1974 Minutes

This year, as always, the Annual Meeting really began on Friday (May l0th) when family groups began to converge on Charlottesville; gained momentum on Saturday with the meetings -of the Finance and Executive Committees in preparation for the Business Meeting, and reached one climax late that afternoon when approximately 86 members and their 15 guests gathered for a reception at Monticello. Anne Rafferty Barnes, our Hostess Committee Chairman, with help from several members of her close family, again engineered a memorable party. All present appreciated the many privileges they were enjoying.

Your attention is called to the enclosed reprint of an article by Dumas Malone that includes a letter written by Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge to her husband, Joseph Coolidge, Jr., in 1858. The reading of this letter (see page 8 of this report) by her great-grandson, Harold Jefferson Coolidge, during the Annual Business Meeting was of especial interest because it presented the evaluation by two of Thomas Jefferson's grandchildren of certain contemporary slanders concerning "yellow children." Because of this letter, the Executive Committee felt it would be appropriate to reprint from the 1932 Annual Report, as the special article for this report, the picture of Mrs. Coolidge as a mature woman and the account of her wedding in 1825 at Monticello. (See pages 14-16, following.) [ed - if anyone has a copy, please contact me]

Several aspects of the Graveyard's care were discussed during the Meeting. One was the urgent need to paint the rusting fence (see Minutes, page 6). As we go to press word has come from President Frank Walker that the rust has been removed and one coat of paint applied. A number of Mr. Jefferson's family and "friends" cooperated during two weekends (in August and September) to accomplish this job. A repeat performance is in order for next year to apply a second coat.

On this Sunday morning, in pouring rain, a small group assembled at 11:15 in the Graveyard to pay tribute to Mr. Jefferson and those of his, and our, family there resting. President Frank S. Walker, Jr., welcomed those present, read a prayer, and cited the following as those known to have died since the 1973 meeting: Association Members-Adelaide Morris Cooley Gadeberg, William Byrd Moss, and Jessie Alwine Taylor; Descendants, but not Association Members -John Samuel Butler, Thomas Jefferson Eppes, and Martha Jane Hotchiss McWhorter. (See under Deaths, page 13, for details.) Shortly before one o'clock 89 persons gathered in Alumni Hall of the University of Virginia, a highly satisfactory substitute for the Keswick Hunt Club. Anne Barnes and her caterer surpassed, if possible, their already remarkable records for making us comfortable and replete.

It was moved, seconded, and passed {m,s,p) that there be no reading of the 1973 meeting Minutes. President Walker than requested; and received, these reports:

An interim report on membership was made with the promise that more correct figures would be published herein. Members on the books for 1974, as ofJune30, 1974, number as follows:

Regular (Dues-paying) (Adult = 348; Children = 216)	564
Associate	118
Honorary	5
Total	687

This total includes 5 new or reinstated regular adult members. Seventeen members have been dropped because they have not been heard from in over three years; those who have not been heard from in two years are to receive warning notices.

The following tribute was paid our Treasurer: "I wish to comment concerning Mary Walker Randolph's most recent six years of labor in our behalf. {I specified "most recent" because she was Vice-President and then President some years ago, and her unofficial contributions over the years cannot be listed. ) As Secretary , I assumed a little of the load she had been carrying ever since she retired from teaching with the desire to read and make a garden. There are several persons in this room who have shouldered the double load of Secretary- Treasurer; they know the hours required to keep the Association records up to date. No small part of Mary Walker's job this year was to keep me posted as to membership and address changes. She put together most of the material for the 1973 Annual Report so that I could go ahead with the job of editing without undue delay. Thanks to my husband's expertise with the English language, and to a notably cooperative printing service provided by the Frederick {Maryland) News-Post, the report was in the mail on April first.

"And so, while she is still in office, and very much on the job, although not bodily in the room today, let's say BRAVO and applaud Mary Walker Randolph." She was accorded a vote of thanks and commendation by those present, standing.

