August 2019

Saving Monticello: The Newsletter

The latest about the book, author events, and more

Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson

Volume XVI, Number 8                                                         August 1, 2019

“The study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner

A DARK AND PIERCING EYE: “Uriah P. Levy was an intelligent, ambitious, tempestuous, bold, extravagant, physically powerful man who was a success in virtually every endeavor he undertook.”

That’s as close as I came in Saving Monticello to a physical description of the first member of the Levy family to own (and save) Thomas Jefferson’s iconic home. I figured that the cropped, head-and-shoulders detail from the full-length portrait of Uriah Levy that we reproduced in the book would speak for itself in that regard.

Plus, I hadn’t found any letters or newspaper or magazine articles or any other primary sources that described the man. So I was pleasantly surprised that a recently digitized April 1834 Boston Post article written by its Washington correspondent about UPL’s donation of the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson to the nation contains a capsule description of the then U.S. Navy lieutenant, including several physical characteristics.

After providing details about Levy’s donation of the statue, the correspondent rhetorically asked: “Who, you will ask, is the donor?” He answered by writing that Levy “was a native of Philadelphia, and a resident of Virginia.” Levy actually resided in New York City, but was just about to buy Monticello from its then owner, James Turner Barclay. Uriah Levy bought the place to use as a second home, and as a reflection of his admiration for Thomas Jefferson.  

The correspondent then felt he had to let people know Uriah Levy’s religion, writing that he “is a descendant of the Maccabees, and a countryman of Isiah,” his way of saying that Levy was Jewish.

The article went on to say that UPL was “known as a valiant officer, and an accomplished gentlemen.” Then came the first contemporary physical description I’ve seen: “He is about the middling height, say 5 feet 9—finely proportioned, dark complexion, with nothing very peculiar in his countenance but a dark and piercing eye.”

The article—that’s its last paragraph above—guessed Levy’s age as “apparently from thirty-seven to forty.” He actually was about to turn 42, having been born on April 22, 1792.

The long last sentence’s tone struck me as something of an Early Republic echo of the current national debate over immigration. The correspondent says that because of what he called Uriah Levy’s “so much of foreign accent” from spending and mustache, Levy “would not be taken for an American,” but his sterling qualities give him an “undisputed claim to American birth and citizenship.”

That and the fact that he was born in Philadelphia—and was a fifth-generation American.

THIS JUST IN: I found that Boston Post article on the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America page, a regularly updated historical newspaper database that’s searchable at  https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

As I was searching “Uriah Levy” from 1834-79, I also came across the first newspaper article I’d ever seen announcing the news that Jefferson Monroe Levy, UPL’s nephew, had bought out the other heirs to his uncle’s estate and purchased Monticello on March 20, 1879.

The clipping below is the entire article from the Richmond Dispatch of March 21, 1879, the day after J.M. Levy ended seventeen years of legal wrangling among his uncle’s wife, his siblings and their spouses, and his nieces and nephews over the terms of his will.

The will left Monticello to the people of the United States to be used as an agricultural school for the orphans of Navy warrant officers. That didn’t go over well with the heirs, who filed two petition lawsuits (in New York and Virginia) that eventually went to the Supreme Courts of both states. Finally, in 1879, the courts ruled that Monticello should be auctioned off.

In the interim, Jefferson Levy had purchased the Monticello inheritance shares from some of the other heirs, including Uriah’s widow, Virginia Lopez Levy Ree; her new husband William J. Ree; Jefferson Levy’s mother and father, Jonas P. and Fanny Levy; and Virginia Ree’s brother George Washington Lopez of Spanishtown, Jamaica.  

While Jefferson Levy did, indeed, repair the place, he never turned it into a “summer resort,” as the article predicted.

EVENTS: I’m still in all-but full-time writing mode for my next book, and won’t have another event for any of my books in August.

On Saturday, September 21, however, I will be doing a “Shabbat Lift” talk on Saving Monticello at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, New York. The event is free and open to the public.

I’m particularly excited about this talk because Harley Lewis (Jefferson Levy’s great grandniece), who helped me more than anyone as I researched and wrote the book, will be in the audience in this, her synagogue. For more info, go to http://bit.ly/KolAmiMonticello or email alisonadler@nykolami.org  

There’s always the chance that I may have a last-minute talk or signing. For the latest on that, or to check out my scheduled 2019 events, go to the Events page on my website at http://bit.ly/Eventsandtalks

If you’d like to arrange an event for Saving Monticello, or for any of my other books, email me. For info on my latest book, Ballad of the Green Beret, go to http://bit.ly/GreenBeretBook

GIFT IDEAS:  Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello? Please e-mail me at marcleepson@gmail.com  I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books.