Jane Randolph Jefferson

Isn't it time we honor the mother of our third president?

I’ve been to Monticello twice. Once in 1993, and again this past weekend.

My first visit coincided with the celebration of Thomas Jefferson’s 250th birthday. As members of Virginia Tech’s Collegiate Times press corps, four other student editors and I dared to cross enemy lines to cover former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev’s speech during the University of Virginia’s Founder’s Day ceremony on April 13, 1993—just eleven days after Mr. Jefferson’s 250th birthday. 

Armored in our finest orange and maroon polyester, The Hokie Press regiment trekked across The Grounds in search of a spot on The Lawn in front of The Rotunda for The Event. Sneering Cavaliers tolerated our presence as we all struggled through an English translation of Gorbachev’s speech, during which he praised the life and leadership of UVA’s Founding Father. (This seemed somewhat ironic since Gorbachev once praised Stalin for instigating state-controlled industrialization. But anyHOO … )

At some point later that day, we made it to Monticello. My impressions of Thomas Jefferson’s grand estate were not nearly as salient at age 20 as they were at 51. Back then, I noticed The Great Clock in the foyer, shelves of old books, Jefferson’s really short bed, and the scratched-up protective floor covering. I didn’t pay much attention to what our tour guide said, and mostly felt like I was on a high school field trip. 

At 51, I appreciated the ingenuity of The Great Clock’s engineering, the detail of Jefferson’s Colonial-era maps, his vast collection of original books, and the secret closet above his still-very-short bed. I totally understood the protective covering over those precious original floors, and admired the busts of Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton—as well as the parquet floors in the parlor and portraits of what Jefferson called the “trinity of the three greatest men the world has ever produced”—John Locke, Isaac Newton, and Francis Bacon.

But something was missing.  

I thought about it briefly when our tour guide mentioned Shadwell Plantation, where Jefferson grew up. I wondered about it as I contemplated Jefferson’s role in our Great American Experiment. It smacked me in the face at the family cemetery when I saw her grave.

Why don’t we know more about Jane Randolph Jefferson?

There was only a nanosecond-mention of this accomplished Founding Father’s mother during the tour. Was Jane’s relationship with her eldest son so unimportant it was easier to brush her role aside? I actually think I learned more about Jefferson's concubine, Sally Hemmings, than his own mother.

Perhaps it’s because I have three adult children and carefully consider my past, present, and future impact on them at least once daily. Or it could be the closet matriarch in me hoping for some quality credit on my epitaph. Then again, maybe it just boils down to the fear we Gen Xers have of screwing up our kids. 

But, seriously. Jane deserves a callout or two. So I’m going to make some on her behalf, blended with intriguing facts about her third child and oldest son, and our third U.S. president.*

• Jane Randolph Jefferson was born to Jane Rogers and Isham Randolph on February 9, 1720 in Shadwell parish of London’s Tower Hamlets. 

• Jane came from a leading Tidewater family with a noble bloodline deriving from various locations in England and Scotland. Many historians also say she descended from European royalty going as far back as Charlemagne.

• The Randolphs left London for Virginia shortly after Jane’s birth, and arrived by October 1725. 

• Jane married Peter Jefferson on October 3, 1739, in Goochland County, Virginia. 

• Peter inherited and also purchased land along the Rivanna River that would become Shadwell Plantation. 

• Jane and Peter could read and write, and their circle of friends included clergymen, officeholders, mathematicians, and horticulturists.

• Jane bore ten children with Peter, eight of whom lived to adulthood. Her last two children, Anna and Randolph, were twins. Thomas and Randolph were their only sons who lived to adulthood. 

• Jane cultivated a learned and cultured household filled with books, musical instruments, silver, and imported goods. All of the children’s education included music and dance instruction.

• Family accounts reveal that Jane managed her family's resources with great care, skill, and prudence, which kept them out of debt.

• Peter died unexpectedly at age 50 in 1757, leaving Jane as a 37-year-old widow with ownership of their house and plantation, and 14-year-old Thomas as a patriarch of six sisters and a younger brother. 

• Thomas wouldn’t receive anything until he turned 21. Some historians believe this created feelings of resentment toward his mother.

• Jane’s great-granddaughter, Ellen Randolph Coolidge, wrote that Jane was "mild and peaceful by nature, a person of sweet temper and gentle manners” and “a woman of "clear and strong understanding." Jane was also fond of letter writing.

• Many historians believe Jefferson inherited his refined and cultured composition from his mother. 

• No correspondence between Jefferson and his parents can be found, but it’s possible letters existed that were destroyed in a 1770 fire that burned much of Shadwell to the ground. 

• There are some reports that Jane disapproved of Jefferson’s revolutionary activities, as she was alleged to sympathize with her loyalist cousin, John Randolph. 

• Even though much of Shadwell burned in 1770, Jane continued to live there until her death on March 31, 1776. Most historians believe she died of a stroke.

• Jane left everything to Thomas, her executor—minus a few specific items for her other children.

• Jane’s death was the only information on record that Thomas Jefferson ever conveyed in writing about his mother. Several months after she died, he sent the following statement in a letter to his mother’s brother in England: "The death of my mother you have probably not heard of. This happened on the last day of March after an illness of not more than an hour. We suppose it to have been apoplectic." 

• It’s noteworthy to add that as a student of the Enlightenment, Thomas likely chose not to react emotionally to his mother’s death.

• Jane is buried in the family cemetery at Monticello.

So there you have it. Jane Randolph Jefferson gave birth to and raised one of our country’s finest Founding Fathers and most famous presidents. He helped author America’s Declaration of Independence and contributed key ideas to our Constitution. Clearly, Jane did quite a few things right. 

Thirty-one years later, I now appreciate the history Monticello has to offer, the impact our Founding Fathers have made on our country, and the fine job Jane Randolph Jefferson did raising her son, Thomas Jefferson.

Whether he realized it or not. 

Today and later this year, as you head out to vote for the candidate you hope will be our next president, remember the mom who raised him—or her—and offer that mother a patriotic salute for the time and love she invested into her child, and our magnificent country.

*Sources: Monticello.org, History of American Women blog, thehistorylist.com, encyclopediavirginia.org, varsitytutors.com, founders.archives.gov