The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-04-16
THE BIRTHDAY OF THOMAS JET
FERSON.

Monday was the birthday of Thos. JEFF
ferson. He was born April l3, 1743 at
Shadwell, Va, and the anniversary of
his birthday is being celebrated today
with fresh enthusiasm by the Democrat.
ic party of the United States. Now,
more than ever, his teachings constitute
the inspiration.
Thomas Jefferson was the third child
of Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph
daughter of Isham Randolph, great
tobacco lord, whose plantation was on
the James River, and was estimated to
be among the most valuable at that
time, when the soil was still unworn,
when tobacco brought four pence a
pound in London docks, and when
negro slaves were twenty-five guineas a
head.
We are told by that delightful bio
grapher, James Parton, that Jane Ran
dolph, Thomas Jefierson's mother, was
not lightly won; she was only seventeen
when she yielded to Peter Jefferson, who
was twenty.eight years old. Before his
marriage he rode his horse a hundred
miles to the northwest of his own home,
and fifty miles beyond the home of her
father, and bought thousand acres on
the river Ravenna, and there began to
hew out his farm for his posterity. After
working two years in the forest, he
cleared some fields, built him little
house, and then brought his bride, Jane
Randolph, to whom ne was married in
1888; and Ave years after, their third
child, Thomas, was born.
Thomas Jeherson's father, Peter, was
man of remarkable physical force and
stature; it was said of him that he had
the strength of three strong men, and
could raise two hogsheads Of tobacco,
each weighing a thousand pounds from
their sides, and stand them upright. He
traversed the wilderness, worked as hard
as any of his men, slept by night in a
hollow tree while laboring on his farm,
loved mathematics, liked Shakespeare,
of which he had fine edition; the
Spectator, new work at that time,
and volume of Swift, were among his
reading matter. He soon became the
leader of the frontier, justice of the
peace, county surveyor, colonel, men,
Der of the House of Burgesses, sat at
Williamsburg as Wing in politics, and
opposed the Tories. At this time, his
boy Thomas was six years old, and as he
grew, must have witnessed the broad
sheets of the surveys made by his father
spread out on the great table in the
family room. One of Peter Jeherson's
great maxims was, never to ask another
to do for you what you can do for your
self, and this maxim was the star Of
Thomas Jefferson's life, and ought to be
the element of every American inspira-
ton.
1t was in this happy home that Thorn
as Jefferson lived his boyhood, with his
father, mother, two older sisters, four
younger sisters, and little brother.
The family were reared and baptized in
the Church of England, and his elder
sister, Jane, excelled in singing a few
old Psalm tunes, to which was added, as
the years went on, his favorite violin.
The early education of Thomas Jetier-
son was very thorough for that time.
He went to school five years and learned
English. At nine, he began Latin,
Greek and French. Notwithstanding
his fathers great strength, he died
early, in 1857, when he was but 80 years
old. Thomas was then fourteen years
of age, and was his own master, "with.
out" to use his own words, "a relative
or friend qualified to guide me-"
Shortly after, he became the intimate
friend of Patrick Henry, and entered
the college at Williamsburg, which was
from 1850 the chief residence of Thomas
Jefferson for seven years, and the most
important Of his young life. Here his
opinions were formed; here he met
many of the distinguished men with
whom he was afterwards associated.
Among these were George Wythe, Fran
els Fauquier and Professor Sewall. The
widest and jolliest of all was his jovial
acquaintance, merry Patrick Henry.
1t will be seen that Jefferson began
life as the son of Virginia gentleman,
and as we follow his career, we gather
that like others, he had his own love
passages, but he was not married until
l772, and then he married widow, just
as Washington and Madison did. His
wife was the daughter OF John Wayles, a
great lawyer, and her name was Martha
SHELTON, childless and beautiful and fond
of music and twenty-five years old when
she became Mrs. Jefferson.
Such is the simple skeleton of the
early years of Thomas Jefferson, the
founder of the Democratic party of the
United States, President for eight years,
and for sixteen years afterwards the real
master of the two other administrations
of Madison and Monroe, the author Of
the Declaration OF Independence, under
whose administration the great empire
of Louisiana was purchased from Napo
leon in 1901, the author of the ordi
nance removing slavery from the North.
west Territory, the successful enemy ol
the alien and sedition laws, the founder
of the University of Virginia, the friend
and champion of universal education
and today the freshest and most articu
late influence and memory in the politi
cal literature Of the United States
BETTER BUILD A RAILROAD.
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