University of Virginia Library

In Search Of Mr. Jefferson

By Howard Ozmon

—Ed.)

For a long time now (for as long
as I cam remember, actually) there
has been a persistent rumor about
that Mr. Jefferson was still alive. A
Mr. Claude Southall Timmons
reported him driving a horse madly
through Crozet at 2 A.M. This was
in 1964, and as Mr. Timmons had
been known to imbibe rather
heavily, the story received scant
attention. As late as 1968, however,
two students returning from an
all-night party say that they saw a
tall (possibly red-headed) man in
riding boots standing in front of the
Po room. When the students
approached, the man fled.

The most tangible support to
these cases, however, comes from a
letter I received not long ago from a
former employee at Monticello.
This gentleman (who must
unfortunately remain nameless)
worked the grounds at Monticello
for some years, and he informed me
that Mr. Jefferson is very much
alive, and that he is living upstairs
at Monticello.

To Monticello

After receiving this man's
communication I instantly set out
for Monticello and asked if I could
see the rooms upstairs. The woman
in charge, a rather matron-type,
said no, that no visitors were
allowed to go upstairs. When I told
her that I was a professor at
Virginia Commonwealth University,
that I was doing some important
research on Jefferson, and that if
necessary I would go to the Board
of Directors, the color instantly
drained from her face. She
nervously replied that she would
have to take it up with the director.

A Letter

Two weeks later (to the day), I
received a letter saying that I could
inspect the upstairs rooms. When I
arrived, this same woman escorted
me up. I told her that I wished to
look at the rooms at my leisure, but
she would not allow me to do so.
Nor would she allow me to touch
anything, either to open any of the
dresser drawers or to touch any of
the books lying on one of the
desks.

The outcome was, as you might
well expect, that I found nothing.
Yet, my curiosity was aroused all
the more. For almost a week I
brooded over that abortive
investigation. Then, a very strange
thing happened. I received through
the mail a very unusual letter. It
was addressed to me at my home
address and the letter and envelope
were both addressed by hand. I am
reprinting the letter (or perhaps I
should say note) in its entirety.

Dear Professor,

I know of your interest. Meet
me at Cabell Hall (front entrance 9
P.M., Thursday.

(Signed) One who can help you

The Meeting

I met a rather elderly man at 9
P.M. that evening. He informed me
that he had been a former
employee with the university
police, and that he had heard of my
search for Mr. Jefferson. Without
any further ado he launched into
the point at hand. "Why," he said,
"do you think they put up those
poles in the street near the Law
School?"

"To prevent students from being
killed," I guessed.

"No," he said derisively. "They
were put there to stop Mr.
Jefferson. Late at night he used to
ride through here."

"The real Mr. Jefferson?" I
asked incredulously.

"The real one. They've been
trying to catch him for years.
Almost did once."

"But," I said, "this sounds
incredible. Do you mean to say that
the entire University police force
can't catch a man on a horse?"

Looking For Tunnel

"Well, you know," he said,
"that Mr. Jefferson had a penchant
for tunnels and passageways and all.
He's got one around here
somewhere, but we just haven't
been able to find it. Why do you
think they're always digging around
the grounds. They're looking for
that tunnel."

The next day I went to keep an
appointment with one of the
professors at the medical school
who had authored several books on
reincarnation. "It is entirely
possible," he said, "that Mr.
Jefferson is still alive. In one of my
books I show six authenticated
cases of reincarnation. Why not a
seventh-particularly in Mr.
Jefferson's case?"

"But why doesn't he show
himself?" I asked. "We could
certainly use him today."

Price For Returning

"Perhaps he's not allowed to.
Sometimes that's the price one has
to pay — for returning."

"I feel that there are others who
know, who are covering up," I said,
mentioning my trip to Monticello.

"Did it ever occur to you," he
said intently, "that there may be
others besides Mr. Jefferson who
returned?" Then he paused to hit
me with the full impact of what he
was to say next. "Is it not
conceivable that all of those who
presently work at Monticello were
there before?"

Spinning Head

I left with my head spinning.
For several days I thought about
this conversation, and it did indeed
seem to make some sense.

There was also one final aspect
to my investigation. One day, while
perusing through several volumes
relating to Mr. Jefferson's life in the
Rare Book Room of Alderman
Library I cam across a passage
regarding a certain party held by
Mr. Jefferson in which the author
stated that "all the members
present were tipsy." And there, on
the margin of the book, written in
dark ink, as if by a quill pen, was a
statement saying "I was not tipsy!"
At another place in the same book
were more writings in the margin,
one of which said, "Wrong-al
wrong." It seemed to refer to the
author's view of what Mr. Jefferson
had to say about religion.

Just Present Facts

In placing this matter before
you I have not intended to
predispose you toward any
particular view, but rather to state
the facts of the case as I
encountered them. I leave the
reader to make his own decision.