by Alison Dolbier | Jul 16, 2026 | About the Project, Stories from the Papers
It is easy to take food for granted. Meat and dairy last for days in a refrigerator and an amazing array of produce is available in the grocery store year-round. In Jefferson’s time freshly butchered meat and dairy would last perhaps a day in hot weather without being... 
by Bland Whitley | Apr 16, 2026 | Stories from the Papers
This work comes with its share of frustrations. Research angles go nowhere. Lovingly and meticulously crafted annotation is rendered superfluous by new information. Most relevant to this post, some of our correspondents stubbornly remain ciphers. Recently, I worked on... by Merry Ellen Scofield | Mar 4, 2026 | Stories from the Papers
Frances Few was a niece of Hannah Nicholson Gallatin, wife of Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. Born in 1789, Frances was raised in elite New York City society, well-educated, and long-lived. She died in Hastings-on-Hudson at 95, the widow of Albert A.... 
by Bland Whitley | Mar 19, 2025 | Stories from the Papers
One of Jefferson’s most prolific correspondents was a little-known Franco-German named Philippe Reibelt, at different times a spy, archivist, failed land speculator, bookseller, and would-be government official. It should come as no surprise that the largest portion... 
by Merry Ellen Scofield | Mar 8, 2024 | Stories from the Papers
In 1789, as Congress debated the location of a permanent national capital, the New York Gazette of the United States mocked in verse the rumors that it had chosen a site along the Potomac River. Why select a seaport metropolis like Philadelphia or New York, with its... 
by Bland Whitley | Jan 12, 2024 | Stories from the Papers
As both the executive of the federal government and the local executive for the District of Columbia, Jefferson faced a steady stream of pardon requests during his time as president. Most of these requests came from the local context and featured lower-income...