The Executive Papers of Governor Thomas Jefferson, 1779-1781, have been named one of Virginia’s top ten endangered artifacts by the Virginia Association of Museums. The letters and manuscripts documenting Jefferson’s service as the second governor of Virginia address the challenges he faced during the Revolutionary War, the drafting of the Articles of Confederation, the negotiation of the boundaries of Virginia and her neighbors, and the dangers of the frontier. The papers are currently undergoing conservation treatments thanks in part to a $110, 000 grant received from Save America’s Treasures.  Watch as the video shows Leslie Courtois, Senior Conservator with Etherington Conservation Services, as she works to restore these valuable records in the Library of Virginia’s conservation labs. Thanks to Paige Neal for her script writing and narrating, to videographer Pierre Courtois, and to Audrey Johnson and Dale Neighbors of Special Collections for providing images. For more information on the collection and grant see the earlier blog post “Grant Allows Jefferson’s Papers to be Preserved.”

The wool of Merino sheep was highly prized and for centuries the flocks were not allowed to be exported from their home in Spain. One of the few individuals to get Merinos into the United States was U.S. minister to Spain David Humphreys, who imported twenty-five rams and seventy-five ewes to his home in Connecticut in 1802. The Library of Virginia has a copy of Humphreys’s 1804 book The miscellaneous works of David Humphreys, late minister plenipotentiary —to the court of Madrid, which contains an essay on Merino sheep. Thomas Jefferson was also particularly interested in the improvements of sheep herds and by 1810 had acquired his own herd of Merino sheep. The demand for Merinos soon reached manic proportions, a bubble was created, and like all bubbles there was a crash. (For more on this subject see Monticello’s article on sheep.)

Amongst the Cowling Papers found in the City of Richmond records is a letter dated 14 August 1827 from William DuVal (1748-1842), a Virginia lawyer, legislator, and planter, to Willis Cowling (1788-1828), a Richmond cabinetmaker. Enclosed in the letter is a sample of Merino wool. DuVal wrote to ask Cowling if he would sell two hundred pounds of Merino wool to buy material for slave clothing. Cowling was a good choice for carrying out DuVal’s request as he regularly dealt with merchants in New York and Philadelphia for mahogany and furniture hardware. He also had experience in selling Virginia coal in New York. (For more on Cowling see “Willis Cowling, Richmond Cabinetmaker “in the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winter 2001, Vol. XXVII, No.2)

-Chris Kolbe, Archives Reference Coordinator

The transcribed letter below is found in the Richmond City Clerk’s Correspondence that includes both personal and court related material for 1801-1866 (Barcode 1117043).

Buckingham August 14 1827

Dear Sir,

     I have about 200 lb. of Marino Wool of the full Blooded Marino’s which I would sell at 45 Cents pr lb. or exchange for cotton and Wool Winter Cloathing for my Negroes 40 Yards for Men and Boys & sixty yards of single Wove Cotton Wool striped for women and children to be warm & well wove. The balance in white domestic Cotton Shirting from 10 Cents to 12 per Yard. The Wool will make excellent super Fine Broad Cloath. It is not washed and is free from Sheep Burs and Spanish Needles.

     I send enclosed a sample of the Wool I expect your Correspondents in Philadelphia or New York would buy it or exchange it for the above Articles or perhaps you may exchange it for the above Articles in Richmond. Inform Mr. Richard Adams that this Fall shall send him Three Marinoses. I have sold 21 more of them.

     Write me by Mail & I can send the wool to Richmond. My love to your Lady self & Family and to Mr.Ritter & Lady

I am

Your obliged Friend

William DuVal

In case you missed it, the Library of Virginia’s conservation of the gubernatorial papers of Thomas Jefferson was featured in Style Weekly. The letters and manuscripts documenting Jefferson’s service as the second governor of Virginia are being conserved thanks to a $110,000 grant from Save America’s Treasures. For more information on the collection and the grant see an earlier blog post about it here.

Two hundred four years ago, August 3, 1807, the former vice-president of the United States, Aaron Burr, was put on trial for treason. At a federal court held in the Virginia state capitol’s Old Hall of Delegates, John Marshall oversaw the proceedings and many of the most prominent names of the early federal period were subpoenaed, including the president Thomas Jefferson. The trial brought into question, among other things, the issues of executive privilege, state secrets, and the independence of the executive branch.

