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over to us with as little delay as possible and in as good condition as it now appears in. Besides, it being the only thing at the National Capitol, except the Declaration of Independence, which we have to perpetuate the memory of the great statesman, we will preserve it, that it may bring to generations to come the memory of the great man of our great and glorious Union.

I have the honor to subscribe myself, with high esteem,
Yours, truly,

Hon. JUSTIN S. MORRILL,

JONAS P. LEVY.

Chairman of Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds,

United States Senate, Washington, D. C. Your committee therefore recommend the adoption of the following resolution:

Whereas it appears the late Commodore Uriah P. Levy, while a lieutenant of the United States Navy, in 1834, procured in Paris a bronze statue of Jefferson, by the celebrated sculptor David, which was presented by him through Congress to his fellow ctizens of the United States, and to which attention is now called by his brother, Jonas P. Levy, who requests that the statue, if not accepted by Congress, shall be returned to the late Commodore Levy: Therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the bronze statue, presented in 1834 by Lieut. Uriah P. Levy, of the United States Navy, of Thomas Jefferson, be accepted with grateful appreciation, and that the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds be directed to properly prepare and place the same in the National Statuary Hall of the Capitol.

March 23, 1834, Uriah Levy presented a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson to his fellow citizens of the United States in a letter addressed to the House of Representatives of the United States.

March 27, 1834, it appears that Congress, through its joint Committee on the Library, accepted the statue, and by letter of Asher Robbins, chairman, communicated thanks and a respectful acknowledgment to Lieut. Levy, and recommended that the statue be placed in the center of the square in the eastern front of the Capitol.

Uriah Levy had lived 28 years after the presentation of this gift to the United States.

Twelve years after his death, when the Levys were contesting for the possession of Monticello, his brother, Jonas Levy, wrote this letter to the chairman of Public Buildings and Grounds, which said:

I desire to honor the name of Jefferson and the memory of the would-be donor, who was a meritorious officer of the United States Navy for 50 years, and at his death the owner of Monticello, Va., the home of Jefferson, the same being now held by heirs. In this connection may I add that quite an interest is now felt for anything which could or would affect the memory of the sage of Monticello, Va., that great man, Thomas Jefferson, and the memory of my brother, the late Commodore Uriah P. Levy, the father and author of the abolition of corporal punishment in the United States Navy.

If the statue is not accepted by Congress, I have to request as one of the heirs to the said property and its recent owner, that the statue may be turned over to us with as little delay and in as good condition as it now appears in.

The severe stormy years of confiscation and the nearly 15 years of lawsuits left Monticello without roof or window panes and exposed to all kinds of hurt and injury.

At last, when "Clarkson N. Potter, the law preceptor of Commodore Levy's nephew, broke the will," it was returned to the Levy heirs and they, to straighten up the title, had a suit among themselves, and J. M. Levy, who previously had come into part of the place, bought the remaining parts.

On May 1, 1882, the land was sold, and Thomas J. Evans, special commissioner, granted 218 acres of land, with all the buildings and appurtenances.

known as Monticello, which was the residence of Thomas Jefferson, late President of the United States, and which, by the decree of the court entered on the 30th day of November, 1868, in suit, George Carr was directed, as commissioner, to sell and sold, on the 20th of March, 1879, to J. M. Levy, at a price of $10,050, it being the same tract of land of which the late Commodore Uriah I'. Levy died possessed and which was conveyed to Uriah Levy by James T. Barclay and wife by deed dated 20th day of May, 1836.

J. M. Levy came in actual possession of Monticello in 1882, at which time the deeds were passed and lawsuits settled. And here I wish to correct a mistake, published in the National Cyclopedia, and which has gotten into the minds of many people.

In the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume III, there appears this:

Monticello is now (1892) the property of Jefferson's grandson, Jefferson M. Levy, a prominent citizen and lawyer of New York. It was purchased by his uncle, Commodore Uriah P. Levy, of the United States Navy, and from him descended to its present owner.

