provincials</i>.
Evans went on to become the president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, and
later a founder of </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies at the University of
North Carolina</span>.<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“I am one of those people
who, when they read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Provincials</i>,
they felt for the first time a recognition,” Marcie Cohen Ferris, a UNC professor
of American Studies who grew up in Arkansas, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/us/eli-n-evans-dead.html">told <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i></a>. “They had never seen their experience of Jewish
life reflected this way.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE DOC</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Steven Pressman’s great doc, <i>The Levys of Monticello,</i> is being screened at a bunch of film
festivals this fall. <span style="color: #222222;">It’ll be shown in September in five cities, either
virtually or in-person: <a href="https://clevelandjewishfilmfest.eventive.org/schedule" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Cleveland</span></a>, <a href="https://www.jewishchattanooga.com/programs/chattanooga-jewish-film-series-2022/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Chattanooga</span></a>, <a href="https://watch.eventive.org/mkejewishfilm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Milwaukee</span></a>, <a href="https://jccdallas.org/special-events/film-festival/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Dallas</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.jewishcharleston.org/event-calendar/filmfest-presents-levys-of-monticello-1661710721/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Charleston, S.C</span>.</a> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G0cC8U_ei1A/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G0cC8U_ei1A/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On
October 10, it’ll be at the </span><a href="https://burnsfilmcenter.org/series/jewish-film-festival/" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Jacob Burns Film Center</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">as part of the
Westchester Jewish Film Festival. There’s an in-person screen on Sunday,
November 6, at the </span><a href="https://virginiafilmfestival.org/35th-vaff-sneak-preview/" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Virginia Film Festival</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in
Charlottesville, after which I’ll be taking part in a Q&A with Steve and
others in the film. The next screening is set for November 13 at the
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival in partnership with Philadelphia’s National
Museum of American Jewish History.</span></p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">For more info,
go to</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/557313016269332364/8887220805205097642"><span style="color: blue;">https://bit.ly/LevyDoc</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
I’ll be taking part in a Book Fair on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday,
September 17</b>, at Lansdowne Woods in Leesburg, Virginia. Along with a group
of other local authors, I’ll be signing copies of my books, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, beginning at 10:00
a.m. in the spacious Lansdowne Clubhouse Auditorium. Then I’ll be part of a two-person
panel, “How to Get Your Book Published,” at 3:00. The event is free and open to
the public. The address is </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">19375 Magnolia
Grove Square, Leesburg, VA 20176.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On
<b>Tuesday, September 27</b>, I’ll be doing talk on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> and a book signing at the monthly meeting of the
George Mason DAR Chapter in Springfield, Virginia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaalW3GILnDLvSbJ9Rdua1gNQWlFoK7rmTYQYcoC-uoGxeUfblV6KRvaQRl0uG49KSd4T5YVfHJuh9IEUgddoYYVqQe3ilKWNHFrcxA_ems2IHr4q8iHDq44VllsEOkvE_4MLFK41-JMCUX8oes9Yt_4iaoI1jYAF-9A8WSztH2YSrc_BQWoMi2ymwQ/s1277/Monticello%20talk,%20Oct.%207,%202016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1216" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaalW3GILnDLvSbJ9Rdua1gNQWlFoK7rmTYQYcoC-uoGxeUfblV6KRvaQRl0uG49KSd4T5YVfHJuh9IEUgddoYYVqQe3ilKWNHFrcxA_ems2IHr4q8iHDq44VllsEOkvE_4MLFK41-JMCUX8oes9Yt_4iaoI1jYAF-9A8WSztH2YSrc_BQWoMi2ymwQ/w191-h200/Monticello%20talk,%20Oct.%207,%202016.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Saving
Monticello</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> or for any of my other books, email me at </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details
on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i>Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b> </b> I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i>Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i>Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i>Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-88872208052050976422022-08-04T13:09:00.003-04:002022-09-05T12:37:37.885-04:00August 2022<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"> <b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter</span></b></p></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson</span></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 8<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>August 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">“</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="color: #073763;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbsJn4lywyjlrn4-uHqU3y0QIxO9MZ5drzuADGywS2nOmaU4zkMgUNuZxpXLpsz56VOemyz2tAuXBbOhZH1EWqW1cOozbCryz9NKgC5DFFwUj7ehJhiVbnhE5fCqFox2ZdeyaZm5DH22R3qJbIQv0gBnImwgWYK5ey2KXDKSzSDqtilTQENdxsuKwzg/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbsJn4lywyjlrn4-uHqU3y0QIxO9MZ5drzuADGywS2nOmaU4zkMgUNuZxpXLpsz56VOemyz2tAuXBbOhZH1EWqW1cOozbCryz9NKgC5DFFwUj7ehJhiVbnhE5fCqFox2ZdeyaZm5DH22R3qJbIQv0gBnImwgWYK5ey2KXDKSzSDqtilTQENdxsuKwzg/w558-h97/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="558" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE RACHEL PHILLIPS WEDDING:
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Uriah Levy bought Monticello from James
Turner Barclay in 1834, he never planned to live there permanently. An active
duty U.S. Navy Lieutenant, Levy lived in a well-appointed townhouse in New York
City when he wasn’t sailing the seas. One member of the Levy family, his mother
Rachel, did take up residence in Monticello in 1837, a year after Uriah Levy took possession of the property. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Rachel
Machado Phillips Levy (<i>below)</i> was born in New York City in 1769, the daughter of Jonas Phillips (1736-1803)
and Rebecca Machado Philips (1746-1831). Jonas and Rebecca Phillips,
astoundingly, had 21 children. Several died as infants, including Rachel’s twin
sister, Sarah.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOF-efFalQEJ0FZhQmHMA4kx-8WkIQjnqGt1nHZPB_0k_wJ9rVbXY1Gaahk4xtNJRdKUDSqLaj-MAN-b1-1o27fLx95FzkkJFkLxu605z7ptZC5PLG_EaqDKcEAaKyynGKAAI70ofmm75heh9oB-ks1j4msv4spMTAW2NGbjrWDBThVeBbe6K-0tw2g/s612/Rachel%20Levy%20portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOF-efFalQEJ0FZhQmHMA4kx-8WkIQjnqGt1nHZPB_0k_wJ9rVbXY1Gaahk4xtNJRdKUDSqLaj-MAN-b1-1o27fLx95FzkkJFkLxu605z7ptZC5PLG_EaqDKcEAaKyynGKAAI70ofmm75heh9oB-ks1j4msv4spMTAW2NGbjrWDBThVeBbe6K-0tw2g/s320/Rachel%20Levy%20portrait.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Rachel
married a young immigrant from Germany, Michael Levy, in Philadelphia in 1787
when she was 18 years old. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A description
of their wedding—believed to be the first recorded of a Jewish wedding ceremony
in the New World—is contained in a letter written on the day of the wedding, June
27, by the famed Revolutionary War patriot and physician Dr. Benjamin Rush
(1745-1813) to his wife Julia.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In
it, Dr. Rush—a signer of the Declaration of Independence—provided plenty of details
about the wedding that ring true, although he mistakenly wrote that Michael
Levy was from Virginia. After that faux pas, Rush went on to describe the
ceremony. He told his wife that it began with about twenty minutes of prayer in
“the Hebrew language,” after which Michael Levy signed the Ketubah, a Jewish
marriage contract.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Rush
described it as “</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a small piece of
parchment… written in Hebrew, which contained a deed of settlement and which
the groom [signed] in the presence of four witnesses. In this deed he conveyed
a part of his fortune to his bride, by which she was provided for after his
death in case she survived him.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next, the Chuppah—the structure under which a Jewish
bride and groom take their vows—was put in place. Rush described it as “a
beautiful canopy composed of white and red silk in the middle of the floor. It
was supported by four young men (by means of four poles), who put on white gloves
for the purpose.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">After the Chuppah was ready, the
bride, accompanied by “her mother, sister, and a long train of female
relations, came downstairs.” Rachel Phillips’ face, Rush wrote, “was covered
with a veil which reached halfways down her body.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Describing the bride as
“lovely and affecting,” Rush said he “gazed with delight upon her. Innocence,
modesty, fear, respect, and devotion appeared all at once in her countenance.”</span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PFuaXQGOmjsENu5XXGHpIOYxEDaugJMDW8-6LIpkUxk9-5PH4Qbv4BliW_X4_iQEPkEhdU_xwOiOxphsnYv8mcM1kcJuiCZr7VrLYh5T-_aNP88cBA49qd2-dA_dnzNGWoDeNeMQPJABDDQmgG5xqFsIMkSq7mB8lEpb432iy368qk2bTBDsZAfW-w/s534/111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="534" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PFuaXQGOmjsENu5XXGHpIOYxEDaugJMDW8-6LIpkUxk9-5PH4Qbv4BliW_X4_iQEPkEhdU_xwOiOxphsnYv8mcM1kcJuiCZr7VrLYh5T-_aNP88cBA49qd2-dA_dnzNGWoDeNeMQPJABDDQmgG5xqFsIMkSq7mB8lEpb432iy368qk2bTBDsZAfW-w/w320-h240/111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The rabbi (Rush called him
“the priest”) then led the assembled in prayer in Hebrew, after which the bride
and groom sipped from “a glass full” of wine. After that, the rabbi “took a
ring and directed the groom to place it upon the finger of his bride in the
same manner as is [practiced} in the marriage service of the Church of England.”</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then came more ceremonial
wine sipping by the father of the bride, Jonas Phillips, and the bride and groom.