 Accused of plotting to foment war with Spain and seize land in the Midwest in order to form an independent nation, Burr was eventually acquitted of the charges. The trial records of the “Burr Conspiracy” are housed at The Library of Virginia’s archives along with the other records of the fourth circuit federal court. In addition to the original records of the trial, the LVA bookshelves hold numerous scholarly works examining the themes and controversies of one of the most sensational events of the day.

-Vince Brooks, Senior Local Records Archivist

The Library of Virginia recently received a highly competitive Save America’s Treasures grant in the amount of $110,000 for the conservation of the gubernatorial papers of Thomas Jefferson.

The correspondence, letters, and documents pertaining to Thomas Jefferson’s service as the second governor of Virginia bring to life the daily challenges faced by him and other leaders during the Revolutionary War, while drafting the Articles of Confederation, and when addressing frontier relations. The list of Jefferson’s correspondents in the collection reads like a who’s who of American history and includes John Jay, James Madison, Baron Frederick von Steuben, John Paul Jones, George Rogers Clark, among other notables. The collection consists of 1,992 manuscript pages, and three letterbooks. This Save America’s Treasures grant will facilitate the preservation and digitization of the entire collection, ensuring public access to these valuable materials.

 This will be the second time these particular documents will go through a preservation process. In the 1930s, The Library of Virginia (then the Virginia State Library) partnered with William J. Barrow, a pioneer in conservation practices. Barrow and his Richmond-based company began work on colonial- and revolutionary-era records held by the archives utilizing his new laminating technique. This new method, which used cellulose acetate film, was widely accepted as a stable and effective means of preserving documents. Within a few decades, however, archivists and librarians discovered that documents which had been laminated or “barrowed” were becoming unstable with the cellulose acetate laminating film’s deterioration. Documents and volumes suffering the worst effects emitted a strong vinegar-like odor, indicating a chemical reaction was taking place.

 Left intact, the lamination on the Jefferson papers will continue to degrade, eventually buckling and warping the pages in the collection. Despite the deteriorating laminating film, most of the Jefferson papers currently appear to be in stable condition within the laminate. Their current stability makes it all the more important to begin the conservation process now before any long term damage takes place.

 Following the removal of the cellulose acetate laminating material, the documents will be cleaned and de-acidified then repaired as needed to restore them to their original condition. Repairs to the manuscripts will include mending tears and breaks.

 The executive papers and letterbooks of Governor Thomas Jefferson, 1779-1781, contain a number of folio items that were split by the Barrow Laboratory in order to facilitate the lamination process – these folios will be restored to their original appearance. Additionally, wax seals removed during the lamination process will be reattached to the documents.

 The grant will also provide greater access to the documents. In the 1990s the Library’s Digital Library Project digitized the microfilm copy of the Jefferson Papers and attached the image to a very skeletal catalog record. These catalog records have already begun to be enhanced with further subject headings. New scans will be created from the originals since many of the microfilm images were of poor quality. The new digital images will be available online.

 The Library was one of 61 recipients out of a pool of several hundred applicants for this funding. The grants are made in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Save America’s Treasures private partner, the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A lesser-known effort also initiated by Wise was his unsuccessful attempt to have Thomas Jefferson’s remains relocated from the family cemetery at Monticello to Hollywood Cemetery. On 26 June 1858, Governor Wise wrote a letter to Charles C. Wertenbaker, 1st Lieutenant of the Monticello Guard and Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements at Monticello. The Governor wished to receive the consent of Thomas Jefferson Randolph to remove the remains of Thomas Jefferson on July 3rd and deposit them next to those of James Monroe at Hollywood. Wertenbaker’s return letter communicated Randolph’s disapproval of the plan, citing Jefferson’s wish to be buried next to his wife and daughter. In a letter to the Governor, George W. Randolph expressed his disagreement with his brother, but Jefferson’s remains were never laid to rest next to those of Monroe.

In the same letter to the Governor, Wertenbaker requested assistance in raising a subscription to build a suitable monument over Jefferson’s grave at Monticello. He enclosed a plan of a Roman cenotaph near St. Rémy, France, drawn by Thomas Jefferson while serving as Minister of France. The plan, which was lent to him by T. J. Randolph, was later copied onto a sheet of tracing linen and the original returned by the Governor a year later after polite prodding by Wertenbaker. Wertenbaker even offered to send the Governor an autograph letter of Thomas Jefferson in exchange for the drawing. Like the removal of Jefferson remains, the construction of the cenotaph over Jefferson’s grave was never accomplished. Instead, the present obelisk structure on his grave at Monticello replaced the original marker, which was presented to the University of Missouri on 4 July 1883.

-Craig Moore, Senior State Records Appraisal Archivist