Randolph Jefferson: The 16th Letter
For those of you have been curious…
Last month, at the Library of Virginia, I unearthed a 16th letter written by Randolph Jefferson. To date, all known letters written by Randolph are addressed to his better-known brother, Thomas. Significantly, this letter was not and survived in the papers of John Bernard, once High Sheriff of Buckingham County.
Without giving too much away, the letter reveals a competent and confident Randolph Jefferson, defending his very valuable plantation, Snowden. The letter is a new clue behind the need for a grant, issued in 1800 and signed by Governor James Monroe, defining 1,327 acres of Jefferson’s 2,000 acre farm.
It was my ever-expanding research for Slate River Ramblings (and an apparently insatiable appetite for all things Buckingham) which led to this discovery in the Bernard Family Papers.
Many thanks go to the Library of Virginia for preserving this valuable Jefferson nugget.
This mystery of the 1800 grant was introduced in Chapter Eight of The Jefferson Brothers, “Snowden: A Plantation in Buckingham County.”
Give me two or three years and I expect to have an expanded story of greed and intrigue at Buckingham’s Horseshoe Bend.
slate river ramblings . . . . 
Wow-what luck. Has Mr.NIcholas written a book for sale and available? Mary
Richard Nicholas’ book, “Sheridan’s James River Campaign of 1865 through Central Virginia,” can be purchased online from the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. Here’s the link: http://albemarlehistory.org/index.php/Historical_Society/society_store_detail/store_sheridans_james_river_campaign_of_1865_through_central_virginia/
Thanks Nancy!
Does this mean there will be a recall of the “Jefferson Brothers”, and a subsequent reprint with this new information?
No recall of “The Jefferson Brothers” is planned. Perhaps, an appendix for a second edition? Time will tell….
Congratulations!!!
It’s very exciting!
Greed? Can’t wait to learn more about Randolph.
Greed may be the least of it! Who knows what we’ll find…..
Fabulous job, Joanne “Holmes” (as in Sherlock).