After Michael Levy drank his wine, he “took the glass in his hand and threw it
upon a large pewter dish which was suddenly placed at his feet. Upon its
breaking into a number of small pieces, there was a general shout of joy and a
declaration that the ceremony was over. The groom now saluted his bride, and kisses
and congratulations became general through the room.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
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<p class=MsoCaption><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:windowtext'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
</span></span></b><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:windowtext;
font-style:normal;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>Benjamin Rush<span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Rush (<i>below</i>) stuck around after the ceremony to have a slice
of wedding cake and a glass of wine. Then he paid his respects to Rebecca
Philips, who had fainted “under the pressure of the heat.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He was about to take his
leave when Rebecca Phillips put “a large piece of cake” into his pocket to give
to his wife.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zj_OZLoCS1uXz1LT83BjkuHtihCARFRVSOyuFtpFY0oG1nNucm1lUI1ut7Hb-8mSlG0dgDYeD_TY3ijmgSrK45gnR3rpaI0GiipwDPdwI26no8yfpkjkVMbXCTS2PeX6WCk47bmxN5ePv0UQ5i53UglQSqeOCvxmG_55z8yFP68E_Cei4_Lq89Pm1Q/s420/Rush,%20Benjamin.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zj_OZLoCS1uXz1LT83BjkuHtihCARFRVSOyuFtpFY0oG1nNucm1lUI1ut7Hb-8mSlG0dgDYeD_TY3ijmgSrK45gnR3rpaI0GiipwDPdwI26no8yfpkjkVMbXCTS2PeX6WCk47bmxN5ePv0UQ5i53UglQSqeOCvxmG_55z8yFP68E_Cei4_Lq89Pm1Q/s320/Rush,%20Benjamin.png" width="256" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Michael Levy and Rachel Phillips Levy had four
children in the next five years. (They eventually had fourteen, three girls and
eleven boys.). The fourth child, Uriah Phillips Levy, was born in Philadelphia
on April 22, 1792. </span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Flash
forward 45 years to 1837, when the then U.S. Navy Lt. Uriah Levy brought his 68-year-old
mother with him to Monticello, where she took up residence in the house. Rachel
Phillips Levy lived in Thomas Jefferson’s “Essay in Architecture” for two years
until she died on May 1, 1839. Her son was at sea at the time, commanding the
U.S.S. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vandalia</i>, a 783-ton sloop of war.
He apparently did not learn that his mother had died until six months later
when he arrived at Monticello after the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vandalia</i>'s
cruise ended and the ship put in at Norfolk.</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_7" o:spid="_x0000_s1026"
type="#_x0000_t75" style='position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:1.05pt;
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o:title=""/>
<w:wrap type="square" anchorx="margin"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Back on the mountaintop in early
May the manager of Monticello, Joel Wheeler, had contacted Uriah’s siblings,
Jonas and Amelia, and they arranged to have their mother buried near the house.
The tombstone (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">below</i>) Levy later
erected included the Hebrew month and year of his mother’s death. It was
inscribed:</span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“To
the memory of Rachel Phillips Levy, Born in New York, 23 of May 1769, Married
1787. Died 7, of IYAR, (May) 5591, AB (1839) at Monticello, Va.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">She
is the only Levy family member buried at Monticello.</span> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPbB1ShMZwOJW8daQ0GFlx0alazQ_YbgTHDKOULWMVDJF0XB3hl6W57GM2GofZy2caWQlZTT6GdrBQPh5maaZXTK961oUNnQd9cOieTBUjpm4fQRoIg81_HW2sIDJvg0G5oUhDT1rysLlU507GaMTuJUnB63aFuK9vPq-ESDxNW6ZnbBRYCUfQvMRyA/s942/Rachel%20Levy%20Grave.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="942" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPbB1ShMZwOJW8daQ0GFlx0alazQ_YbgTHDKOULWMVDJF0XB3hl6W57GM2GofZy2caWQlZTT6GdrBQPh5maaZXTK961oUNnQd9cOieTBUjpm4fQRoIg81_HW2sIDJvg0G5oUhDT1rysLlU507GaMTuJUnB63aFuK9vPq-ESDxNW6ZnbBRYCUfQvMRyA/w400-h276/Rachel%20Levy%20Grave.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">THE DOC</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: By mid-summer, Steven Pressman reports, his terrific
documentary <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Levys of Monticello</i> had
been shown “at nearly 20 festivals around the country and in Canada, with more
than a dozen others on the schedule for later this summer and fall—and many
more to come beyond that.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In answer to an oft-asked
question about when the film will be available online, he said: “That will
happen at some point in the future, but for now the film will continue to be
shown on the festival circuit throughout the rest of the year and into 2023. So
for those who haven’t yet had a chance to see the film, hopefully it’ll be
coming your way soon.” You can find more info about this award-winning
documentary, including the trailer, at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/LevyDoc">https://bit.ly/LevyDoc</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">
I’ll be doing two Zoom talks for Context Conversations this month. The first,
on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, complete with
scores of historical images, takes place on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monday, August 15</b>, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The second
is on the July 9, 1864, Civil War Battle of Monocacy and Confederate Gen. Jubal
Early’s subsequent attack on Washington, D.C., based on my book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Desperate Engagement</i>. It’s on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monday, August 22</b>, also at 5:00 p.m.
Eastern. For info and tickets, go to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/MonticelloContext">https://bit.ly/MonticelloContext</a></span>
or <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/ContextDesperate">https://bit.ly/ContextDesperate</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details
on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: You can read back issues of this
newsletter at <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a></span></u></span><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-26484771103109493192022-07-06T10:11:00.002-04:002022-07-06T10:32:38.048-04:00July 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 7<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>July 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUPsCO1-WJu3kOM9TY_fA3xpphq4YMEHw0mfPU6XMam9ab7AiHFjiSdfBa045XqIPYJ3XEgDyR_PpDMSSgxYf-SbmhtpnuoOEXIfnPDefi6IeJBfgmT-OOwCui6AiTdjT5A6U8YwnKybJodbE4e1vHJp9GAXHoPHusnvJnHTWZ_bhW5GujPJ12Lj43g/s793/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="793" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUPsCO1-WJu3kOM9TY_fA3xpphq4YMEHw0mfPU6XMam9ab7AiHFjiSdfBa045XqIPYJ3XEgDyR_PpDMSSgxYf-SbmhtpnuoOEXIfnPDefi6IeJBfgmT-OOwCui6AiTdjT5A6U8YwnKybJodbE4e1vHJp9GAXHoPHusnvJnHTWZ_bhW5GujPJ12Lj43g/w535-h77/aaaaaaaaaaa%20Newsletter%20masthead.png" width="535" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">JEFFERSON LEVY’S 4th:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Jefferson Levy, who lived
in New York City during the years he owned Monticello (1879-1923), visited the
house irregularly during the year. He made it a point, though, to spend Fourth
of July at Thomas Jefferson’s house. And when he did, the always-social New
Yorker hosted Independence Day ceremonies on the mountaintop.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Levy
invited his staff at Monticello and guests from Charlottesville to take part in
the festivities. After 1889, Levy’s on-site Monticello superintendent Frederick
Rhodes built catapults and scaffolds for displays of fireworks. Often, a band
came from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Charlottesville</st1:place></st1:city>
to play patriotic tunes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jefferson
Levy would end the evening by reading the Declaration of Independence from
Thomas Jefferson’s music stand in front of the guests assembled on Monticello’s
West Lawn. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Independence Day tradition
continues to this day at Monticello. It’s perhaps most famous for the swearing-in
ceremony for new U.S. citizens that was added to the event in 1963. That’s
President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the photo speaking at Monticello on July 4,
1936. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-CCIFuy7rqFKCpYaWB4RmzLMQBgBu2vEz2TcLvgMYs9mihZXhX_IGfFpm_gRoK3aovLd_9VY-6nyTRFWGlSFybqE6m_Lv7FE7xAAHAIq8mlkYJk8DxoNncMsW5Zb41K05Pd5t0Om-MsB92o4S0-13OGOQFdvYIt7rF3VR25xk8k_cRQb0dtb_PRcqw/s627/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="627" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-CCIFuy7rqFKCpYaWB4RmzLMQBgBu2vEz2TcLvgMYs9mihZXhX_IGfFpm_gRoK3aovLd_9VY-6nyTRFWGlSFybqE6m_Lv7FE7xAAHAIq8mlkYJk8DxoNncMsW5Zb41K05Pd5t0Om-MsB92o4S0-13OGOQFdvYIt7rF3VR25xk8k_cRQb0dtb_PRcqw/w366-h249/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.png" width="366" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt;">STATUE CORRECTION: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A few weeks ago I came across new information about the larger-than-life, full-length statute of Thomas Jefferson that Uriah Levy commissioned in Paris from the noted French sculptor David d’Angers in 1833, and donated to the people of the United States—the one that’s displayed today in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in the nation’s capital.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In sketching the history of
the statue’s journey from France to Washington, D.C., in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, I wrote that following Uriah Levy’s donation, U.S.
