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LOT #42081 |
Starting Bid: $20,000
Thomas Jefferson Autograph Letter Signed as President...
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Description
In the Final Days of His Presidency, Thomas Jefferson Writes to His Daughter Martha Randolph, Reflecting on Debt, Domestic Economy, and His Imminent Return to Monticello as He Prepares to Retire from Public Life
Thomas Jefferson Autograph Letter Signed as President
("Th: Jefferson"). Two pages of one leaf, 7 3/4 x 9 3/4
inches; Washington; February 27, 1809."I look with infinite joy to the moment when I shall be ultimately moored in the midst of my affections, and free to follow the pursuits of my choice."
Written just days before the end of his presidency to his daughter Martha, Jefferson discusses travel arrangements, household management, and his plans for returning to Monticello for the next chapter of his life. Jefferson pens, in full:
"My dear daughter
Your letters of the 17th. and 24th. are both recieved. Beverly T. Randolph called at the hour at which I had rode out, & left your letter of the 17th. Taking for granted he was to stay a day as you mentioned, I wrote an invitation to him the next morning to come and dine with me. but he had already gone on. he called in like manner on his namesake Beverley here, who being out did not see him. I had written a letter of introduction & recommendation to Colo. Williams, the superior of the whole institution, to be delivered by him in person: but as I did not see him I sent it on by post. we have found the paper which gave Moultrie's Christian name, and his warrant was forwarded to him at Charleston 4. days ago: so mr Randolph can answer his friend on that ground. the schooner Sampson, capt. Smith with the Campeachy hammocks &c. owned in this place, left N. Orleans for this destination about the 6th. of October as the Captain's reciept, forwarded to me, shews: and has never been heard of since. no doubt remains here of her being lost with every person & thing on board her. mr Coles will leave this about the 9th. of March. consequently if you write to Botedour by the return of post, it will find him here, as it will myself. I send the two books you desired for Mary.
I am glad you have taken the resolution of going over to Monticello before my return, because of the impossibility of fixing the day of my return. I shall be able, I expect, to dispatch the waggon with the servants from hence, about the 9th. of March, and they will reach home about the 14th. but how many days after their departure I shall be detained in winding up here, I cannot determine. I look with infinite joy to the moment when I shall be ultimately moored in the midst of my affections, and free to follow the pursuits of my choice. in retiring to the condition of a private citizen and reducing our establishment to the style of living of a mere private family, I have but a single uneasiness. I am afraid that the enforcing the observance of the necessary economies in the internal administration of the house will give you more trouble than I wish you to have to encounter: and I presume it is impossible to propose to my sister Marks to come & live with us. perhaps, with a set of good & capable servants, as ours certainly are, the trouble will become less after their once understanding the regulations which are to govern them. ignorant too, as I am, in the management of a farm, I shall be obliged to ask the aid of mr Randolph's skill & attention, especially for that of Tufton, when it comes to me. it will be my main dependance, and to make it adequate, with my other Albemarle resources, to support all expences, will require good management. if I can sell the detached tracts of land I own, so as to pay the debts I have contracted here (about ten thousand Dollars) and they are fully adequate to it, my wish would be to live within the income of my Albemarle possessions. they will yield 2000. D. rent, besides the profits of the lands & negroes of Monticello & Tufton, the toll mill, & Nailery. my Bedford income, about 2000. to 2500. D. would then be free to assist the children as they grow up & want to establish themselves. in all this I look to nothing but the happiness of yourself, mr. Randolph, & the dear children. my own personal wants will be almost nothing beyond those of a chum of the family. on these subjects however we can confer more in detail when I shall have the happiness of being with you. I write to mr Randolph on the subject of my friends of the county. my love to the children and most of all to yourself.
Th: Jefferson."
Martha Jefferson Randolph stood just offstage in much of Jefferson's public life. Having served as hostess of the President's House during his administration, she had long since become the center of his private world, balancing the demands of public expectation with the far more consuming responsibility of raising her children. Even here, in the final days of his presidency, Jefferson sends books at her request, acknowledging the steady, unspoken work of family life that persists beyond politics.
As his presidency draws to a close, Monticello is no longer simply home; it is about to become the full measure of his daily existence, and Martha is already there ahead of him, preparing for that return. He outlines a reduced household, a reliance on capable servants, and a system of management meant to bring his affairs within the limits of his income. Yet the letter reveals an implicit understanding: such a system, however carefully conceived, will depend in practice on her oversight.
Jefferson remains president, still occupied with the unfinished business of office, but he is already imagining himself "ultimately moored" at Monticello, and even, in his words, "a chum of the family." At the same time, Martha assumes-without formal acknowledgment-the practical authority that will shape the household he is returning to.
Jefferson's life had long been marked by cycles of debt and attempted retrenchment, sustained by land, credit, and expectation. Here, on the verge of retirement, he confronts that reality directly, enumerating debts, projecting income, and placing particular weight on the productivity of Monticello and its dependencies. Retirement does not resolve these pressures so much as concentrate them within the bounds of his estate. Martha would ultimately inherit that burden along with the property itself, an inheritance that, despite its symbolic weight, proved financially unsustainable, leading to the dispersal of Monticello in the years after his death.
Condition: Overall very good. Flattened folds and even toning, with just a touch of mat burn along the edges from prior matting. A few areas of minor chipping along edges. Small piece of hinge remnant at top left margin on the verso, and minor adhesive staining at bottom left margin. Text remains exceptionally clear and bold.
References: "From Thomas Jefferson to Martha Jefferson Randolph, 27 February 1809," Founders Online, National Archives.
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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