Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-12
Thomas Jefferson as Man of Science

Louisiana attract the attention Of the friends
Of science, such facilities and patronage are
within the limits Of its authority will be
daily afforded by q Government founding its
security and best hopes in the knowledge Of Its
citizens, not in their ignorance"
Between April 6, 1904, and December Is, 1903,
Jefferson was in constant communication with
the society and made many valuable contri-
buttons Much Of the correspondence
about fossil bones he had gathered. The min
utes for the meeting of March 6, 1907, record
that Jefferson had written that he had
adopted measures at his own expense to procure
such Of the bones Of the mammoth as should
be particularly stated to him as being wanted"
ON February g. 1909 the minutes reveal
paper on a collection of bones found at
Big Bone Lick, procured at the expense of JEFF
ferson, was read by DR.. Wistar and referred to
Barton, Peale and Mcdowell" 1t met with a
curious fate, however, for the minutes of the
meeting for March II, 1909, bear this entry:
"Wistar's paper on Big Bone Lick fossils.
having been accidentally lost librarian is
ordered to advertise for it in some one of the
public papers" There is nothing to indicate
that 1t ever was find.
jefferson was reelected president Of the
society at five subsequent elections and
he remained active contributor.
Due to his remotenesS from Philadelphia
however he became sensible of his inability
properly to perform 1.-The function" of president
Of the society and on November %, 1914, from
Monticello, Va, he wrote letter resigning
On January 6, 1915, Dr. Wistar was elected to
the presidency and Jeffersons letter of resigna-
ton accepted On January 20, 1915, a letter
accepting Jeffersons resignation was voted. In
reply he wrote under date of February 8, 1915,
congratulating the society upon its election Of
DR.. Wistar.
Jefferson, then spending his declining years
in all but poverty on his Monticello estate, was
never active again in the society's affairs,
although November 81 1917, the society
received one Of the most valuable of all his
contributions OF this incident the society's
minutes contain this notation: Mr.. Jefferson
sent for the historical class some of the Ms.
Journals Of Lewis and Clarke (sic) with orders
from Gen. Clarke, upon his representative for
the remainder of what had been in his pos
session" This action placed in the hands of
the society the original unedited field notes of
the Lewis and Clark expedition, which it still
owns.
jefferson occasionally communicated with the
society in the years which followed and on
one two occasions was honored by election
as councillor. That he was viewing life in
retrospect however is indicated by the societys
minutes for November 4, 1926 which state:
"Dr. NeaSe read letter dated Monticello, Sep
TENDER 16, 1925, addressed to him by Thomas
Jefferson. on the subject Of the house Gin
Philade1phiaJ in which he resided when he
wrote the Declaration of Independence. DR..
Mease stated that he had ascertained the house
to be that situated at the southwest corner of
Seventh and Market streets"
The final reference to Jefferson in the So
ciety's minutes occurs July 8, 1926. The Oc-
casion was a special meeting called to draw up
resolutions on his death. Curiously enough,
Jefferson and John Adams had died on the
same day-July 4, 1826-and resolutions cover
ing the loss of both members were drafted by
the society at the same meeting