House and Senate resolutions called for the statue to be displayed outside the
Capitol’s East front (facing the Mall), but for “reasons that are unclear,” it
was placed inside the Capitol, in the Rotunda.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On
February 16, 1835, a resolution was introduced in the House to remove the
statue from the Rotunda “to some suitable place for its preservation, until the
final disposition of it be determined by Congress.” After some debate, during
which one member said that Congress should accept statuary only from
“distinguished” sources, debate was cut off and no action was taken.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“Sometime
during the James K. Polk administration (1845-49),” I wrote, noting also that “the
exact date is not certain,” the statue left the Rotunda, and was shipped up
Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. There, with the permission of President
Polk, David’s bronze Jefferson was placed on the grounds on the north side
facing Lafayette Park.” That’s the statue in a photo above taken in the 1860s.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4RQ5mbVtL31oTKCur1zyhsviyCCL8S8ZLo1rb-jjYlB9hDO2pBybCs0yEwQkd8z_wtRCAV5oZXZxJi7vrPRAw3-ZYHvmYrvjYK1baj2UHru5-aVZ8YFBMN2LsMXz86ACIDx-FdSrBEC54dWMg37yUYzIoG_33i8I7JV8DBpUQrBP3z-MBgZy6mHRQQ/s800/David%20Statue,%20White%20House.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="800" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4RQ5mbVtL31oTKCur1zyhsviyCCL8S8ZLo1rb-jjYlB9hDO2pBybCs0yEwQkd8z_wtRCAV5oZXZxJi7vrPRAw3-ZYHvmYrvjYK1baj2UHru5-aVZ8YFBMN2LsMXz86ACIDx-FdSrBEC54dWMg37yUYzIoG_33i8I7JV8DBpUQrBP3z-MBgZy6mHRQQ/w363-h345/David%20Statue,%20White%20House.jpg" width="363" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I wrote,
“not certain” because the only source I found that provided a date was a
statement from Uriah Levy’s brother Jonas (Jefferson M. Levy’s father), in 1874
when he led an effort to get the rusting statue off the White House lawn and
back to the Capitol.</span> </p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Turns
out that Rosie Cain, a graduate fellow at the White House Historical
Association, was digging through digitized old newspapers and came across a
handful of articles and editorials that prove that the statue was moved to the
White House North Lawn in April 1843. Which means that it the statue moved
during the John Tyler Administration—not two years later under Tyler’s
successor, James Polk, as I reported in the book.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I
did a quick search on the Library of Congress’ invaluable Chronicling America
page—which contains hundreds of thousands of searchable newspaper articles from
1777 to 1963—and found a half dozen articles and editorials documenting that
the statue did, indeed, move in the spring of 1843.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Here
are two examples: an editorial from May 24, 1843, Alexandria (Va.) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gazette</i>, and a May 6, 1843, blurb from
the Richmond, Indiana, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Palladium</i> that
also appeared in a few other newspapers around the country.</span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQlQM54Gh87wKolUufc_baF15VdBlLNnUjWBYHNEgoTJWyczvp8dccC-b6QSyHtlLjEBH1NA74YjZkNjOE6dkMCfhCSXPWewEBAwo7kMJhbNvjBUjI4i-YyTPYolEUqOPqoGquNYAM0jsvTZmgktPTJjWJQJB95wmWFiqoFxxUBUcd1qpEFeElI680g/s426/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="426" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQlQM54Gh87wKolUufc_baF15VdBlLNnUjWBYHNEgoTJWyczvp8dccC-b6QSyHtlLjEBH1NA74YjZkNjOE6dkMCfhCSXPWewEBAwo7kMJhbNvjBUjI4i-YyTPYolEUqOPqoGquNYAM0jsvTZmgktPTJjWJQJB95wmWFiqoFxxUBUcd1qpEFeElI680g/w400-h131/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_i2v2ZgD3fzH-T2enIdvDc5c5dPULlcuO6dQLooqNWsmfouCpK_g0F_XYiBAJ8z2bw6dFGaeZxKDiFs3oJDV0dVXvrLX-owuQKDvu1JmF35vsdWKOwRqvz2Iw68MGadA3Rp7LTGQDrq9j9k0CYTbh2hzb9JUbNUHChyKmPWZTYTL9Ly9viy906dRzw/s480/bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="135" data-original-width="480" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_i2v2ZgD3fzH-T2enIdvDc5c5dPULlcuO6dQLooqNWsmfouCpK_g0F_XYiBAJ8z2bw6dFGaeZxKDiFs3oJDV0dVXvrLX-owuQKDvu1JmF35vsdWKOwRqvz2Iw68MGadA3Rp7LTGQDrq9j9k0CYTbh2hzb9JUbNUHChyKmPWZTYTL9Ly9viy906dRzw/w400-h113/bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just one appearance on tap for this
month: On <b>Sunday, July 16</b>, I will be
taking part in </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fort Stevens, the annual
Fort Stevens Commemoration event Washington, D.C., which goes from 10:00 a.m.
to 2:00 p.m.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ll
be doing a book signing and a brief talk at 11:30 on my book, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.marcleepson.com/desperate_engagement/" target="_blank">Desperate Engagement</a></span>, the story of the July 1864
Civil War Battle of Monocacy and Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s subsequent
attack on Washington, D.C., which centered on two days of fighting at Fort
Stevens. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
event is free and open to the public at 6001 13th St. NW. It’s is
sponsored by the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.apcwdw.com/commemoration" target="_blank">Alliance to Preserve
the Civil War Defenses of Washington</a></span>.</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details
on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtFu4HwtU94dNcxC-HdMf8jnoMp-PdMBtT5tuUJyEOT8fEdChr_OiIqHPqJJN9JeCJBvwpdbRxvD3gcZMDEwo59oIGVNP5bx7y6DbmYmh1wVbtqUhaFSYlM-aZpdOp4W5ae3tMkdXTNaKFBp3Ry99-zs6IdDrT1OA4XjUxbSozPV4xeWTXVnY5A5mhw/s654/TV%20headshot.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="654" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtFu4HwtU94dNcxC-HdMf8jnoMp-PdMBtT5tuUJyEOT8fEdChr_OiIqHPqJJN9JeCJBvwpdbRxvD3gcZMDEwo59oIGVNP5bx7y6DbmYmh1wVbtqUhaFSYlM-aZpdOp4W5ae3tMkdXTNaKFBp3Ry99-zs6IdDrT1OA4XjUxbSozPV4xeWTXVnY5A5mhw/s320/TV%20headshot.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i>Saving Monticello</i>? Please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b> </b> I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books: <i>Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i>Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i>Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-53942444882785151542022-06-08T14:47:00.000-04:002022-06-08T14:47:03.008-04:00June 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 6<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>June 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #073763;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #073763;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span></span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhGS3DQM9YO-d4FiaPFPuBRPS06CUfCbb-lKpkjqCRtB9Xi4NRne5ba4OWnhtI03BsWkpSJ4KN9qVT7-xLdVdjl9HfP6qDrs3_u2X4Vl7uxC9ZMtEdUezBo9ipMD2ZjnF8j9KqEDxRA52M5IdnbmBV0aYYIb1xQMXBw73mJ3Ei6Tm9cv942TBNoKrrsg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhGS3DQM9YO-d4FiaPFPuBRPS06CUfCbb-lKpkjqCRtB9Xi4NRne5ba4OWnhtI03BsWkpSJ4KN9qVT7-xLdVdjl9HfP6qDrs3_u2X4Vl7uxC9ZMtEdUezBo9ipMD2ZjnF8j9KqEDxRA52M5IdnbmBV0aYYIb1xQMXBw73mJ3Ei6Tm9cv942TBNoKrrsg=w550-h104" width="550" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">THE LIBRARY: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thursday, May 26, 2022, was a memorable day in my
professional life: the day that I turned over my <i>Saving Monticello</i> research materials to the Jefferson Library at
Monticello. I had been thinking about the best place to archive those thousands
of pages of transcribed interviews, photocopied newspaper and magazine
articles, letters, documents, books, and many other primary and secondary
sources that I had accumulated since 1997 when I first began researching the
story of the Levy family and Monticello.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The longer I thought about it, the more I realized
that the Jefferson Library would be the perfect place for future scholars and
anyone else interested in the post-Jefferson history of Monticello. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-XbUevK4pgNd4JZV_N8E3Wyhc3ip3S8UWv43kC9HGIm3XRR-h6F1pELc4u2-fjQdoYcXIDtFuhl94Ts7MuH1avxY8WndaurVY1wu3Ye14zf3upNnRijlKIAjf4CHlbpqaD-jeZJNV_sleI8e_LkSkC_rrxbJRYR1llYKN2dV9HQJ7smmmvU_XIPS_Eg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="515" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-XbUevK4pgNd4JZV_N8E3Wyhc3ip3S8UWv43kC9HGIm3XRR-h6F1pELc4u2-fjQdoYcXIDtFuhl94Ts7MuH1avxY8WndaurVY1wu3Ye14zf3upNnRijlKIAjf4CHlbpqaD-jeZJNV_sleI8e_LkSkC_rrxbJRYR1llYKN2dV9HQJ7smmmvU_XIPS_Eg=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">With Endrina Tay, the Fiske and Marie Kimball Librarian,<br /> at Monticello's Jefferson Library. Photo by Ian Atkins,<br />Courtesy of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello</span></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Once
this small mountain (pun intended) of material is catalogued and archived,
anyone with an Internet connection will have access to a large amount of the collection
that deals with the Levy family and with virtually every other aspect of what
happened on the mountaintop after July 4, 1826.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The 15,500-foot,
state-of-the-art Jefferson Library at Monticello was dedicated on April 13,
2002, Thomas Jefferson’s birthday—just six months after the publication of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>. The beautiful
building is adjacent to Monticello on the former Kenwood plantation, which was
once owned by Thomas Jefferson. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Before the library opened as
part of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS),
the Thomas Jefferson Foundation had housed its research materials in several small
library collections at Monticello and in other office space nearby.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the early 1990s then-Foundation
President Daniel P. Jordan led the effort to build a central research library
on the mountaintop. The Foundation, working with the University of Virginia,
leased the 78-acre Kenwood property, plans were drawn up, and construction
began on September 15, 2000. Since opening two years later the Library and the
ICJS have hosted hundreds of scholars, teachers, and students. The building
houses books, journal and newspaper articles, ephemera, unpublished research,
