Monticello’s Stewards

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., is not and has never been “an organization of the President’s descendants,” as was stated in “Doubts About Jefferson and Hemings: The Debate Goes On” in the “History Now” section of the February/March issue. Founded in 1923, it is a private, nonprofit organization governed by a board of trustees. The foundation owns and operates Monticello, Jefferson’s home near Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Monticello Association is the organization of Jefferson’s descendants through his two daughters who lived to adulthood. The association owns and controls the cemetery on the grounds of Monticello, where Jefferson and other family members are buried.