CHAPTER I

Thomas Jefferson was born April 2d, 1743, on the farm called Shadwell, adjoining Monticello, in the county of Albemarle, Virginia.

The date of his nativity was unknown until his decease. It had been a subject of speculation and eager scrutiny among the votaries of liberty, for a long series of years, with a view to its special commemoration. Repeated attempts had been made to ascertain it, by formal applications to him personally, on various occasions, by individuals and public bodies, but from scruples of a patriotic nature, he always declined revealing it, and enjoined the same privacy upon his family.

His father, Peter Jefferson, was born February 29th, 1707-8; and intermarried in 1739, with Jane Randolph, of the age of 19, daughter of Isham Randolph, one of the seven sons of that name and family, settled at Dungeoness, in Goochland county, who trace their pedigree far back in England and Scotland; "to which," says Mr. Jefferson, "let everyone ascribe the faith and merit he chooses."

He was a self-educated man; but endowed by nature, with strong intellectual powers, and a constant thirst for information, he rose steadily by his own exertions, and acquired considerable distinction in the Colony. He was commissioned, jointly with Joshua Fry, professor of mathematics in William and Mary College, to designate the boundary line between Virginia and North-Carolina; and was afterwards employed, with the same gentleman, to construct the first regular map of Virginia.

He died August 17, 1757, leaving a widow, with six daughters, and two sons, of whom Thomas was the elder. To both the sons he left large estates; to Thomas the Shadwell lands, where he was born, and which included Monticello; to his brother the estate on James river, called Snowden, after the reputed birth-place of the family. The mother of Mr. Jefferson survived to the fortunate year of 1776, the most memorable epoch, alike in the annals of her country, and the life of her son.

At the age of five, Thomas was placed by his father at the English school, where he continued four years; at the expiration of which, he was transferred to the Latin, where he remained five years, under the tuition of Mr. Douglass, a clergyman from Scotland. With the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages, he acquired, at the same time, a knowledge of the French. At this period his father died, leaving him an orphan, only fourteen years of age, and without a relative or friend competent to direct or advise him.

On the death of his father, Mr. Jefferson was placed under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Maury, father of the late Consul at Liverpool, with a view to complete the necessary classical preparation for college. The charms of ancient learning seized with a quick and powerful fascination upon his heart; they were remarkably congenial to his contemplative spirit, and touched the finest and the sweetest susceptibilities of his nature. With Mr. Maury he continued two years; and then, (1760,) at the age of seventeen, he entered the college of William and Mary, at which he was graduated , two years after, with the highest honors of the institution.

While in college he was more remarked for solidity than sprightliness of intellect. His faculties were so even and well balanced, that no particular endowment appeared pre-eminent. His course was not marked by any of those eccentricities which often presage the rise of extraordinary genius; but by that constancy of pursuit, that inflexibility of purpose, that bold spirit of inquiry, and thirst for knowledge, which are the surer prognostics of future greatness. His habits were those of patience and sever application, which, aided by a quick and vigorous apprehension, a talent of close and logical combination, and a retentive memory, laid the foundation sufficiently broad and strong for those extensive acquisitions which he subsequently made.

Mathematics was his favorite study, and in that science he particularly excelled; he nevertheless distinguished himself in all the branches of education embraced in the established course of his Alma Mater. To his devotion to Philosophy and Science, he united an exquisite taste for the Fine Arts. In those of Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture, he made himself such an adept as to be afterwards accounted one of the best critics of the age. For Music he had an uncommon passion; and his hours of relaxation were passed in exercising his skill upon the Violin, for which he evinced and early and extravagant predilection.

His fondness for the Ancient Classics strengthened continually with his strength, insomuch that it is said he scarcely passed a day, in all after life, without reading a portion of them. The same remark is applicable, in a more emphatic sense, to his passion for the Mathematics. He became so well acquainted with both the great languages of antiquity as to read them with ease; and so far perfected himself in the French as to become familiar with it, which was of essential service to him on entering the diplomatic field, subsequently assigned to him.

He could also read and speak the Italian language, and had a competent knowledge of the Spanish. Such too, was his early propensity of prying to the bottom of every thing, that he made himself master of the Anglo-Saxon, as a root of the English, and "an element in legal Philology."

But it was the acquaintances which he had the good fortune to form, while in college, which probably determined the particular cast and direction of his ambition. These were the first characters in the society of Williamsburg, and in the whole Province; among whom he has placed on record, the names of three individuals who were particularly instrumental in fixing his future destinies, distinguishing each according to his appropriate merit in the work: viz. Dr. Small, one of the professors in college, 'who made him his daily companion; Gov. Fauquier, 'the ablest man who had ever filled that office, to whose acquaintance and familiar table,' he was admitted; and George Wythe, 'his faithful and beloved Mentor in youth, and his most affectionate friend through life.'

