Lucy Lewis, née Jefferson (October 10, 1752 – May 26, 1810) was a younger sister of

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

and the wife of

Charles Lilburn Lewis Charles Lilburn Lewis (1747 – 1831 or 1837), 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 i ...

Early life and education

Born in

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Cha ...

, she was the eighth of

Peter Jefferson Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", cre ...

and

Jane Randolph Jefferson Jane Randolph Jefferson (February 10, 1720 – March 31, 1776) was the wife of Peter Jefferson and the mother of US president Thomas Jefferson. Born in the parish of Shadwell, near London, she was the daughter of Isham Randolph, a ship's ...

's 10 children. She was nine years younger than her brother

. 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 16, Jefferson married her first cousin, Charles Lilburne Lewis, on September 12, 1769. He was related to

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, wit ...

, who would help lead the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

. The couple eventually had eight children: Randolph,

Isham Isham is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the A509 road, three miles south of Kettering and a mile to the west of Burton Latimer. The River Ise is to the east of the village. Administratively, it forms part of ...

, Jane Jefferson, Lilburne, Mary Randolph, Lucy B., Martha, and Ann (Nancy). Her brother, Thomas Jefferson, did not seem to be close to Lucy after her marriage. He was not close to the men in the Lewis family and disliked Charles Lewis' sister, Elizabeth Henderson. Jane and Mary had married before 1806 and established their own households. The remainder of the Lewis family moved to

Livingston County, Kentucky Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,888. Its county seat is Smithland. The county was established in 1798 from land taken from Christian County and is named for Ro ...

in 1806 or 1808, following their grown sons Randolph and Lilburne and their families. Charles and Lucy Lewis built a plantation called "Rocky Hill" near the present-day town of Smithland. Lucy's older brother Thomas Jefferson took an interest in the education of her sons, and encouraged them in their studies. Lucy Jefferson Lewis died in 1810. She was buried on the grounds of the Rocky Hill plantation, but the gravesite has been lost. The estate is now in ruins. In 1812, the year after Lucy and her son Randolph died, the brothers Lilburne and Isham Lewis murdered a slave named George. The men 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 is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. The brothers were arrested but received bail.Stewart, David, and Knox, Ray, ''The Earthquake America Forgot''
Marble Hill, Missouri: Gutenberg-Richter Publications, 1995, pp. 25–31 Before the trial, Lilburne urged Isham to join him in a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

pact, but died almost by accident while preparing, 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. The murder of the slave and suicide by Lilburne brought the entire family into disrepute.

Commemoration

*In Livingston County, a monument honoring Lucy Jefferson Lewis was erected by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

at the intersection of U.S. Route 60 and Kentucky Route 137. *A few miles south of the monument, a bridge named in her honor, the Lucy Jefferson Lewis Memorial Bridge, spans the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

on U.S. Route 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.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Lucy Jefferson 1752 births 1810 deaths American people of English descent American people of Welsh descent Jefferson family Randolph family of Virginia People from Albemarle County, Virginia People from Livingston County, Kentucky

Early life and education

Marriage and family

Commemoration

See also

Notes

References