This is not true. J. M. Levy is not the grandson of Thomas Jef- · ferson, and he did not inherit Monticello.

During these years of lawsuits, when Monticello had been terribly neglected and when Jefferson's home was being bandied about and fussed over, the monument over Jefferson's grave was destroyed and, on April 13, 1878, the following proceedings occurred in the House of Representatives:

Mr. Cox of New York. ask the attention of the House for one moment. This is the anniversary of Jefferson's birthday, the 13th of April. I am directed by the Joint Committee on the Library to report back with an amendment a joint resolution which was referred to that committee making a small appropriation for the repair of the monument to the memory of Thomas Jefferson, the appropriation to be expended under the control of the State Department. I will not take up the time of the House in further explaining the matter, for the joint resolution which I send to the Clerk's desk will explain itself. The SPEAKER. The joint resolution will be read, after which objections will be in order.

The joint resolution (H. Res. 141) for the erection of a monument over the grave of Thomas Jefferson provides that there shall be appropriated the sum of $2,500, or so much thereof as is necessary, for the erection of a suitable monument over the grave of Thomas Jefferson, at Monticello, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of State.

The amendment was to all to the joint resolution the following: "Provided, That the owners of the estate upon which said grave is situated shall first quitclaim to the United States all right of property to two rods square of the land surrounding and including the grave, and grant to the public the free right to access thereto."

Mr. Cox of New York. I think it is very ungracious to make an objection, especially to-day. Jefferson did not belong to Virginia, but to the whole country. If the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Foster] could know what I know and what is known by some of our own members who have recently visited the resting place of Thomas Jefferson, he would not object to the appropriation of this small sum-a pittance or so much thereof as may be necessary, for so honorable and patriotic a purpose. I hope we will give some distinguishing honor to this natal day of Jefferson by passing this joint resolution

Mr. DUNNELL. I would like to ask one question of the gentleman from New York [Mr. Cox]. Is this $2,500 to be expended in the erection of a monument? Mr. Cox of New York. No, sir. I will say to my friend from Minnesota [Mr. Dunnell] that after Jefferson's death there were found in his escritoire some memoranda in regard to his grave, providing for a shaft of granite, with the inscription which he desired to be placed on that monument. That monument is now broken and the other graves and the property around it in similar shameful neglect and decay. This is beyond expression mortifying to those who know the origin of our independence or love the intellectual heroes of cur elder day.

The inscription can not be found. It is all defaced. The monument is in a scandalous condition. It will be shameful to the American people, if when their representatives know the truth, they do not apply the remedy. Every year during the summer pilgrims go to Monticello, as to a sacred shrine, to see the place where the author of the Declaration of Independence lived and where he is buried. I do hope that we may do something at least to put that simple grave in repair, and hereafter, if the American Congress should choose to erect in this city a suitable monument to the great fame of the third President of the United States, I shall be among the first to welcome any such movement.

Mr. DUNNELL. I understand that his grave is without even a monument to mark the spot where he rests.

Mr. HANNA. I wish to ask the gentleman from New York (Mr. Cox) whether the title of the ground on which this monument is to be erected is in such a shape that the Government will have the possession of the monument hereafter? Mr. Cox of New York. We leave it to the Secretary of State to make proper provision for that purpose. We provide for obtaining title and securing access for the Government and the public as a condition precedent to spending any money by the Government.

Mr. HARDENBERGH. Mr. Speaker, during a visit last week to Monticello and the grave of Jefferson I met there his great-grandson, the son of Thomas Jefferson Randolph. He informed me of a fact I never knew before, that the original monument to Thomas Jefferson had been all chipped away; that a second one had also been chipped away; and a third is now undergoing the same process— an unsightly structure. Last night a week ago during a heavy gale the lower part of the brick wall surrounding the tomb was blown down, but it is about to be restored by the family of Dr. Randolph, who now have the matter in charge. The inscription is gone; not a trace remains. An obelisk stands over the tomb, but the whole site bears the evidence of a Nation's neglect.