websites, microforms, audio-visuals, photographs, and digital full-text files.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The material, naturally,
focuses on Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, but the library also contains
materials on the colonial, Revolutionary War, and Early Republic periods, as
well as religion and philosophy and European arts and culture. ICJS, of which
the library is an integral part, holds international scholarly conferences,
panel discussions, teacher workshops, lectures, and curriculum-based tours.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Opening this magnificent new
library in Jefferson’s name, we again unfurl the glorious banners of liberal
education, the open mind, the pursuit of truth, freedom of religion, the free
and open exchange of ideas, the love of learning,” the eminent historian David
McCullough said in his remarks at the library’s dedication.</span> <span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAecwBH-HIedUlq3Zaj_j7SgM8xGg7nYigCdk5wWAUFYEumSSAwgCTx9d4HHdRjUS7Uu_rQxOAfWVZtx5DzisGkVA1cc9i5-SPudUtQ8WY8uBi8P2s8J_34WfrwCLqUoltl6GO8NSdHTszF-o89q8lgemEPC83Y-HhnoJIaOvh0_gt9C9uvnyooJoW_g" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><img alt="" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="844" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAecwBH-HIedUlq3Zaj_j7SgM8xGg7nYigCdk5wWAUFYEumSSAwgCTx9d4HHdRjUS7Uu_rQxOAfWVZtx5DzisGkVA1cc9i5-SPudUtQ8WY8uBi8P2s8J_34WfrwCLqUoltl6GO8NSdHTszF-o89q8lgemEPC83Y-HhnoJIaOvh0_gt9C9uvnyooJoW_g=w400-h254" width="400" /></span></b></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />The Library's Robert H. and Clarice Smith Reading Room<br />Hartman-Cox Architects photo</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Jefferson Library, under
the leadership Endrina Tay, who succeeded Jack Robertson as the Fiske and Marie
Kimball Librarian in October 2021, is open to public researchers by
appointment only. To make the arrangements, go to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/LibAppointment">https://bit.ly/LibAppointment</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In this, the Jefferson
Library’s twentieth year, the library features a commemorative exhibit, “The
Jefferson Library: Two Decades of Scholarship and Community,” in the lobby.
The exhibit is open to the public, as is its online component at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/AnnivExhibit">https://bit.ly/AnnivExhibit</a></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can learn more about the library at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/JLibrary">https://bit.ly/JLibrary</a></span>
and search through the collections at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/JLibrarySearch">https://bit.ly/JLibrarySearch</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the very near future those
collections will contain all of the research materials (much of it digitized) that
I have gathered in the 25 years since I began researching at the old Monticello
Research Department.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m extremely grateful to
everyone at Monticello—especially Endrina Tay and Susan Stein, the<span style="background: #FBFBFB; color: #414141;"> Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Richard
Gilder Senior Curator, Special Projects</span>—for allowing me the privilege of
donating my work to the Library’s collections.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">DAVID</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">AND
JEFFERSON: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In 1833, as I wrote in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> (and several times in
this newsletter), Uriah Levy commissioned the renowned French sculptor</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Pierre-Jean David d’Anger to create a full-length statue of Thomas
Jefferson, which now sits in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. David also created a
bronze medallion of Uriah Levy at the same time, a piece of art that now housed
in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In
1840, David created another, very different kind of work that included a
sculpted image of Thomas Jefferson. Here’s a first-hand report about it from my
friend and colleague, Steven Pressman, (the director of “The Levys of
Monticello” documentary) who came across it during a recent trip to France:</span><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">What do Uriah Phillips Levy, Johannes Gutenberg, Thomas
Jefferson and the city of Strasbourg, all have in common?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">It turns out that the same French sculptor, David d’Angers, who was
commissioned by Levy in the early 1830s to create a bronze sculpture of
Jefferson, also included Jefferson as part of a dramatic monument that he made
in honor of Gutenberg, the German inventor of the printing press. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">The Gutenberg monument, created by d'Angers in
1840, is located in Strasbourg, where Gutenberg lived for several years and
where he worked on his new printing invention in the 1440s. Jefferson appears
in one of the four bronze relief panels at the base of the Gutenberg statue,
each of which commemorates historic uses of a printing press.</span><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">The panel that depicts Jefferson celebrates the
printing of the Declaration of Independence and includes several other signers
of the document, along with other figures such as George Washington, the Marquis
de Lafayette and Simon Bolivar, who helped several countries in South America gain
their independence from Spain.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHzkEEWypxcfga2hH5l2r4lA8_NtAkZYRD3_ZENtuxRCx80JwEem8Wzdk84xMDO5FJpwVqkccu2nPWvjuCcEAqqAnHow9D6ZImlgbiwc3q7c7AqBhc01gWJRgYgkWll_UwUZKAyJ0YhXN19auf9MBJtD8kVkRwYW0ZsOvJaMbIjAfJ0oyzblvV2qPJ0A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="483" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHzkEEWypxcfga2hH5l2r4lA8_NtAkZYRD3_ZENtuxRCx80JwEem8Wzdk84xMDO5FJpwVqkccu2nPWvjuCcEAqqAnHow9D6ZImlgbiwc3q7c7AqBhc01gWJRgYgkWll_UwUZKAyJ0YhXN19auf9MBJtD8kVkRwYW0ZsOvJaMbIjAfJ0oyzblvV2qPJ0A" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">‘THE LEVYS OF’ DOC</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Speaking of “The Levys of
Monticello,” Pressman’s terrific documentary that tells the post-Jefferson
history of Monticello, it continues to make the film festival rounds and garner
accolades. The doc’s most-recent honor came last month when it received the Audience
Award for Best Documentary at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center’s JxJ
2002 film festival. Because of that the festival announced that they will have
a third in-person screening of the film on July 21. Ticket info at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/July21Screening">https://bit.ly/July21Screening</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The next screenings will be
online as part of this year’s 2022 Ann Arbor Jewish Film Festival, starting on
July 3. As per the usual film festival rules, you can register for the
festival’s online screenings only if you are a Michigan resident. More info at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/AnnArborFilmFest">https://bit.ly/AnnArborFilmFest</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">: </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Two
talks on my book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American
Biography</i> coming up this month; the first on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday, June 11</b>, will be a Zoom talk for the California Association
of the Society of the Cincinnati; the second, on Flag Day, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tuesday, June 14</b>, will be at the Glebe retirement community in
Daleville, Virginia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details
on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>? Please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-25950783126958843002022-05-04T13:01:00.000-04:002022-05-04T13:01:39.206-04:00May 2022<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref", serif; line-height: 107%;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref", serif; text-align: center;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Volume XIX, Number 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">“</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent5; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNUqxqwLPnqfVL9BgjqjFi3ea10VfQQc6-QAI6KxSCtLF1wX9K8aq5Kootzygt7NuX6KJ7s_ixikE0VkpttdcWhXNUWq74byptkORC45axpCCBLw7r97OT8p4xM5bL5iuBrquP_sdL9PR4kHh11xPQFfSxfaSmoD6z8troyec6idisaBmtyy_mqN63qQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNUqxqwLPnqfVL9BgjqjFi3ea10VfQQc6-QAI6KxSCtLF1wX9K8aq5Kootzygt7NuX6KJ7s_ixikE0VkpttdcWhXNUWq74byptkORC45axpCCBLw7r97OT8p4xM5bL5iuBrquP_sdL9PR4kHh11xPQFfSxfaSmoD6z8troyec6idisaBmtyy_mqN63qQ=w524-h99" width="524" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">A LARGER HOUSE</span></b>: As I noted in <i>Saving Monticello</i>, and in just about
every talk I have done in the last two decades about the book, historic
preservationists have long praised Uriah and Jefferson Levy for only making minimal
changes to the house and grounds during their 89-year ownership. That fact—and that
the Levys themselves repaired and preserved the house—made it infinitely easier
for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation to restore the house and grounds when
they purchased it from Jefferson Levy in 1923. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most
importantly for preservationists, unlike the subsequent owners of Montpelier,
James Madison’s plantation not far from Monticello, the Levys never added onto
the house. Nor did they knock down any walls. Jefferson Levy replaced Thomas Jefferson’s
roof, modernized the plumbing, and added electricity and dormer windows during
his 1879-1923 ownership. But that was extent of the physical changes when the
Levys owned the house. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The one fly in the preservation
ointment came in 1895 after Jefferson Levy had owned Monticello for 16 years
and had poured tens of thousands of dollars into repairing, restoring, and
furnishing the house. It came about after the October 27, 1895, fire at the
University of Virginia that destroyed the Thomas Jefferson-designed Rotunda (<i>below</i>) overlooking the University’s Lawn. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">U-Va.
