America's First Daughter

Jefferson has just died. His daughter Patsy is engaged in sorting through his possessions. She reflects that the sons of a revolution give their lives to a cause, “[b]ut daughters … we sacrifice our eternal souls” (1). As Patsy continues sorting, Sally enters the room. Sally is the black half-sister of Patsy’s mother, and she has been Jefferson’s mistress for decades: “We stand, two aging matriarchs, amongst his books, scientific instruments, and a black marbled obelisk clock” (2). Sally announces that she’s taking Jefferson’s jeweled shoe buckle, an inkwell, and a pair of spectacles as mementos. She then leaves.

Patsy begins the task of burning papers that cast Jefferson is an unflattering light. She carries the burden of upholding her father’s legacy. He will be remembered exactly as he wanted to be: “I have stayed silent to avoid speaking the truth. What is one more silence when it preserves all we have sacrificed for?” (6).

Patsy recalls a frightening episode from her childhood. In May of 1781, her family is forced to flee their home because the British are on their way to capture her father. Patsy, her mother, and younger sister Polly are bundled into a coach. They will be protected by William, a 22-year-old Virginia official and relative of her mother’s. Jefferson remains behind and tells his family to disown him if they are questioned. Patsy thinks, “For the first time in my life, I understood that a lie could protect those I loved” (14).

The Jefferson family flees all the way to a remote plantation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Once the British retreat, Jefferson is asked to accept an appointment as ambassador to France. His wife hates the idea, and he agrees to stay home. Patsy says, “It was a promise. And sometimes I wonder how differently everything might have been if he’d been able to keep it” (28).

In May of 1782, Jefferson’s wife gives birth to another daughter and dies shortly afterward. Before she passes, she tells her eldest daughter, “When I escape the unhappy pains of this world, Patsy, you must watch over your father” (29). Patsy takes this promise to heart. Jefferson is nearly suicidal with grief. Patsy finds him in his study staring at a pistol on his desk. She has difficulty breaking him out of his despair: “Mourning forged us together like hot metal under a smith’s hammer” (37).

Because Patsy takes after her father the most, she understands his temperament the best. They become inseparable in the months following his wife’s death. Patsy resolves that she will keep him from going mad with grief by whatever means necessary. She also decides to keep her own troubles to herself. As she tells her younger sister, “Our papa is burdened with such sorrows that we must never burden him with our own” (39).

Patsy continues to watch her father grieving, fearful that he is slipping into madness. They go for daily horseback rides together. On one of these, Jefferson spirals so deeply into depression, that he allows his daughter to fall from their horse. William rides up and helps Patsy. He sharply reminds Jefferson that he isn’t the only one affected by sorrow. Jefferson barely acknowledges the comment. Patsy, herself, is angry at William for rebuking her father. He asks, “Who comforts you in your loss?” (47).

Sometime later, Jefferson arranges for his daughters to be inoculated against smallpox. When Patsy grows feverish, she asks him if the cure is ineffective. Jefferson explains that a lesser pain is sometimes necessary to prevent a greater one. He then announces that he’s leaving Monticello and taking an official appointment in France. Patsy is devastated but wonders, “What would have survived of him if he’d stayed?” (51).

Jefferson takes Patsy with him as he tries to find a ship to carry them to France. The search goes badly. For three months, they bounce from place to place, only settling for a brief respite at the Randolph plantation with a friend from Jefferson’s youth. Patsy takes an immediate dislike to Tom, the eldest son of the house.

Jefferson’s appointment to France is canceled, and he’s called to Congress in Annapolis instead. He places Patsy in the care of Mrs. Hopkinson in Philadelphia. His daughter is assigned an army of tutors to further her education. Patsy is miserable while separated from her father.

Jefferson writes letters to his daughter saying how he wishes her to behave. Patsy thinks, “Indeed, it seemed there were a great many things Papa wished for me while none of my wishes mattered at all” (61). When Jefferson comes to visit, he announces he’s to be an American envoy to Paris. Patsy is overjoyed to learn she’s going with him.