Presidents and First Ladies Trivia

[RJNorton]

The University of Virginia?

[L Verge]

(09-13-2016 03:43 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  The University of Virginia?

That's where it should be, but it's not...

[L Verge]

(09-13-2016 10:14 AM)L Verge Wrote:  

(09-13-2016 03:43 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  The University of Virginia?

That's where it should be, but it's not...

Hint #1 - the tombstone is 878 miles from where it should be.

[RJNorton]

The Lewis and Clark Expedition began near St. Louis. I do not know what this might have to do with the expedition, but I'll guess St. Louis.

[L Verge]

(09-14-2016 03:49 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  The Lewis and Clark Expedition began near St. Louis. I do not know what this might have to do with the expedition, but I'll guess St. Louis.

You are getting close. Think of an educational institution.

[RJNorton]

Southern Illinois University?

[Gene C]

There is a Jefferson College just south of St. Louis, but it's not there

Is this what you are referring to?

"Thomas Jefferson's original tombstone stands on the east side of the quad. Jefferson's original tombstone was given to xxxxxx by his heirs in July 1883 due to xxxxx being the first XXXXXXX within Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase.

The plaque on the gravestone reads "This original marker, placed at the grave of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, Virginia in 1826, constructed from his own design, was presented July 4, 1883, by the Jefferson heirs to XXXXXXX XXXXXXX. First XXXXXX XXXXX to be founded in the Louisiana Territory purchased from France during President Jefferson's administration. The obelisk, dedicated on this campus at commencement June 4, 1885, commemorates Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, whose faith in the future of western America and whose confidence in the people has shaped our national ideals; commemorates the author of the of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia statute for religious freedom, founder of the University of Virginia, fosterer of public education in the United States."

And under these words it reads (the original epitaph)

"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom and FATHER of the University of Virginia"

[L Verge]

(09-15-2016 07:07 AM)Gene C Wrote:  There is a Jefferson College just south of St. Louis, but it's not there

Is this what you are referring to?

"Thomas Jefferson's original tombstone stands on the east side of the quad. Jefferson's original tombstone was given to xxxxxx by his heirs in July 1883 due to xxxxx being the first XXXXXXX within Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase.

The plaque on the gravestone reads "This original marker, placed at the grave of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, Virginia in 1826, constructed from his own design, was presented July 4, 1883, by the Jefferson heirs to XXXXXXX XXXXXXX. First XXXXXX XXXXX to be founded in the Louisiana Territory purchased from France during President Jefferson's administration. The obelisk, dedicated on this campus at commencement June 4, 1885, commemorates Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, whose faith in the future of western America and whose confidence in the people has shaped our national ideals; commemorates the author of the of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia statute for religious freedom, founder of the University of Virginia, fosterer of public education in the United States."

And under these words it reads (the original epitaph)

"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom and FATHER of the University of Virginia"

That's what I'm referring to, but you still haven't told me the name of the educational institution where it stands.

[Gene C]

(09-15-2016 08:37 AM)L Verge Wrote:  That's what I'm referring to, but you still haven't told me the name of the educational institution where it stands.

I looked it up on the internet, it wasn't that hard to find. I was surprised to read where it is. Maybe with that extra info, someone else will figure it out.

Come on forum members, let' participate.

[Wild Bill]

U Mo, Columbia

[L Verge]

Thank you, Gene and Bill. Whew! That was like pulling an answer out of a reluctant eighth-grader. I took the information from the new book, The President Is Dead.

[Eva Elisabeth]

This 8th grader had no idea but found this interesting site on the (hi)story (including Jefferson's drawings):
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonia...80/?no-ist

I also had no idea Monticello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[L Verge]

I think most of us know the history behind the restoration of Washington's Mount Vernon from decaying building to international stature, thanks to the efforts of a group of Southern ladies who began their project just a few years before the Civil War. Much of the same can be learned from Monticello, which went into terrible decline, but was saved by an owner after that war. When I have more time, I'll discuss the process as described in The President Is Dead. I knew that a figure on the sidelines of the Lincoln assassination story, Benjamin Ficklin, was part of the process; but I did not know that he could not keep up with the mounting debts and that it was a subsequent owner who made the difference.

On a minor sidebar, I took my grandson on our Surratt Society's Booth Tour this past Saturday. One of the sites that we always pass en route to Cleydael (summer home of Dr. Richard Stuart) is the former plantation of one of Jefferson's granddaughters, who married into the Mason family. The home at Mt. Alto went down in the 1960s, I believe, but the farmland around it has always been pristine, and the "Mt" was clearly visible as a gentle mound of lawn with trees in the middle of the area.

Well, it appears that developers are once again changing the scenery. As we rode by, I said good-bye to the last vestiges of what the Mason family would have seen. Roads are now being bull-dozed into place in preparation, I'm sure, for the onslaught of McMansions and newcomers who will have no idea that they are living where a Jefferson granddaughter once lived.

Every now and then, I think it would be nice if the new developments were actually named after the historic sites they are replacing or revert to an old land grant title -- maybe even have a small plaque near the entrance giving a brief history. We need to hang onto whatever history we can salvage in this country now.

[Joe Di Cola]

Laurie,

Around the time of the Civil War, Mount Vernon was in such a dilapidated state that the veranda had to be propped up with ship masts obtained from the Norfolk naval yard.

See attached pic (if I can get it to post)...

[Gene C]

(09-16-2016 09:24 AM)L Verge Wrote:  We need to hang onto whatever history we can salvage in this country now.

I agree Laurie, but it seems regulations and red tape make it increasingly financially difficult