hired McKim, Mead and White, one of the nation’s top architectural firms, to
rebuild the Rotunda. Stanford White (1853-1906) himself—the famed designer of
the old Madison Square Garden who was considered the premier American architect
of his day—took charge of the project. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2CIB2psVN_-HW78qOHcSOwQWIyh_eNkeSfuAMV_ca-Uo3kxmkzddm2rfg6LLvX2IrAf9KegV4TzYRME5yJz7SPmrlI4QRcJk0ZqykH21IqY6U_T87dCFBCxxkyi7FAv5WZRKk86I34m2uxxgq66FRM-tKs5L6RY6vQgdUkfdvgI6WmmAzOL4ng33cow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="520" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2CIB2psVN_-HW78qOHcSOwQWIyh_eNkeSfuAMV_ca-Uo3kxmkzddm2rfg6LLvX2IrAf9KegV4TzYRME5yJz7SPmrlI4QRcJk0ZqykH21IqY6U_T87dCFBCxxkyi7FAv5WZRKk86I34m2uxxgq66FRM-tKs5L6RY6vQgdUkfdvgI6WmmAzOL4ng33cow=w320-h209" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The
process took more than three years. While White was in Charlottesville working
on the Rotunda restoration, “he was approached by Mr. [Jefferson] Levy,”
according to William M. Thornton, then the dean of the U-Va. Engineering
Department. “Mr. Levy told him that he wanted, very often, to entertain a
number of guests at <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Monticello</st1:place></st1:state>.
It has thirty-odd rooms, but, still he needed more rooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, he said, ‘I want you gentlemen to take
up the question of adding to Monticello.’”<u><o:p><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">White responded by sending
one of his firm’s New York architects to the mountaintop to have a “careful
survey made” of Monticello. After going over the results of the study, White
declined to do the enlargement. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This
is what Stanford White wrote to Jefferson Levy about his decision: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“We
have looked into your proposal to add to Monticello and we beg to report to you
that we must decline the engagement. We think that no architect could add to
Monticello without spoiling it. If you want a larger house, we would be very glad
to build you a larger house, but we must decline to add to Monticello.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It
appears that Jefferson Levy learned a lesson. There is no evidence that during
the remaining 26 years of his ownership of Monticello that he entertained any
ideas of expanding or otherwise altering Thomas Jefferson’s “Essay in
Architecture.” More importantly, the highly successful lawyer and stock
speculator continued to spend large sums of money, repairing, maintaining and preserving
Monticello.<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhekgFcnMABn52rKumgWdJH1SfdcUBq6qY8OvKVQ2Le1kV6RQh-ogV67zBJUac-ccpnDkRUoGonnAYdIPGlHZ2tApERi5tZFAH2C7Ivi1ry9VbQj-jvI6CbzdC_eCLu4ttGf5U13y1Z3tWRPIgrN-7w3oe2DY2QY_r1O6XUZw_cw0aQbevBb5_OYhJl3Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="518" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhekgFcnMABn52rKumgWdJH1SfdcUBq6qY8OvKVQ2Le1kV6RQh-ogV67zBJUac-ccpnDkRUoGonnAYdIPGlHZ2tApERi5tZFAH2C7Ivi1ry9VbQj-jvI6CbzdC_eCLu4ttGf5U13y1Z3tWRPIgrN-7w3oe2DY2QY_r1O6XUZw_cw0aQbevBb5_OYhJl3Q=w320-h188" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>THE LEVYS DOC: </b>“The Levys of Monticello,” my friend and colleague
Steven Pressman’s terrific documentary that tells the post-Jefferson history of
Monticello, continues to make the film festival rounds. There will be two
in-person screenings at the Washington Jewish Film Festival, including
post-screening discussions and Q&As on <b>Sunday,
May 15,</b> in Bethesda, Md., and on <b>Tuesday,
May 17</b>, in D.C. Details and tickets at <a href="https://bit.ly/DCFilmFesti">https://bit.ly/DCFilmFesti</a> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The doc was screened at the
Aaron Family JCC in Dallas’ Zale Auditorium as part of that city’s Jewish Film
festival on May 2; and two screenings were held in late April at the River Run
International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Steve, by the way, just
launched a new website with info on all of his films. Take a look at <a href="https://bit.ly/SteveWebSite">https://bit.ly/SteveWebSite</a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">: </span>I’ll
be doing a talk on the Civil War Battle of Monocacy and the subsequent
Confederate attack on Washington, D.C.—the subject of my book, <i>Desperate Engagement</i>—on <b>Thursday, May 19</b>, for the The Association
of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tuesday, May 24</b>, I’ll be in Locust Grove, Virginia, to do a talk on
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i> for the Wilderness ‘Tiques
Questers group. On <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thursday, May 26</b>,
I’ll be speaking about the book to the Farmington Historical Society in
Charlottesville.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaHsGxxVf7rMoGT3lq_wlDoBxzCqaufeMj_gkyk_p7r593NZIduqHfdoFU_puapmk2s1a8YifytBIuuD_h7TtwFVbYq9A0Y9ktqVSCHxg6XyCsBrFIhkS5ck52G-AFqHylr55Smkyk5n0nVHC1_R8b4piduz2GWVGMz6-bqUleC7xSxaltEn1DyPDdgA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="434" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaHsGxxVf7rMoGT3lq_wlDoBxzCqaufeMj_gkyk_p7r593NZIduqHfdoFU_puapmk2s1a8YifytBIuuD_h7TtwFVbYq9A0Y9ktqVSCHxg6XyCsBrFIhkS5ck52G-AFqHylr55Smkyk5n0nVHC1_R8b4piduz2GWVGMz6-bqUleC7xSxaltEn1DyPDdgA=w320-h262" width="320" /></a></div><br />If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i>Saving
Monticello</i> or for any of my other books, email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;">For details
on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>? Please e-mail <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-72469274529527000652022-04-05T12:24:00.000-04:002022-04-05T12:24:59.333-04:00April 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> <b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter</span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 4 April 1,
2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: #073763;">“</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #073763;">The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</span><span style="color: #1f3864;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #073763;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTx60AvtafAP3vBUYE3EFhW6Sb0ThgNT13N-EOCt9v001R0wWhIl2YkyLdxxjM9eHv0wSdBAia5xw8qcz2KC5nBTvWBDxnN-VIG08a0LRiZlXSJabnYj3BIJL7pqvNLpX6jUdv5RE29F-QaCxelFwHqjTLIGQtr_3bZSys4UojiBBn8I4WXskzkr_g8g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTx60AvtafAP3vBUYE3EFhW6Sb0ThgNT13N-EOCt9v001R0wWhIl2YkyLdxxjM9eHv0wSdBAia5xw8qcz2KC5nBTvWBDxnN-VIG08a0LRiZlXSJabnYj3BIJL7pqvNLpX6jUdv5RE29F-QaCxelFwHqjTLIGQtr_3bZSys4UojiBBn8I4WXskzkr_g8g=w517-h98" width="517" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #073763;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">MARTHA WOODWARD</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: One day last month as I
was scrolling through Instagram, I saw before-and-after images of a drawing of the
East Front of Monticello dating from the mid-1830s that the terrific
Curatorial, Collections, and Restoration team at the Thomas Jefferson
Foundation had recently restored.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The drawing, the post noted, “was in ROUGH shape when
we first acquired it” in 2016. “The varnish had discolored, it was extremely
brittle, and there were numerous tears,” some of which “were repaired with tape,
which had yellowed and deteriorated over time.” The Foundation brought in an expert
art conservator who spent “many hours cleaning, mending, and flattening,” the
drawing, and as you can see from the before-and-after photos below, it “was
