Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and TimesAs the oldest and favorite daughter of Thomas Jefferson, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph (1772-1836) was extremely well educated, traveled in the circles of presidents and aristocrats, and was known on two continents for her particular grace and sincerity. Yet, as mistress of a large household, she was not spared the tedium, frustration, and great sorrow that most women of her time faced. Though Patsy's name is familiar because of her famous father, Cynthia Kierner is the first historian to place Patsy at the center of her own story, taking readers into the largely ignored private spaces of the founding era. Randolph's life story reveals the privileges and limits of celebrity and shows that women were able to venture beyond their domestic roles in surprising ways. Following her mother's death, Patsy lived in Paris with her father and later served as hostess at the President's House and at Monticello. Her marriage to Thomas Mann Randolph, a member of Congress and governor of Virginia, was often troubled. She and her eleven children lived mostly at Monticello, greeting famous guests and debating issues ranging from a woman's place to slavery, religion, and democracy. And later, after her family's financial ruin, Patsy became a fixture in Washington society during Andrew Jackson's presidency. In this extraordinary biography, Kierner offers a unique look at American history from the perspective of this intelligent, tactfully assertive woman. |
Contents
5 | |
CHAPTER 1 Love and Death at Monticello | 15 |
CHAPTER 2 The Education of Patsy Jefferson | 39 |
CHAPTER 3 Wife Mother Plantation Mistress | 75 |
CHAPTER 4 The Presidents Daughter | 109 |
CHAPTER 5 Return to Monticello | 142 |
CHAPTER 6 Decay and Dissolution | 174 |
CHAPTER 7 Honorable Poverty | 208 |
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Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and Times Cynthia A. Kierner No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
Abigail Adams Albemarle Albemarle County American Ann Cary Randolph Bankhead Boston Cary Randolph Morris Coolidge Correspondence Cornelia Randolph daughter Dolley Madison dolph domestic Edgehill Edgehill-Randolph Papers Elizabeth Trist Ellen enslaved Eppington Family Letters family’s father Gordon-Reed Hemingses of Monticello household husband James Madison Jane Jeff Jeff’s Jeffer Jefferson at Monticello John Wayles Eppes Joseph Coolidge July June Kierner Lewis lived Margaret Bayard Margaret Bayard Smith married Martha Jefferson Randolph MJR to Ann MJR to EWRC MJR to TJ Monticello mother Nancy Nicholas Trist Panthemont Paris Patsy Patsy’s Philadelphia plantation political Polly Poplar Forest president president’s Randolph to EWRC Retirement Series Richmond Sally Hemings Sept Septimia sister slaves Smith-Houston-Morris-Ogden Family Papers Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Randolph Thomas Mann Randolph TJ to MJR TJ to TMR TMR to TJ Tom’s Trist Papers Virginia visited Washington wife women wrote