Lucy Jefferson
Encyclopedia
Lucy Jefferson also known as Lucy Jefferson Lewis, was a younger sister of United States President Thomas Jefferson
and the wife of Charles Lilburn Lewis
.
, she was the eighth of Peter Jefferson
and Jane Randolph Jefferson
's 10 children. She was born into an elite planter family and would have been educated at home by her mother, together with her sisters. Their father died when they were young.
, Jane Jefferson, Lilburne
, Mary Randolph, Lucy B., Martha, and Ann (Nancy).
The family, except for Jane and Mary, who had married, moved to Livingston County, Kentucky
in 1806 or 1808, following their grown sons Randolph and Lilburne and their families. They built a plantation called "Rocky Hill" near the present-day town of Smithland
. Her older brother Thomas Jefferson took an interest in the education of her sons, and encouraged them in their studies.
President Jefferson had named a daughter, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson I (1780–1781), after his sister. After she died as an infant, he named his next daughter after Lucy, too, and gave her the middle name of their sister Elizabeth. The second Lucy died at the age of 3.
Lucy Jefferson Lewis died in 1811. She was buried on the grounds of the plantation, but the gravesite has been lost. The estate is now in ruins.
In 1812, the year after their mother and brother Randolph had died, Lilburne and Isham Lewis were drinking and argued with and murdered a slave named George
. The crime brought the entire family into disrepute. They had tried to hide the youth's remains, but his skull was revealed by the collapse of a chimney during the second New Madrid earthquake
. The brothers were arrested but bailed out. Lilburne urged Isham to join him in a suicide
pact, but died almost by accident, and Isham did not go through with it. Held as an accessory in his brother's suicide while it was investigated, Isham escaped from jail and disappeared.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and the wife of Charles Lilburn Lewis
Charles Lilburn Lewis
Charles Lilburn Lewis , sometimes referred to as Charles Lilburn Lewis of Monteagle, was one of the founders of Milton, Virginia, as well as one of the signers of Albemarle County, Virginia's Declaration of Independence in 1779....
.
Early life and education
Born in Albemarle County, VirginiaAlbemarle County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile . There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile...
, she was the eighth of Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson was the father of American President Thomas Jefferson . A surveyor and cartographer, his Fry-Jefferson Map of 1751 accurately depicted the Allegheny Mountains for the first time and showed the route of "The Great Road from the Yadkin River thro Virginia to Philadelphia distant 455...
and Jane Randolph Jefferson
Jane Randolph Jefferson
Jane Randolph Jefferson, née Jane Randolph was the wife of Peter Jefferson and the mother of president Thomas Jefferson. Born February 9, 1721 in Shadwell Parish, Tower Hamlets, London, she was the daughter of Isham Randolph and Jane Rogers, and a cousin of Peyton Randolph.There is almost no...
's 10 children. She was born into an elite planter family and would have been educated at home by her mother, together with her sisters. Their father died when they were young.
Marriage and family
At age 17, Jefferson married her first cousin, Charles Lilburne Lewis, on September 12, 1769. The couple eventually had eight children: Randolph, IshamSlave George
George Lewis was an African American held as a slave; he was murdered in western Kentucky on the night of December 15-16, 1811 by Lilburn and Isham Lewis, grown sons of Dr...
, Jane Jefferson, Lilburne
Slave George
George Lewis was an African American held as a slave; he was murdered in western Kentucky on the night of December 15-16, 1811 by Lilburn and Isham Lewis, grown sons of Dr...
, Mary Randolph, Lucy B., Martha, and Ann (Nancy).
The family, except for Jane and Mary, who had married, moved to Livingston County, Kentucky
Livingston County, Kentucky
Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 9,804. Its county seat is Smithland. The county is named for Robert R. Livingston...
in 1806 or 1808, following their grown sons Randolph and Lilburne and their families. They built a plantation called "Rocky Hill" near the present-day town of Smithland
Smithland, Kentucky
Smithland is a city in Livingston County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. The population was 401 at the 2000 census...
. Her older brother Thomas Jefferson took an interest in the education of her sons, and encouraged them in their studies.
President Jefferson had named a daughter, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson I (1780–1781), after his sister. After she died as an infant, he named his next daughter after Lucy, too, and gave her the middle name of their sister Elizabeth. The second Lucy died at the age of 3.
Lucy Jefferson Lewis died in 1811. She was buried on the grounds of the plantation, but the gravesite has been lost. The estate is now in ruins.
In 1812, the year after their mother and brother Randolph had died, Lilburne and Isham Lewis were drinking and argued with and murdered a slave named George
Slave George
George Lewis was an African American held as a slave; he was murdered in western Kentucky on the night of December 15-16, 1811 by Lilburn and Isham Lewis, grown sons of Dr...
. The crime brought the entire family into disrepute. They had tried to hide the youth's remains, but his skull was revealed by the collapse of a chimney during the second New Madrid earthquake
New Madrid earthquake
The 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes were an intense intraplate earthquake series beginning with an initial pair of very large earthquakes on December 16, 1811. These earthquakes remain the most powerful earthquakes ever to hit the eastern United States in recorded history...
. The brothers were arrested but bailed out. Lilburne urged Isham to join him in a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
pact, but died almost by accident, and Isham did not go through with it. Held as an accessory in his brother's suicide while it was investigated, Isham escaped from jail and disappeared.
Commemoration
- In Livingston County, a monument honoring Lucy Jefferson Lewis was erected by the Daughters of the American RevolutionDaughters of the American RevolutionThe Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
at the intersection of U.S. Highway 60 and Kentucky state route 137. - A few miles south of the monument, a bridge named in her honor, the Lucy Jefferson Lewis Memorial Bridge, spans the Cumberland RiverCumberland RiverThe Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
on U.S. Highway 60 at Smithland. - An obelisk in her memory was placed in the Rocky Hill Cemetery by the local chapter of the DAR, which was named for her.