brought back to life—all thanks to the amazing work of our conservators."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><img alt="" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="482" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX1ZqB0iZymUXNCGOsIyEaQutiqdLGEWMAI1aXTw_lP8mUwxDXlPanzjN7Vkkc-W0xsm4amAYTcMjdUDfWvczfRYzl4Kq81LIAnDa4qx5uG4sLgY-wROHcyXrGu6wExe0FAfoE2AQd7QSya4UF639WwVnVRagvGzlY-R4tmz7FqArFhcOkNNkiMkII4g" width="320" /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX1ZqB0iZymUXNCGOsIyEaQutiqdLGEWMAI1aXTw_lP8mUwxDXlPanzjN7Vkkc-W0xsm4amAYTcMjdUDfWvczfRYzl4Kq81LIAnDa4qx5uG4sLgY-wROHcyXrGu6wExe0FAfoE2AQd7QSya4UF639WwVnVRagvGzlY-R4tmz7FqArFhcOkNNkiMkII4g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPawLvDgjavSngelIR0uQ2LW3iZr-Lne9w7iu7dnJoH6eLc0NEuEIGse3Xv9dldCCVzFpeNzc2yrYrhvHbYsdxT573vKsiHMf_EZ56JaZm-i2VHcgKSW7-y4JOPdwO7BlS43_R8h4hhAMr3uVvepdrjcngpkWcnD_yItU-ZdI_sPZEUgYbffNADqo-KA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="450" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPawLvDgjavSngelIR0uQ2LW3iZr-Lne9w7iu7dnJoH6eLc0NEuEIGse3Xv9dldCCVzFpeNzc2yrYrhvHbYsdxT573vKsiHMf_EZ56JaZm-i2VHcgKSW7-y4JOPdwO7BlS43_R8h4hhAMr3uVvepdrjcngpkWcnD_yItU-ZdI_sPZEUgYbffNADqo-KA=w318-h253" width="318" /></a></div></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 12pt;">Aside
from the great restoration and conservation work, several other things drew me
to this story: The fact that I’d never seen this photo before, as images of
Monticello in the 1830s are extremely rare; that’d I’d not heard of the artist,
Martha Woodward; and—most significantly—that it likely was drawn in 1834.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #262626; font-size: 12.0pt;">What’s
significant about 1834? Only the fact that that was the year that Uriah Levy
purchased Monticello from James T. Barclay, and solid historical evidence has
convinced me and every other historian who’s studied the history of Monticello
that the house was in terrible condition in 1834. As I noted in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>, a visitor at the time
wrote that “all was in dilapidation and ruin.” The Woodward drawing painted a
very different picture and I wanted to see if the date was correct and, if so,
if it could be determined that she was romanticizing what she saw to present a
pristine image of the house and grounds.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #262626; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
doing an online search, I came up blank, so I emailed Emilie Johnson,
Monticello’s Associate Curator, who has a wide knowledge of the provenance and
other historical matters relating to the artwork at Monticello. Emilie, like everyone
else at the Foundation, has been extremely supportive of my work and I was
pleased that she filled me in on Martha Woodward and the drawing.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She told me that not much is
known about Martha Woodward, other than the fact that she, indeed, was an
artist, and that she and her sister Maria were close friends of Thomas
Jefferson’s granddaughters, particularly Ellen Randolph Coolidge. Martha and
Maria Woodward, Emilie said, “were part of an extended Randolph cousin circle
that the Randolph granddaughters (in particular) socialized with in the 1810s
and 1820s.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Emilie also told me that an 1825
letter digitized on the Foundation’s “Jefferson Quotes and Family Letters” page
describes Martha Woodward making another drawing that year of Monticello’s West
Front “from nature” and from “a position at the edge of the Grove.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Foundation,
Emilie said, has a set of two other Woodward drawings in their
collection. One includes an 1827 date and both are associated with Septimia
Meikleham </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1814-87), <span style="color: #222222;">Ellen Randolph Coolidge’s youngest sister.</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As far as the date of the
Woodward drawing, its paper, Emilie said, has an 1834 watermark, which strongly
indicates it was made that year. She also said that the 1825 and 1834 drawings present
“quite similar” views of the house, except the trees in the later drawing “are
larger and fuller than the other. The hand is quite different—details of
the house, like the bricks, are more finely rendered in the later picture</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;">.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So it appears that Martha
Woodward “got much better as an artist in the 5-10 years between these works.”
On the other hand, “the Woodward sisters were involved with female education,
so maybe the 1834 drawing is by a teaching artist and [the 1825 one] is a
student’s work.” </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">As for my $64,000 question—If the painting is from 1834, did
Woodward romanticize it to show Monticello in pristine condition when we are
all but certain it was in sad shape?—Emilie said that “it seems like this work
connects to Woodward’s visits here in the mid-1820s (perhaps through sketches
or memory), rather than Woodward coming back to the property after Uriah Levy
bought it.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">So it’s possible that the 1834 painting is “based off her
sketches and memories, and maybe extrapolated tree growth” or perhaps “an art
teacher who was associated with the Woodward family’s educational interests” painted
it.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unless and until more information comes to light about the 1834
drawing—if the second drawing is Woodward’s work—Emilie said, she agrees with
my thought that “Woodward probably was romanticizing her view, as well as
perhaps reveling in her improved artistic facility.” Meanwhile, it’s
indisputable that “they are a remarkable pair of drawings, as much for their
view of the more often overlooked East Front as for the concept of change over
time they represent.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stay tuned for updates as Emilie and her colleagues continue to
look into Martha Woodward and the two paintings.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">p.s. If you’re a historic house preservation nerd as
I am, I highly recommend the Monticello Curatorial, Collections, and Restoration team on
Instagram at “preservingmonticello”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">‘THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO’ DOC:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
asked my friend and colleague Steven Pressman to fill SM Newsletter readers in
on his visit to Savannah last month for the first in-person showing of his
great new documentary, “The Levys of Monticello.” It took place at historic
Mickve Israel, the nation’s third-oldest Jewish congregation, which was
established in 1733 by 40 Jews who had journeyed from Portugal, via London,
escaping the Inquisition. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7kniQr1MG3_-nBhOLlJzTZjMVcGVxro48jL7YVoPclTUR_LfL6jznnAnIcU14z_bF-YcNkUSHjZ3kYKf95Llb5T0NOvySDAeDglqpuZM_G6zQH4SGc_wDkQT3mc11GHEL4aQDWcPMY1aEHu6-_aqX64ReOy3_Xcao8ucGXpI0tm7VJ2n_JJSN9rHWEg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="477" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7kniQr1MG3_-nBhOLlJzTZjMVcGVxro48jL7YVoPclTUR_LfL6jznnAnIcU14z_bF-YcNkUSHjZ3kYKf95Llb5T0NOvySDAeDglqpuZM_G6zQH4SGc_wDkQT3mc11GHEL4aQDWcPMY1aEHu6-_aqX64ReOy3_Xcao8ucGXpI0tm7VJ2n_JJSN9rHWEg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here’s Steve’s report:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">I had the great honor of showing ‘The Levys of Monticello’ at Congregation
Mickve Israel as part of the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival. Not only
was this my first trip to Savannah, but it was also a special thrill for the
film to be shown at a synagogue that played such a pivotal role in the Levy
family story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">As readers of Marc’s book know, Uriah Levy’s great-great grandfather, Dr.
