Saving Monticello : The Newsletter
The latest about the book, author
events, and more
Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson
Volume XIII, Number 2 February
1, 2016
DETAILED & FASCINATING: Any
article that ends with “Stop at the
Monticello gift shop and buy ‘Saving Monticello: The Levy Family’s Epic Quest
to Rescue the House that Jefferson Built,’ by Marc Leepson. It’s a fast-paced
but detailed and fascinating read” is worth revisiting. So I’m pleased to
present excerpts of Judith Fein’s excellent 2011 article on the Levys and
Monticello that appeared in the L.A.
Times. It contains a good summary of the heart of Saving Monticello. You can read the entire article at: http://bit.ly/LATimesLevys
I’ve never met an American who
didn’t have a soft spot in his heart for Thomas Jefferson, and who didn’t love
Monticello. …After Jefferson retired from the presidency, he went to live
full-time in Monticello, and the house is a testament to Jefferson’s
architectural genius; in fact, he called it his “essay in architecture.” The
11,000-square-foot neoclassical mansion has 21 rooms, and from the moment you
walk past the stone columns and set foot in the reception and waiting room,
with its grass-green floor and museum-like exhibits of natural history
specimens and Native American and African artifacts, you know you are in the
domain of a man of taste, knowledge, broad interests and probably unlimited
resources. Alas, even presidential resources can run out. Unlike today’s politicians,
the first men who helmed our fledgling nation often left office penniless and
in debt. Jefferson was no exception. By the time he died, he was in the hole
some $100,000 ($2 million today), and it took decades for his heirs to
eliminate the debt.
His heirs could not afford to keep Monticello and, to the shock and sadness of everyone who adored and admired the book room (which held more than 6,000 volumes), bedroom (where his bed was surrounded by the latest gadgets and technological inventions), dining room (with its dumbwaiters, hidden in the fireplace, which brought wine up from the cellar) guestrooms, art collection and dome room, the plantation had to be sold.
Historical treasure or not, no one wanted it. In 1827, Jefferson’s daughter and grandson auctioned off his slaves and other possessions, right down to stored grain and farm equipment. The empty house decayed from lack of upkeep. Finally, the estate was purchased by James Turner Barclay for $7,000, but he held onto it for just three years. And this is where our story begins.
A hint about the estate’s next
owner is still at Monticello, on Mulberry Row, next to slave and work cabins,
prodigious vegetable gardens and mulberry trees. There, a rather
nondescript tomb is the final resting place of Rachel Levy, [above] mother of
Monticello’s third owner, Uriah P. Levy. The plantation remained in the Levy
(pronounced “levee”) family for 89 years. In fact, it is postulated that Uriah
Levy was a founder of America’s historic preservation movement because, at that
time and well into the 20th century, there was no great interest in
maintaining historical homes and sites.
….It is thanks to Uriah Levy
that the clock and other possessions and designs of Thomas Jefferson are
available to tourists today. If he hadn’t spent a huge amount of money on the
restoration and upkeep of Monticello, it would have sunk into sad dilapidation.
….When he died childless, his
odd and obscure will was contested by his family heirs for l7 years as the
house decayed. Finally, in 1879, his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy (the name
certainly suggests family patriotism), gained the title to the property. He was
a handsome and fabulously wealthy New York lawyer, real estate mogul, stock
speculator and three-term U.S. congressman. He never married and indicated on
several occasions that he dedicated his life and fortune to the upkeep,
restoration and refurbishing (in true Jeffersonian style) of Monticello.
….. J. M. Levy opened Monticello
to vast numbers of tourists, claimed to live by Jeffersonian principles,
lavishly entertained luminaries like Theodore Roosevelt, foreign ambassadors
and U.S. congressmen, but was still attacked for being a latter-day Shylock and
exploiting Thomas Jefferson’s memory. There was a movement to wrest ownership
away from him and hand it to the government. ….J.M. Levy, who had lived the
high life for so long, was beset by financial difficulties, and, after holding
out as long as he could, finally agreed to sell Monticello for $500,000 to the
government. … Finally, the asking price was met by a private group — the Thomas
Jefferson Foundation. Reportedly, J.M. Levy burst out crying when he
signed over the deed to his beloved estate. He died insolvent before his
72nd birthday.
When you go, pause for a moment
at Rachel Levy’s tomb. If you have the inclination, thank Uriah and Jefferson
Levy for preserving what is now one of the most beloved tourist destinations in
America.
By the way, the Monticello Shop lists Saving Monticello among its best-selling books: http://www.monticelloshop.org/book-store-best-sellers.html
MISQUOTES: SM Newsletter subscriber Anna Berkes, the
Research Librarian at Monticello’s Jefferson Library who also runs the on-line
Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia, is—well—encyclopedic in her knowledge about Mr.
Jefferson. I just came across a fascinating entry she wrote in the Encyclopedia
called “Spurious Quotations.” It’s a carefully annotated list of more than
fifty quotes that have been attributed to the Sage of Monticello—quotes that
are made up.
A few examples:
- “Beer, if drunk with
moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.”
- “Governments constantly
choose between telling lies and fighting wars, with the end result always
being the same. One will always lead to the other.”
- “Without God, liberty will
not last.”
A Jefferson Quote—not
So we can add Thomas Jefferson to the oft-misquoted list
headed by Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln. Speaking of
which, I recently learned that a Twain “quote” I had been quoting for decades,
is made up. I’m sure you’ve heard it: “I spent the coldest winter of my life on
summer in San Francisco.” Twain also didn’t say, “Everyone talks about the weather,
but nobody does anything about it.”
To read all the spurious Jefferson
quotes, go to the entire entry, go to www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/spurious-quotations
EVENTS: I have just one event in February—a talk on
Francis Scott Key at The Glebe retirement community in Daleville, Va., on the
15th—as I am continue operating in full-time writing mode on my next book, a biography of Barry Sadler, the
U.S. Army Sergeant who wrote and performed “The Ballad of the Green Berets.”
The pub date has been changed. It’ll now be in March of 2017.
If you’d like to arrange an event for any of my books, email
marc527psc@aol.com For more details on upcoming events, go to http://bit.ly/SMOnline,
the “Author Events” page on my website, www.marcleepson.com
Facebook,
Twitter: If you’re on Facebook, please send me a friend request. If
you’re on Twitter, I’d love to have you as a follower.
Gift
Ideas: If you would like a
personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello, e-mail me at Marc527psc@aol.com
Or go to http://marcleepson.com/signedbooks.htmlto order copies through Second Chapter Books in Middleburg, Virginia. We also
have copies of Desperate Engagement, Flag, Lafayette