Acting Custodian, Madeline McMurdo Whitmore, described the instructions left by Jane Rotch as having been most helpful. Mrs. Whitmore then told of her concern over soil that is disappearing from parts of the Graveyard. John Byrd Taylor who had made a special trip to Albemarle to help evaluate the condition, was asked to report his findings. In his judgment, the soil that has vanished from around certain tombstones and parts of the fence must be replaced; sunken graves must be built up. Col. W. M. Randolph, who had also evaluated the situation, voiced the opinion that more soil will go, and that its replacement will be a continuing need. The condition probably results not from surface erosion but from the presence of cracks in sub-surface rocks. Mr. Taylor reported further that the fence itself needs attention -specifically removal of rust and application of paint. He volunteered to direct and be one of a volunteer crew to do the job this summer. President Walker became the second volunteer.

Mrs. Whitmore then reported the Executive Committee's consensus that, although the responsibility for Graveyard care rests with the Association, it is fitting for the Custodian to inform family members when graves of close relatives need repair, and to ask for their advice and wishes in the matter. Should they desire to help financially, contributions {Federal Income Tax deductible} may be made to the Association Treasurer. The actual bills will be rendered to and paid by the Association.

Mrs. Whitmore, donning her other hat, told of the enormous amount of information prepared for the volume on ancestors and descendants of American Presidents currently in preparation by the publishers of Burke's Peerage. Unfortunately, the proof many of the family received this spring was of a rough draft mailed before Mrs. Whitmore's data had been incorporated.

The call for this report was prefaced by the President's announcement that the Executive Committee had accepted regretfully the resignation of our first and only Individual Trustee, Robert Hill Kean. Dr. Kean then reported that he had not received the Statement of Account from the Corporate Trustee, the First and Merchants Bank, but that it would be forwarded in time for publication. (See page 11.) At the President's request, John Byrd Taylor then presented a resolution recognizing the long and invaluable service rendered the Association by Dr. Kean as Individual Trustee from the time of his appointment on February 14, 1953, thanking him for this service, and expressing the hope that he will continue to render unofficial service to the Association for many years in the future as he has done so successfully in the past. The resolution was m,s,p with the instruction that the Secretary forward a copy to Dr. Kean. (Editor's note: We are informed that during 40 of the past 47 years Bob Kean served the Association in some official capacity!)

Because the Treasurer was absent, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, W. Leigh Taylor, reported as follows:

(1) The Annual Report will carry the interim financial report for Jan. 1 - May 12,1974, for which see page 10.

(2) The Finance Committee proposed a budget of $2425 for 1975 to the Executive Committee during its May 11, 1974 meeting. Because the expected income fell $300 below the amount of the proposed budget, the Committee recommended that the Membership be asked to approve an increase in adult dues, per year, from $2 to $5, with the stipulation that annual dues for children remain at $1 until the year following each member's 18th birthday. Mr. Taylor then moved that Section 2(A) of the By-Laws be changed to reflect such an increase in dues. The motion was seconded and passed. He then made a strong plea for the continuance, or even better the increase, of the annual contribution so many members habitually make in addition to dues. He commented that the largest item budgeted, $1300 for graveyard maintenance. could not be expected to take care of the disappearing-soil problem as well as regular maintenance; it might pay for the supplies a volunteer crew would need to paint the fence.

(3) Mr. Taylor suggested that members make memorial contributions to the Association, and that they remember it in their wills. The Trust Fund was designed especially to receive such monies and Life Membership fees. The hope was that income from the Fund could be allowed to accumulate to use for occasional, major, expenses. To date, that income has been needed, and used, for annual expenses. There was a brief discussion as to whether dues, like contributions, are deductible from Federal Income Tax. The promise was made to try to obtain definitive information on this point in time for inclusion in the Annual Report.

(Editor's Note: Under Section 501[ac(13)] of the Internal Revenue Code the Monticello Association is registered as a non-profit organization, and holds Employer's Identification Number 54-60252818. Therefore, contributions and dues to the Association are deductible for income tax purposes except for any portion that could be construed as paying for a tangible benefit. In our case, the Annual Report, worth perhaps one-dollar, might be classifiable as a tangible benefit!)