Samuel Nunez, was among a small group of Jews who sailed from London to
Savannah in 1733 and went on to form the Mickve Israel Congregation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="color: #2e74b5; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">The film screening was also memorable for me because—thanks to the
pandemic—it happened to be the first time in two years that I was able to show
one of my films to a live, in-person audience. There was even popcorn for sale
before the movie started.</span><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: 14pt;">: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just
one event his month: A talk on the history of the American flag, based on my
book, <i>Flag: An American Biography</i>, on
<b>Tuesday, April 19</b>, at the monthly
meeting of the George Mason DAR Chapter in Springfield, Virginia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’d like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>—or for any of my other
books, please email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For details
on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>? Please e-mail me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-66926473119887596432022-03-03T13:54:00.000-05:002022-03-03T13:54:31.197-05:00March 2022<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The latest about the book, author events, and
more </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Volume XIX, Number 3 </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">March 1, 2022 </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: medium;">“The study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner </span></div><div><span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUyAKgWLfb0ciDOpUd6pVQAMHcTi2apbJBBYTLDnYX_hNN3NhJigNx-h6btPiP2j5DIYQmpGxp97ClvwvtGoad-NOVgCerio-OYEso_zkpAnw3QVfeLRs6mtABSjBoPAcjDWD-uzUH4z6IWkWw_MLjtbw94jnNqOSdBjWlhxQrHkp2mkJWX3zdK2nVWQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="975" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUyAKgWLfb0ciDOpUd6pVQAMHcTi2apbJBBYTLDnYX_hNN3NhJigNx-h6btPiP2j5DIYQmpGxp97ClvwvtGoad-NOVgCerio-OYEso_zkpAnw3QVfeLRs6mtABSjBoPAcjDWD-uzUH4z6IWkWw_MLjtbw94jnNqOSdBjWlhxQrHkp2mkJWX3zdK2nVWQ=w400-h76" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><b style="font-size: large;">OUR MAN IN LONDON</b><span style="font-size: large;">: </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve often described Jefferson Monroe Levy as a late-19th and early 20th-century jetsetter. That’s because after he made a fortune in real estate and stock speculating Levy was forever—not jetting off—but sailing off to London, Paris, Biarritz, Rome, and the Riviera and training off to Palm Beach on the posh Florida East Coast Railway. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">During those jaunts Jefferson Levy mixed and mingled with other upper-crust folks, saying in posh hotels, dining in five-star restaurants, and partaking in many a high society social event. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Case in point: Levy spent most of the summer of 1895 in England and on the Continent, a sojourn I mention briefly in Saving Monticello. That trip included a memorable few days in July in England where Levy hobnobbed with the rich and famous. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The highlight of the trip came on July 11, when Jefferson Levy was among the guests at Sandringham House, the opulent, 8,000-acre royal residence near the Norfolk Coast owned by the Prince of Wales, the oldest son of Queen Victoria and Price Albert—the man who would give his name to an era when he ascended to the throne as King Edward VII six years later. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUo32dgILAuNBX0yEl0eBxKeN9F7q0_AAQR6esN0fSeIt5_Ej0CYPdFvzOg3ueXvz-asEvlFUAM0-bvoFgtpp4DlHkjByps3QgiXJ6uhzUFK4_4woEOzDWiaPm-svMqq3BNEYuanEF-0A8slrGKm0CJ_zSJvX0Zk2Qd0E18VB4Snff9GwmYt8lFNgtpw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="364" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUo32dgILAuNBX0yEl0eBxKeN9F7q0_AAQR6esN0fSeIt5_Ej0CYPdFvzOg3ueXvz-asEvlFUAM0-bvoFgtpp4DlHkjByps3QgiXJ6uhzUFK4_4woEOzDWiaPm-svMqq3BNEYuanEF-0A8slrGKm0CJ_zSJvX0Zk2Qd0E18VB4Snff9GwmYt8lFNgtpw=w287-h331" width="287" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The occasion: the sale of a portion of the collection of the Prince’s hackney horses. The Washington Post reported that William Waldorf “Willie,” Astor, the English-American son of the fabulously wealthy industrialist John Jacob Astor III, paid the princely sum of $5,000 for “a pair of [the Prince’s] harness horses.” For his part, Jefferson Levy bought a yearling, which he promptly gave to John Thomas North, a close friend of the Prince of Wales known as the “Nitrite King” of England, who, the article said, “did most of the buying.” </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The Prince of Wales (<i>in photo below</i>), the Nitrite King (so named because he owned all the nitrite mines in Chile), and the 33-year-old owner of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello joined a who’s who of royals for lunch following the sale. The guest list included the Duke of York (the Prince’s son, who would become King George V in 1910) and the Duchess (Mary of Teck); Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough; the Crown Prince of Denmark; the Duke of Sparta; and a gaggle of lesser British and lords and ladies. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">After lunch, Jefferson Levy had “a long talk with the Prince,” Levy told <i>The Washington Post</i>, “and he gave me a special invitation to come and see him again. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"> “He asked a number of questions about America, but he seemed especially interested in Virginia. I was surprised at his intimate knowledge of the Old Dominion. He told me all about his visit to Mount Vernon, when he was in America, and said he would like to go there again, but had not the time.” </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvSe_VUjZ3YAyWnaKdPWDQMZkcLV3dsPIGSgmQlFulFUPDjVbDjhH5mu2AZnlDfP626upVaPEZmipvQyLD2AHpmpNSHCI_Sr6Lruzka1M1T2GkSPY9LxX5rzwQk74_kvUaQwe_rmfid5yGXULZnTjvCj07ae18cv0QHYpV2YDRI0GqZ9FV4KzdwvOkmw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="480" data-original-width="284" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvSe_VUjZ3YAyWnaKdPWDQMZkcLV3dsPIGSgmQlFulFUPDjVbDjhH5mu2AZnlDfP626upVaPEZmipvQyLD2AHpmpNSHCI_Sr6Lruzka1M1T2GkSPY9LxX5rzwQk74_kvUaQwe_rmfid5yGXULZnTjvCj07ae18cv0QHYpV2YDRI0GqZ9FV4KzdwvOkmw=w237-h340" title="Edward VII" width="237" /></a></div><br />Levy went on to say he was less impressed by the Prince’s son. “I sat by the side of the Duke of York at lunch,” he said. “He is a fine fellow but he has not the charming manner which his father possesses.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>‘THE LEVYS OF MONTICELLO’ DOC</b>: I’m happy to report that “The Levys of Monticello,” Steven Pressman’s terrific new documentary that tells the story of the post-Jefferson history of Monticello, was the subject of an excellent review and article in The Times of Israel newspaper last month. In it, reporter Renee Ghert-Zhand noted that the film used “a limited number of available archival images, on-screen interviews with experts [including yours truly], and dramatic readings of historical letters and statements” to come up with a “compelling narrative.” You can read the entire review at: <a href="https://bit.ly/TimesofIsraelReview " target="_blank">https://bit.ly/TimesofIsraelReview </a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A week later the doc won the Building Bridges Award at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The award, presented in conjunction with the American Jewish Committee, goes to the film that best exemplifies the festival’s main mission of fostering understanding among diverse religious and cultural communities. “This well-researched documentary poignantly reveals the parallel but very different stories, of the Black and Jewish connections to Monticello.” said Rabbi Noam Marans of the American Jewish Committee, who was on the Building Bridges jury. You can see the virtual award presentation at <a href="https://bit.ly/FilmFestPrize" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/FilmFestPrize </a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Next up: a live (and virtual) screening on Sunday, March 6, at Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah as part of the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival. More info at </span><a href="https://bit.ly/SavannahDoc " style="font-size: large;">https://bit.ly/SavannahDoc </a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Stay tuned here for news of more film festival screenings in the coming months.</span></div><div><b style="font-size: large;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-size: large;">EVENTS</b><span style="font-size: large;">: Just one event his month: A talk on the life of Francis Scott Key, based on my book, <i>What So Proudly We Hailed: Francis Scott Key, a Life</i>, for the monthly meeting of the Eliza Monroe Chapter of the National Society Daughters of 1912, on <b>Thursday, March 10</b>, in Alexandria, Virginia. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJiIWfei_m6l7NFxIi_buEEFNafL6d3UqCA0Zuy4LWmzJukOTesPUeoqVWD0ACm1GNCMOJHISP9y5pvLe5ktalaRvRPYOWf-y1Bq9po10HThhVMMmOE-Oxf-LUF9eyNmxlCQfknauqVx4vJMiYQfEVgCyTcJA5n33Odx3JrSZOgCpluUquwKSsUsB9GQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="434" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJiIWfei_m6l7NFxIi_buEEFNafL6d3UqCA0Zuy4LWmzJukOTesPUeoqVWD0ACm1GNCMOJHISP9y5pvLe5ktalaRvRPYOWf-y1Bq9po10HThhVMMmOE-Oxf-LUF9eyNmxlCQfknauqVx4vJMiYQfEVgCyTcJA5n33Odx3JrSZOgCpluUquwKSsUsB9GQ=w343-h280" width="343" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">If you’d like to arrange an event for </span><i style="font-size: large;">Saving Monticello, </i><span style="font-size: large;">o</span><span style="font-size: large;">r for any of my other books, please email me at </span><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com" style="font-size: large;">marcleepson@gmail.com</a><span style="font-size: large;">
For details on other upcoming events, check out the Events page on my website: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances" style="font-size: large;">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GIFT IDEAS</b>: Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i>Saving Monticello</i>? Please e-mail me at <a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a> I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books: <i>Flag: An American Biography</i>; <i>Desperate Engagement</i>; <i>What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i>Flag: An American Biograph</i>y; and <i>Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>. </span></div>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557313016269332364.post-89893641190782613582022-02-04T17:29:00.001-05:002022-02-04T17:39:51.834-05:00February 2022<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Saving Monticello: The Newsletter<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The latest about the book, author events, and more<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia Ref",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Volume XIX, Number 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>February 1,
2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>“</b></span></span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>The study of the past is a constantly evolving,
never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">THE COOLIDGES OF
BOSTON</span><span style="font-size: large;">: About
a year before Thomas Jefferson died, on May 27, 1825, the nation’s third
president and his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph hosted the wedding of his
favorite granddaughter in the parlor of Monticello. On that day t</span><span style="font-size: large;">he reserved but adventurous Eleonora Wayles Randolph—known
as Ellen—married Joseph Coolidge, Jr., the son of a Boston Brahmin merchant.
