Jefferson and Adams - old - or party to heartily?

Question

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th 1826. Do you think that our founding fathers were old, ill, or just celebrating Independence day too emphatically? Just agoofy question that popped into my mind when I read the date.

Answer 1

Good thought... maybe they had a good party and that killed them. Hmm... Hey, I just visited Monticello a couple days ago.


Jefferson died on the Fourth of July, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the same day as John Adams' death. Thomas Jefferson was deep in debt when he died. His possessions were sold at an auction on Monticello. In 1831, Jefferson's 552 acres (223 hect) were sold for $7,000 to James T. Barclay. In 1836, Barclay sold the estate and 218 acres (88 hect) of land to United States Navy Lieutenant Uriah P. Levy for $2,700. Levy then bought the surrounding land and started to purchase original furnishings. Lieutenant Levy is called "the Savior of Monticello" because of this. Levy died in 1862 as a result of the Civil War. In his will, he left the Monticello to the United States to be used as a school for orphans of navy officers. Thomas Jefferson is buried on his Monticello estate, in Charlottesville, Virginia. His epitaph, written by him with an insistence that only his words and "not a word more" be inscribed, reads:

HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA