Contents: Community Bulletin Recommends: It's here! Now ... we offer |
Independence Day - July 4th As we celebrate this Independence Day, the last of this millennium, it seems appropriate to reflect on the seldom reported private life of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson, a powerful advocate of liberty, was born in Virginia in 1743. From his father, a planter and surveyor, he inherited 5,000 acres of land, and from his mother, he inherited high social standing. Freckled and sandy-haired, Jefferson was known for his writing skills, not as a public speaker. In the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress, he contributed his pen rather than his voice to the patriotic cause. When Thomas Jefferson went courting, Martha Wayles Skelton was already a widow and an heiress. Accomplished and beautiful - with slender figure, hazel eyes, and auburn hair - she shared Jefferson’s love of music. They were married on New Year’s Day, 1772, near Williamsburg, Virginia. They arrived at Monticello in a late January snowstorm with a love "strong enough to endure any adversity." Within ten years, six children were added to the family. Only two of the children lived to adulthood: Martha, called Patsy, and Mary, called Polly. Like many Americans at the time, Thomas Jefferson and his family ate two meals a day. Breakfast was served at eight, and dinner was served in the late afternoon. Before every meal, two bells rang to alert the family and guests, one to call them to the table, and one when the meal was served. A typical breakfast consisted of tea, coffee, muffins, hot wheat and corn bread, cold ham and butter.
Regardless of your political stand, we ask that you join us in prayer for the safety of Nato Soldiers, as well as for world peace. |