It does seem to me that no more fitting time than now could occur for passing a measure of this kind. It is fitting that on the anniversary of Jefferson's birthday the Nation should at last do justice, even in so small a way, to his memory. The title to Monticello has been in litigation for a number of years, and I think a judicial decree has been made for a sale; but that does not affect the graveyard, which is reserved to the family. Desolation and ruin mark everything around the place. I went through the house in which Jefferson lived. There is scarcely a whole shingle upon it, except what had been placed there within the last few years. The windows are broken; everything is left to the mercy of the pitiless storm. The room in which Jefferson died is darkened; all around it are the evidences of desolation and decay-a standing monument to the ingratitude of a great Republic. Let it no longer be said that the framer of our Declaration of Independence lies there, mouldering with no fitting tomb over his remains, to commemorate a Nation's gratitude and Nation's pride in those principles which he announced in behalf of human freedom and happiness throughout the world.

Mr. Cox of New York. I am requested by gentlemen all around me to amend the resolution so as to make the appropriation "$5,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, in the opinion of the Secretary of State."

The SPEAKER. Is there any objection to modifying the joint resolution as indicated by the gentleman from New York? The Chair hears none.

The joint resolution as amended was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading; and being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed.

With the permission of the committee, I would like to read some letters bearing on this subject. The letters are as follows:

Hon. WM. EVARTS,

Secretary of State, Washington.

KESWICK DEPOT, ALBEMARLE, VA.,
Edge Hill, May 3, 1878.

DEAR SIR: I write to ask that you will intrust to me, as the descendant of Jefferson, who, in an humble way, has been his biographer, the task of superintending the restoration of his monument for which Congress has made an appropriation of $5,000 to be expended under the control of the State Department. I have in my possession Jefferson's family letters and private papers and among the last I have the one in which he leaves direction for the monu

ment he wishes erected over him, with a rough sketch of it made by himself. I was told by the gentlemen on the committee to whom the matter was referred that nothing was contemplated by them but a restoration of the monument according to these directions and having the graveyard put in order. There would be no need therefore of an artist to furnish a design, to superintendent the work, with Jefferson's directions under my eye and being on the spot as I am here, I would have the whole work done at a saving of expense and most in accordance with his wishes. The execution of this task, which will be a labor of love to me, is a boon which I trust you will not deem to be inappropriately asked by one than whom no one could take a deeper interest in it. Mr. Corcoran, who will be kind enough to hand you this, will tell you of the plan which has been suggested to preserve that sacred spot at Monticello from future desecration.

Very sincerely, yours,

SARAH N. RANDOLPH.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, May 15, 1878.

Miss RANDOLPH, Edge Hill, Va.

MY DEAR MISS RANDOLPH: I am in receipt of your letter of the 3d instant, which has been handed me by Mr. Corcoran.

I requested him to say to you when he wrote, as he said he expected to do, that I should not take any steps in regard to the restoration of the monument of Jefferson until I heard from you as to your plans and wishes in the matter. I shall be glad to have you communicate with me at your earliest convenience. Very truly, yours,

WM. M. EVARTS.

KESWICK, ALBEMARLE, VA.,
Edge Hill, May 17, 1878.

Hon. WILLIAM M. EVARTS,

Secretary of State.

DEAR MR. EVARTS: Your very kind letter of the 15th has just been received, and I can not thank you too much for acceding to my request to lay before you our plans and wishes as regards the restoration of Jefferson's monument. I have felt sure that your good taste and delicacy of feeling would make you appreciate the propriety of following his own directions for his monument. These directions I had in his own handwriting with me in a recent visit to Washington. I wished much to show them to you, in view of the fact that the subject would soon come under your consideration, but I hesitated to worry you with a visit when I knew what an absorbing care you had in your son's fatal illness.

