[File photo by Jerry Newcombe-interior of colonial American church] Recently, I quoted the opening portion of an agreement for the creation of a Christian church in Charlottesville that Thomas Jefferson wrote up in 1777. This provides ample evidence that he was a Christian at this stage of his life when …
The notion that Thomas Jefferson was a life-long skeptic is a myth. It can be disproved, for instance, in the fact that in 1777, Jefferson wrote up an agreement for the establishment of a church in Charlottesville, his home. They called a patriotic pastor, an evangelical named Rev. Charles Clay, …
[File photo by Jerry Newcombe-of a box pew in a colonial church] Concrete indications of Jefferson’s own religious beliefs began to be clear in the early months of 1777, as he took voluntary initiatives to support a new church in his town. The legislature had created a new Anglican parish eastward in …
In the capital of Williamsburg on October 11, 1776 Thomas Jefferson joined the committee on religion in the legislature and began meeting with many dissenting clergymen. A Dissenter was one who was not part of the government-favored denomination (i.e. Anglicans) and who wished the laws to be revised in favor …
[Pictured: Moses] While in Congress in 1776, Thomas Jefferson served on a committee to propose a national seal for authenticating official documents. Jefferson proposed on August 20 they use an image of “…the Israelites: rays from a pillar of fire in the cloud, expressive of the divine presence, and command, reaching …
[Picture: Statue of Sir William Blackstone, the eminent British jurist] When Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, he touched on religion when it mentioned “…the laws of nature and of nature’s God” and “…We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, that all men are …
About half a year later in March 1775, Jefferson attended the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond, where he was elected one of Virginia’s delegates to the Continental Congress. A notable event occurred at that gathering. One Virginia delegate named Patrick Henry made a speech that called the colony’s leaders to …
When Jefferson decided to marry Martha Wayles Skelton, he chose an Anglican wedding that was conducted at the family plantation in Charles City County east of Richmond on January 1, 1772, by Rev William Coutts—a friend of Martha’s family. Up until 1774, the Jeffersons worshiped at Clear Mount Church but then switched to the new …
Thomas Jefferson moved south across the Rivanna River into the first completed section of his home, Monticello, on November 26, 1770. This move put him in the jurisdiction of a new parish and Jefferson, according to biographer Edwin Gaustad, “was also elected vestryman.”9 Bishop William Meade also confirms his place on the vestry, and …
Thomas Jefferson returned to Albemarle County from Williamsburg and began practicing law in 1767. He also joined the vestry of Fredericksville Parish, which made him part of the lay-leadership of the church that was still served at that time by Rev. James Maury, whose school Jefferson had attended before college. The Anglican Church …