Albemarle County, in 1743, that he was at William and Mary College when
only seventeen and played his fiddle which he had carried as he rode the
long miles between Charlottesville and Williamsburg. He graduated there
and was admitted to the bar. Thomas Jefferson drafted, at the request of
the Committee, the Declaration of Independence. He was Governor of
Virginia during the trying years of the Revolutionary War. We shall not
give all the offices which he held, except to mention that he spent some
years abroad in France as United States Minister. For almost forty years
he served his country, having been President of it from 1801 to 1809.

It is from the quaint letters of his granddaughter, Ellenora Randolph,
that one may read of the tenderness, the lovable disposition and the
human side of this great American.

She was said to be his favorite grandchild and she writes of how she sat
on his knee and played with his huge watch chain. He never went to
Philadelphia without bringing her little luxuries which it was
impossible to buy in Virginia. He brought her a Bible, a lady's side
saddle, a Leghorn hat, and a set of Shakespeare.

[Illustration:--_Courtesy Virginia Conservation Commission_

"MONTICELLO", NEAR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.]

She tells how Jefferson's wife had died when his daughters were quite
young and that he had been so kind and sympathetic in "shaping their
lives."

There is an interesting love story here, too, for Ellenora met and fell
in love with Joseph Coolidge of Boston. He came a-wooing the Virginia
beauty, and according to the custom of that day, he wrote Mr. Jefferson
of his intentions to marry his granddaughter before he proposed to her.

The following is Jefferson's reply to Joseph Coolidge:

"MONTICELLO, _October 24, 1824_.

"I avail myself of the first moment of my ability to take up a
pen to assure you that nothing would be more welcome to me than
the visit proposed and its object.... I assure you no union
could give me more satisfaction if your wishes are mutual. Your
visit to Monticello and at the time of your convenience will be
truly welcome, and your stay, whatever may suit yourself. My
gratification will be measured by the time of its
continuance....

"I expect in the course of the first or the second week of the
approaching month to receive here the visit of my ancient
friend, General LaFayette. The delirium which his visi