Inclosed I send you a rough sketch of Jefferson monument, executed according to his directions by my father. All that relic seekers have left of this monument you saw on your visit to Monticello last fall. The obelisk is. of course, over Jefferson himself; on his right lies his wife; on his left his daughter, Mrs. Eppes. Across their heads lies his eldest child, Miss Randolph; on the opposite side from her, across their feet, lies her husband, Hon. Thomas Mann Randolph, of Virginia. The mutilated obelisk and a fragment of the slab over Miss Randolph alone remain to mark the spot.

What we would like to have done is to restore the marble slabs over his wife and children and to place on his grave an obelisk of the finest Richmond granite but in handsome and more imposing proportions than he directed, and also to have the simple but comprehensive epistle which he left for his tomb cut on the obelisk itself and not on a marble tablet to be inserted in one of its faces. This would not be costly and would take a small part of the appropriation made by Congress. The whole graveyard, if put in proper shape, would be a monument to Jefferson, and, as the main aim after the erection of his tomb alone will be to secure it from desecration, the disproportion between its cost and that of the railing inclosing it should not be an objection to the latter being in the handsomest style, while it shall be made such as will be most efficient in keeping out intruders. An iron railing similar to the chaste and massive one inclosing the Georgetown Cemetery would best unite beauty and

efficiency. have taken steps to ascertain the cost, as well as that of the obelisks, slabs, and their erection, etc. As soon as I get the estimates, I will forward them to you.

Hoping you will approve these plans and will allow me the great pleasure of superintending the work, I am, with sentiments of the highest regard, Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

SARAH N. RANDOLPH.

LAW OFFICE, 23 PARK Row,
New York, July 13, 1878.

Hon. WILLIAM M. EVARTS.

DEAR SIR: I have recently ascertained that you are making preparations to erect a monument over the grave of Thomas Jefferson, at Monticello, pursuant to act of Congress.

I am one of the largest owners of this property, and it afforded me much gratification when I heard of the passage of the act, which I considered a token of respect to the memory of the great statesman.

In writing this I desire to call your attention to the fact that some of the parties (the Levys) who own interests in this property have expressed opinions antagonistic to the spirit of the act of Congress and have stubbornly refused and will strenuously oppose the erection of the monument, assigning as their reasons therefor that the grave would be desecrated by the removal of the present monument, and also being unwilling to cede any of their rights to the ground and the control of the place, which has been in my family for over 50 years. I deeply deplore their attitude in the matter, as it may be a barrier which can not be easily overcome. The grave and its surroundings belong absolutely to the owners of Monticello and not, as is thought, to the heirs of Jefferson. I am negotiating to obtain the consent of these parties, who reside in various parts of the United States and Europe, and hope to successfully overcome their objections. The monument that was erected shortly after Mr. Jefferson's demise is still standing and consists of a massive piece of stone, but it is sadly marred by relic seekers, which I hope will not be the fate of the proposed new monument, although my late uncle, Commodore U. P. Levy, and self have used the most energetic efforts to prevent this desecration. It would afford me much pleasure to know your plans in carrying out the act, what disposition will be made of the old monument, and whether any money is to be expended on the grounds. If you will delay this matter until next fall I have no doubt that I could obtain the consent of all the heirs and thus avoid any unpleasantness. I feel deeply interested in this matter, as Monticello has been owned by my family so long. It is my intention never to allow it to pass into the hands of strangers.

Yours, very truly,

JEFFERSON M. LEVY. P. S.-If you can accommodate me with a copy of the act, as passed, you will oblige.

J. M. L.

Miss SARAH N. RANDOLPH,

Keswick, Albemarle, Va.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, July 29, 1878.

MY DEAR MADAM: I have received a letter from Mr. Jefferson M. Levy, of New York, who represents himself to be one of the largest owners of Monticello, upon the subject of the proposed erection of a new monument over the grave of Jefferson, and, as it may prove of some interest to you, who doubtless feel deeply concerned in all that pertains to the question, I inclose a copy of it. He states that there is a strong opposition manifest on the part of some of the owners (the Levys) of the estate to the project, and he thinks that if the work be delayed until next fall he could in the meantime overcome their objections.

I am, my dear madam, very respectfully, yours,

WM. M. EVARTS.

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