The President then interrupted the business of the meeting to give the floor to Harold J. Coolidge. Mr. Coolidge voiced his assumption that many members of the family would have been disturbed by a recent review of Fawn Brodie's book (The New York Times Book Review, April 7, 1974) and by her statement in the book that she had been refused (by Harold Coolidge) permission to publish most of a very important letter dealing with "yellow children" written in 1858 by Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge to her husband. Himself disturbed, Mr. Coolidge had sought counsel from Dumas Malone and Foundation President Walter Muir Whitehill. Their advice was that the letter should be made public. Dr. Malone offered to, and did, prepare background notes to accompany the letter and to send it to the New York Times, requesting publication. (Editor's note: See N.Y. Times for Saturday, May 18, 1974.) Fuller notes and the letter are to appear in a contribution from Dr. Malone to the American Antiquarian Society. Mr. Coolidge then read the letter. Some persons present expressed approval, some disapproval, of the course of action decided upon for the letter's publication. President Walker reminded those present that Dr. Malone had not acted in the name of the family, and the latter's endorsement was not required. Thanks were expressed to Harold Coolidge for sharing the letter with us.

As Chairman, George Green Shackelford presented the following slate of Officers for 1974-1975:

President	Frank S. Walker, Jr.
Vice-President	W. Leigh Taylor
Secretary	Martha J. Taylor Stedman
Treasurer	Mary Walker Randolph
Historian	Madeline McMurdo Whitmore

It was m,s,p that the slate be elected as nominated. The President announced the reappointment of Mrs. Whitmore as Acting Custodian of the Graveyard. Mr. Shackelford then moved that the Membership approve the Executive Committee's appointment of John Hager Randolph, Jr., as Individual Trustee to replace Robert Kean. The motion was seconded and passed.

Proposed at the recommendation of the Executive Committee for Honorary Membership in the Association were:

Dr. Frank L. Hereford, Jr.	President-Elect of the University of Virginia
Dr. Walter Muir Whitehill	President of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation
Dr. Dumas Malone	Biographer extraordinaire of Thomas Jefferson

(1) President Walker told us that Sidney Ruffin, as Chairman of the Committee for Graveyard Extension, had been in close touch with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. One result of this contact was a letter from Mr. Whitehill to Mr. Walker , expressing the hope that some way acceptable to the Association could be devised by which the Foundation could assist with care of the Graveyard. The idea was prompted by a wish to lighten the burden of custodianship, which falls so heavily on the few "cousins" who live near Monticello. Virginius R. Shackelford, Jr., as Chairman of a Special Studies Committee, when asked to speak urged that all interested members of the Association think about what sort of help they feel could be accepted from the Foundation; they should then either talk with, or write to, Mr. Shackelford or Bolling Hubard, the other member of that committee, Mr. Shackelford suggested, however, that if the decision ever be made to refuse Mr. Whitehill's offer, it will be prudent, and probably necessary, to set up an endowment fund if continuing care o the Graveyard is to be assured.

(2) Mr. Walker then voiced warm appreciation for Anne Barnes' indefatigable labors as Hostess Chairman, requesting that because Mrs. Barnes dislikes verbal thanks, we "look" our gratitude in her direction.

(3) These presidential appointments to Committee Chairmanships were announced: Harold J. Coolidge -Membership; Jaquelin R. Smith Lamond -Nominating; George Green Shackelford -Bicentennial Affairs.

(4) In order to avoid conflict in 1975 with the University of Virginia graduation and with the Keswick Horse Show (during the 3rd and 2nd weekends in May respectively) the President said he would entertain a motion to change the By-Laws Section 3(A), which designates the third Sunday in May for the Annual Meeting, to read" ...on a Sunday: in May selected by the Executive Committee." A motion to that effect was m,s,p. Gerald Morgan then moved that the Executive Committee, when it meets in October, strongly consider May 4th for the 1975 meeting. The motion carried.

(5) The President tentatively scheduled the next Executive Committee meeting for Saturday, October 19, 1974.

THE MONTICELLO ASSOCIATION

THE
MONTICELLO
ASSOCIATION