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Subject:
From:
Henry Wiencek <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 1 Jul 2005 12:19:57 -0400
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A great big thank-you to Dennis, Douglas, and Mary for the suggestions.  Through some
miracle, when I came into my office this morning I found a stack of print-outs guiding
me to these sources in the Jefferson Library at Monticello (where I have an office for
the summer).  Someone here reads VA-HIST.

I'm looking for this information in order to bring some context to the lives of
Jefferson's slaves.  The slave David Hern, for example, was a wheelwright for Jefferson.
 I'm trying to get some sense of what his life might have been like had he been a free
white man pursuing the same trade.  The range of services Jefferson commanded was truly
impressive.  He could, and did, turn to his slaves and say, "make a set of columns for
my house; brew up a batch of beer; make me a landau; cook a French dinner for twenty."
And Jefferson's artisans were very good at what they did.

Happy 4th !

Henry Wiencek
Charlottesville

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