The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1926-07-01
THE HOME OF JEFFERSON


$3.50 $3.50
WASHINGTON, d. c., July /.
One of the most notable pill
grimages of its kind in the history
Of the nation is that which is be-
ing organized FOR this week end to
journey to Monticello, the old
home of Thomas jefferson, to pay
tribute to the memory of the au-
thor of the Declaration of the In
dcpendence. The time will coin
eide with the Tooth anniversary
e geffersOn's death and the 150th
snsiyersary of the PRONUNCIATION
Of The immortal document which.
: he wrote.
The pilgrimage will be partici-
pated IN by high government and
State. officials, representatives Of
patriotic societies, students of his
tory, and many admirers of JEFF
ferson from all sections of the
country. Visits will be paid to the
site Of Jefferson's birth, the his
toric mansion which he occupied
during the days of his fame, and
-fhe spot nearby where he was
buried.
In Jefferson's day Monticello,
which occupies the crest of beau
tiful Hill overlooking Charlottes-
vile, was the finest mansion in
that section of Virginia. It's hos
pitality was famous, particularly
Its dinners and wines, and so were
the balls that were given there in
the early days. The ballroom does
mot suggest the conventional ideas
Of Jeffersonian simplicity. 1t is a
stately apartment, with Pompeiian
decorations in the frieze, and a
lefty ceiling. The dining room is
preserved as he left it and is
8 equally appropriate to man of
his tastes, position and wealth,
sThe hall is typical of hospitality,
high, spacious and well lighted,
with gallery under the ceiling,
from which the ladies could OBJ
assrve the receptions which Mr..
Jefferson frequently gave to his
Asconstituents, and it furnished the
place for the band when he gave
"a ball. The library is not SO large
as might be expected, and it is
rzzaid that Mr.. jefferson scattered
MS $4,000 books, that subsequent
ss3y formed the nucleus of the Ii
hrary of Congress. all over the
house. Tradition says he kept
many of them in the billiard room,
which is over the grand parlor.
The stairways of Monticello,
unlike those usually found in the
Colonial mansions of Virginia, are
narrow. steep and crooked, and
s~fhe story goes that the body of
Mrs. Jefferson, who died in one
of the upper chambers, could not
i-be carried down. The coffin had
to be lowered with ropes from the
gallery of the great hall. Mr.. JEFF
fefson died in a room on the first
floor, which IS arranged in a
peculiar way. The bed was placed
in a low archway between two
rooms and fitted very closely. One
Of the rooms belonged to Mr.. JEFF
ferson, the other to his wife, and
they appear to have kept their
own apartments as long as she
lived. He undressed himself in
his room and crawled into bed and
crawled out on the same side in
the morning, and she undressed
and crept in and out of hers.
Jefferson's birthplace is in sight
eof the portico Of his mansion. The
house was burned many years ago,
and Jefferson traded the old farm
nf80o acres for bowl of arrack
punch.
When jefferson died, the
funeral services at Monticello were
simple and impressive. Dorsey,
the gardener, dug grave beside
that Of Dabney Carr, the friend
Of Jefferson's boyhood. Thomas
jefferson Randolph erected a
monument in this little cemetery
the year after the death of his
grandfather. Thomas jefferson. It
was. Clipped away by relic hunt
ers. and in 1851 was replaced by
another of the same pattern, paid
for by professors ofithe University
Of Virginia, the institution which
jefferson had founded and which
always remained close to his heart,
s.ssssssesees..e.eosoo..