She was 28 years old.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The couple had met when Joseph
Coolidge, who graduated from Harvard in 1817, paid a two-week visit to Monticello
in 1824 following his grand tour of Europe.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKzSbZviMl9m9tOu64gLzbg-MVHGeIcU8tA6LcrZCzj9V478mVEiJp3yVPXyT-4CYjXdzGe_mRMIbQDTQgqN8LbYwvgdBKxDVIX-k6jZ0DjV6569j08cbhuwXqDVGyiyqTAMFe3LTYgyD0uhcfqX__DUlxAlnMqp3Lss6OQgku1dkPndmKqhE6RJ0M9A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="330" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKzSbZviMl9m9tOu64gLzbg-MVHGeIcU8tA6LcrZCzj9V478mVEiJp3yVPXyT-4CYjXdzGe_mRMIbQDTQgqN8LbYwvgdBKxDVIX-k6jZ0DjV6569j08cbhuwXqDVGyiyqTAMFe3LTYgyD0uhcfqX__DUlxAlnMqp3Lss6OQgku1dkPndmKqhE6RJ0M9A=w213-h263" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />After a six-week traveling honeymoon, the couple moved to Boston. That state of
affairs would become a blessing for Jefferson family and Monticello historians
as Ellen (above) and her sisters and mother wrote a steady stream of letters back and
forth between Boston and Charlottesville for decades. </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many of those letters are archived at the Alderman
Library at the University of Virginia, and they proved to be valuable primary
source material that I relied on heavily for putting together the first part of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>. In that part of
the book I cover Jefferson’s last years, the conditions that left him $107,000
in debt when he died, and the family’s reluctant decision to sell Monticello in
1827. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWsK9WprGyEaMSn8e-bqLj2p3Cv78qhsU9Vcb-4S6aFj1_IaQQ53_D1d3qeEG08qt9V2dEgpXUuz5Ibj4icfatNOh3sOjKnj-8HJTOlUp6EPmMfZsaX7l1Zi-QulmGq2yGVkyaIq_Nw1pmIaQVSjloRvMe_BpsYoe-HKgl0EIL-Hv7yhjNZsFmcAFr3g" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="265" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWsK9WprGyEaMSn8e-bqLj2p3Cv78qhsU9Vcb-4S6aFj1_IaQQ53_D1d3qeEG08qt9V2dEgpXUuz5Ibj4icfatNOh3sOjKnj-8HJTOlUp6EPmMfZsaX7l1Zi-QulmGq2yGVkyaIq_Nw1pmIaQVSjloRvMe_BpsYoe-HKgl0EIL-Hv7yhjNZsFmcAFr3g" width="157" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Ellen and Joseph Coolidge maintained
a strong interest in Monticello following her grandfather’s death on July 4,
1826, and the sale of the property by her mother and her brother Thomas
Jefferson Randolph to James Turner Barclay in 1831. The Coolidge descendants
continued to be associated with Monticello during the years (1834-1921) Uriah
Levy and Jefferson Monroe Levey owned the property.<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I wrote in the book, Ellen
and Joseph’s son, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge (1831-1920), tried to buy
Monticello from Uriah Levy’s estate in the late 1860s. T. J. Coolidge (<i>right</i>), who
would later become president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and serve
briefly as U.S. ambassador to France (as his great-grandfather had) gave up on
acquiring Monticello after trying to deal with the two Levy family partition lawsuits
that were slowly wending their way through the courts as the family fought over
Uriah Levy’s will. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">Archibald Cary Coolidge
(1866-1928), a grandson of Ellen and
Joseph Coolidge, also took a strong interest in Monticello. A Harvard history
professor and the first director of the Harvard University Library, Archibald
Coolidge was a founding executive officer of the Council on Foreign Relations
in 1921. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">He spent two years of
elementary school, 1875-77, studying at Shadwell just outside <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlottesville, a private school run by his
Aunt Charlotte Randolph, where he took first learned about his illustrious his
great-great grandfather, Thomas Jefferson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I noted in <i>Saving
Monticello</i>, in 1889, two years after graduating from Harvard, Archibald
Cary Coolidge put up $5,000 of his own money and attempted to borrow $30,000
from his father and other family members to induce Jefferson Levy to sell
Monticello. That effort failed, as did another one two years later. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqTgH2b70_hYMzTh_T1ymOL3uAjLgInb4dwqWSNHqSWtALJjm8Qy8SY11_SQbeg9JPj5yr6c8jYYxZ31wlQRTKQ5QDLRhd2cG2ActlbqOJTiztVtjfjaux99guUg8h98Ay3PTuHYn4DKlmsZ77mstwRkbD6G9_EFy3uEelTxhfwcIj7LVrN8FFyV6Myw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="290" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqTgH2b70_hYMzTh_T1ymOL3uAjLgInb4dwqWSNHqSWtALJjm8Qy8SY11_SQbeg9JPj5yr6c8jYYxZ31wlQRTKQ5QDLRhd2cG2ActlbqOJTiztVtjfjaux99guUg8h98Ay3PTuHYn4DKlmsZ77mstwRkbD6G9_EFy3uEelTxhfwcIj7LVrN8FFyV6Myw" width="188" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Archibald Cary Coolidge (<i>left</i>) went on to become an active
member of the Monticello Association, the Jefferson family organization that
formed in 1913 to administer the family graveyard, which did not convey with
the sale of the house in 1831, and remained in possession of the Jefferson-Randolph
Family. Archibald was the group’s president, from 1919-1925. </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">That’s
his father, Joseph Randolph Coolidge and an unidentified family member photo below,
which I only recently discovered, at the graveyard on the mountaintop in the
late 1880s, about the time Archibald Coolidge was trying to buy Monticello. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">After
the Coolidge Family purchased Tuckahoe, the old Randolph family estate on the
James River in 1898, Archibald Coolidge was a frequent visitor to Virginia, and
became active in the Virginia Historical Society. He is buried at Mount Auburn
Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass.—not at Monticello—the same place where his mother
Ellen, who died in April 1876, six months
short of her hundredth birthday, is interred.<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglFYI_vaBaTeD_LeBNSUwygdlEKD71dv_zWNBw2ClzYRtWZVqINl19syZOpOj_w_TnIkGHbTusta0YTpWlt_F_LHGdrxEUT0atZHNs1G9CLAtX1RsuZom9CPnPfP4lkp6R4CknQfx2Ymio62usgz0E9MNOjHhAPXrELK_AahJ1n8BglrJcuBpKxAPbog" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="485" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglFYI_vaBaTeD_LeBNSUwygdlEKD71dv_zWNBw2ClzYRtWZVqINl19syZOpOj_w_TnIkGHbTusta0YTpWlt_F_LHGdrxEUT0atZHNs1G9CLAtX1RsuZom9CPnPfP4lkp6R4CknQfx2Ymio62usgz0E9MNOjHhAPXrELK_AahJ1n8BglrJcuBpKxAPbog=w400-h314" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">OH, ATLANTA: </span></b> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">“The Levys of Monticello,” Steven Pressman’s new
documentary based on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>,
will be premiering this month at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, the first of
what will be a series of screenings at film festivals around the country. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Because of the pandemic, the</span> Atlanta Film Festival
is not doing in-theater screenings. Instead, all of the screenings will be held
virtually. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">That means that “The Levys of
Monticello” will be available to viewers during the entire festival, from February
16-27. However, festival’s online films can only be seen by people in Georgia, as
well as by members of the AJFF, and festival sponsors. All the details are on
the festival’s website, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.ajff.org/" target="_blank">www.ajff.org</a></span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">The good news is that, as of right
now, an in-person screening well be held on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday, March 6, </b>at the historic Congregation Mickve Israel, in Savannah
during the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival, formerly the Savannah Jewish
Film Festival. Steven Pressman will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening.
More info on that, and a link to the trailer, go to <a href="https://bit.ly/SavannahDoc">https://bit.ly/SavannahDoc</a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmJAlmACEI_Pyp4C6QsGY9O96OkZfD4MogkMW8hzS9D1QD2wR8mccjsXzFuCBMUAY_C4mQ4REu8gfQUuuUyngcR4hmIbhC_w4rROo6VFbdM87buvUFjq6MNtwiMUt0CP40AimdDbk9aCUZ6VaPHnMoT41GUwbSOyWljhkKLKJm9L-tA3MTnNwNBDyfFg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="509" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmJAlmACEI_Pyp4C6QsGY9O96OkZfD4MogkMW8hzS9D1QD2wR8mccjsXzFuCBMUAY_C4mQ4REu8gfQUuuUyngcR4hmIbhC_w4rROo6VFbdM87buvUFjq6MNtwiMUt0CP40AimdDbk9aCUZ6VaPHnMoT41GUwbSOyWljhkKLKJm9L-tA3MTnNwNBDyfFg=w400-h209" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">EVENTS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">: </span>Just
two in February. On <b>Thursday, February,
3</b>, I will do a talk on <i>Saving Monticello</i>
via Zoom for the Clifton (Va.) Community Woman’s Club.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thursday, February 17</b>, at 4:30 p.m.
Eastern, I will be part of a discussion entitled, “The American Flag as a
Cultural Symbol.” I will be on a panel moderated by Kevin Lindsey, the CEO of
the Minnesota Humanities Center. I’ll be sitting in virtually to give my
perspective based on my book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An
American Biography</i>. The other panelists will be live at the University of
Minnesota’s Northrop’s Best Buy Theater. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The event
is free and open to the public. For more info and to register, go to <a href="https://bit.ly/UMinnPanel">https://bit.ly/UMinnPanel</a> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you’d
like to arrange an event for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving
Monticello</i>—or for any of my other books, please email me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For details
on other upcoming events, check out the Events page on my website: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://bit.ly/NewAppearances">https://bit.ly/NewAppearances</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">GIFT IDEAS</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saving Monticello</i>? Please e-mail me at <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:marcleepson@gmail.com">marcleepson@gmail.com</a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover
copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag: An American Biography; Desperate
Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed</i>; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flag:
An American Biography</i>; and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballad of
the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">The SM
Newsletter on Line</span></b>: You can read back issues of this
newsletter at <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://bit.ly/SMOnline"><span style="color: blue;">http://bit.ly/SMOnline</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #c00000;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Marc Leepsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13833417414021910388noreply@blogger.com0