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Chapter 8
The Building Campaign of 1823
Documentary History of the Construction of the Buildings at the University
of Virginia, 1817-1828 |  |
Allegations of Misconduct
At the meeting the Board of Visitors had to deal with one other issue, an anonymous letter
sent to House of Delegates Representative Thomas Griffin alleging various "charges of
misconduct" against Brockenbrough the university proctor, signed a "Farmer" and in fact
written by James Oldham.[567] Oldham drafted the letter back in late January after he and
Brockenbrough had a dispute over the use of Mathew Carey's Philadelphia Price Book of
1812 as the standard of settlement for the housejoiner's work on Pavilion I and Hotel A,
Oldham claiming that his contract was with Jefferson and not the proctor.[568] The letter
made absolutely no impact in Richmond because of the delegates' aversion to the
anonymous nature of the attack,[569] and there the matter rested until the visitors' April
meeting, when Brockenbrough, whose "feelings have been much wounded by those
calumnious charges," asked the board to "do me the justice to make some public
declaration" in his favor.[570] The board instructed the executive committee to call on
Oldham for evidence to support his charges but by now the two men could not even agree
on setting up arbitration about the matter.[571] Oldham in November 1823 filed a lawsuit
against the University of Virginia and the case dragged on with both sides exchanging
accusations and taking depositions until the Staunton Chancery Court settled it in the early
1830s.[572]
567. Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, 7 April 1823,
PPAmP:UVA Minutes.
568. See TJ to Cabell, 4 February 1823, in ViU:TJ. Jefferson was surprised that Oldham's
"self-respect would have permitted him to have attacked an adversary from behind the mask
of an anonymous information," and he defended Brockenbrough's conduct as bearing "the
stamp of the most perfect integrity and diligence."
571. See Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, 7 April, in
PPAmP:UVA Minutes, TJ to Brockenbrough, 16 April, and TJ to Cocke, 22 April 1823, in
DLC:TJ.
572. Many of the letters and other documents surrounding the disagreement can be found in
Oldham v UVA, Staunton Chancery Court Records, and Oldham vs University of Virginia,
ViU:UVA Chronological File; see especially Oldham's Memorial to the Rector and Board of
Visitors, and Oldham's Lawsuit Against the University of Virginia, both 20 November 1823.
For a thorough examination of the background and eventual settlement of the dispute, see
my "'To Exercise a Sound Discretion': The University of Virginia and Its First Lawsuit," at
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/grizzard/Archive/lawsuit/home.html (1996).
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Chapter 8
The Building Campaign of 1823
Documentary History of the Construction of the Buildings at the University
of Virginia, 1817-1828 | |