To Governor Fauquier, with whom he was in habits of intimacy, is also ascribed a high character. "With him," continues Mr. Jefferson, "and at his table, Dr. Small and Mr. Wythe, his amici omnium horarum, and myself, formed a partie quarree, and to the habitual conversations on these occasions, I owed much instruction."

George Wythe, whose name will occur frequently in these sketches, was emphatically a second father to the young and aspiring Jefferson. He was born about the year 1727, of respectable parentage, on the shores of the Chesapeake. His education had been neglected by his parents; and himself had led an idle and voluptuous life until the age of thirty; but by an extraordinary effort of self-recovery, at that point of time, he overcame both the wants and the waste of early advantages, insomuch as to become the best Latin and Greek scholar in the State.

Immediately on leaving college, Mr. Jefferson engaged in the study of the Law, under the direction of Mr. Wythe. Here, it is said, fired by the example of his master, he performed the whole circuit of the Civil and Common Law; exploring every topic with precision, and fathoming every principle to the bottom. Here, also, he is said to have acquired that unrivaled facility, neatness, and order in business, which gave him, in effect, in every office that he filled, "the hundred hands of Briareus." With such a guide, in a school of such exalted and searching discipline as that of the Law, all the rudiments of intellectual greatness, could not fail of being stirred into action.

At this decisive moment an incident occurred, which riveted them (Jefferson's talents) to their meditated sphere, and kindled the native ardour of his genius into a flame of fire.

It was the celebrated speech of Patrick Henry, on the memorable resolutions of 1765, against the Stamp-Act. Young Jefferson was present and listened to the "bold, grand, and overwhelming eloquence" of the orator of nature; the effect of which seems never to have lost its sorcery over his mind.

The grandeur of that scene, and the triumphant eclat of Henry, made the heart of young Jefferson ache for the propitious moment which should enrol him among the champions of persecuted humanity. Then was realized that burning vision of his fancy, which, at the age of fourteen, amidst the crowning hilarities of the chase, had pointed his aspirations to the more solid and rational exultation which awaits "the honest advocate of his country's rights." The tone and strength of the master sentiment of his mind, at this early period, are clearly indicated by those emphatic mottoes which he selected for his seals: "Ab eo libertas, a quo spiritus," and "Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." These mottoes attracted great attention among his contemporaries, and were regarded as prophetic of his destiny. The seals themselves are preserved, as sacred relics, by the family of Mr. Jefferson; and accurate impressions of them in wax, have been obtained by his particular friends, in various parts of the country, by whom they are cherished with religious regard.

In 1767, Mr. Jefferson was inducted into the practice of the Law, at the bar of the General Court, under the auspices of his learned preceptor and friend, Mr. Wythe. He brought with him into practice, the whole body of ancient and modern jurisprudence, text and commentary, from its rudest monuments in Anglo-Saxon, to its latest depositories in polished vernacular, well systematized in his mind, and ready for use at a moments warning. But his professional career was brief, and unfavored with any occasion adequate to disclose the immensity of his technical preparation, or the extent of his abilities as an advocate. The outbreak of the Revolution, which was followed by a general occlusion of the Courts of Justice, trod close upon his introduction to the bar; and while it closed one important avenue to distinction, ushered him upon a broader and more diversified theatre of action.

During the short interval which he spent in his profession, he acquired considerable celebrity; but his forensic reputation is so disproportioned to his unusually versatile pre-eminence, as to have occasioned the general impression that he was deficient in the requisite qualifications for a successful practitioner at the bar. That this was not the case, however, we have the authority of a gentleman, whose opportunities of information are a guaranty of the literal accuracy of his statement.

"It is true," continues the writer,"he was not distinguished in popular debate; why he was not so, has often been matter of surprise to those who have seen his eloquence on paper, and heard it in conversation. He had all the attributes of the mind, and the heart, and the soul, which are essential to eloquence of the highest order. The only defect was a physical one: he wanted volume and compass of voice for a large deliberative assembly; and his voice, from the excess of his sensibility, instead of rising with his feelings and conceptions, sunk under their pressure, and became gutteral and inarticulate.

The consciousness of this infirmity repressed any attempt in a large body, in which he knew he must fail. But his voice was all sufficient for the purposes of judicial debate; and there is no reason to doubt, that if the services of his country had not called him away so soon from his profession, his fame as a lawyer, would now have stood upon the same distinguished ground which he confessedly occupies as a statesman, an author and a scholar."

END OF CHAPTER ONE. CONTINUE TO CHAPTER TWO