Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/193

 THOMAS JEFFERSON 155 years. He describes her as the &quot;cherished com panion of his youth and the nurse of his old age,&quot; and shortly before his death remarked that the &quot;last pang of life was parting with her.&quot; After the business reverses and the death of her father and husband, she contemplated establishing a school, but was relieved from the necessity by a donation of $10,000 each from South Carolina and Virginia. She left a large family of sons and daughters, whom she carefully educated. There is no known portrait of Mrs. Jefferson. Her sister, MARY, born at Monticello, August 1, 1778; died in Albemarle County, Va., April 17, 1804, was also educated in the convent at Panthe- mont, France, and is described, in a letter of Mrs. Abigail Adams, &quot;as one of the most beautiful and remarkable children she had ever known.&quot; She married her cousin, John Wayles Eppes, early in life, but was prevented by delicate health from the enjoyment of social life. She spent the second winter of Mr. Jefferson s first term with her sister as mistress of the White House. She left two chil dren, one of whom, Francis, survived. Jefferson s last surviving granddaughter, Mrs. Septima Ran dolph Meikleham, died in Washington, D. C., on September 16, 1887. See &quot;The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson,&quot; by Miss Sarah N. Randolph (New York, 1871).