I have frequently heard Mr Jefferson say that this germ of a fondness for building, was developed in him by the accidental circumstance of his purchasing a book on Architecture, when at College from an old drunken Cabinetmaker who still resided near the College gate in my time & whom I...

I am obliged candidly to own that thus far it has fallen far below my expectations—And I fear that the apprehension (which I always felt to a certain degree, that when its master & creative spirit was gone, it would languish dwindle & decay,) has begun already to be realized. Indeed it...

Your letter of the 1st inst. has been recieved by me with that degree of pleasure which must necessarily attach to every mark of recollection from a relation whom I esteem & value so highly. I have been obliged to delay the answer longer than I could have wished, from a desire to answer you...

... that death which leaves a deep impression, is my venerable friend’s of Monticello – Although prepared for it from his age & infirmities, yet I was most sensible to the shock when it did arrive – This indeed I now consider as one of those struggles of nature against...