July 2023

 

Saving Monticello: The Newsletter

The latest about the book, author events, and more

Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson

Volume XX, Number 7                                                          July 2023

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

THE MEDAL: While doing the research for my 2005 book, Flag: An American Biography, 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. 

Most of the groups established national organizations, augmented with affiliated groups in the states. That included 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. 

The SAR received its charter from Congress in l906. It was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, himself an SAR member. 

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. 

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.  

Jonas Phillips joined the Philadelphia City Revolutionary War Militia as a private in Col. William Bradford’s First Battalion 1777, at age 43. Which means that, as I wrote in Saving Monticello, 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 https://bit.ly/SMNesltr

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. 

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 bought a rare, late-1890s SAR Membership Medal on eBay. 

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. 

“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.

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.” Which led Jim Maples to Saving Monticello, 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.  

THE HUNTLAND BOOK: As I mentioned last month, the University of Virginia Press will be distributing and marketing my next book, Huntland: The Historic Virginia Country House, the Property, and Its Owners, which will be coming out in August.

It’s my tenth book and my second house history, along the lines of Saving Monticello. 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.

Here’s the link for the U-Va. Press Fall Catalog with more info about the book: https://bit.ly/U-VaPressHuntland 

EVENTS: 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. 

For details on other upcoming events, check the Events page on my website:  https://bit.ly/NewAppearances 

GIFT IDEAS:  For a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello, please e-mail marcleepson@gmail.com  

I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of new copies of my other books: Flag: An American Biography; Desperate Engagement; What So Proudly We Hailed; Flag: An American Biography; and Ballad of the Green Beret: The Life and Wars of Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler.

The SM Newsletter on Line: You can read back issues of this newsletter at http://bit.ly/SMOnline