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Thomas Jefferson letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper

 Unprocessed Material — Box: Vault Accessions, Folder: ViU2024-0035_001
Identifier: ViU-2024-0035

Content Description

This collection contains one letter from Thomas Jefferson expressing interest in Dr. Thomas Cooper, then professor of applied chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, to become a "corner-stone" of a new faculty at Virginia. Jefferson regards the appointment as a certainty; he advises him on transporting his belongings from Philadelphia and describes the accommodations being prepared: "You will find it cheaper to pay the transportation of any valuable furniture than to sell there & buy here. It can come by water to within a mile of Charlottesville." Ultimately, Cooper's philosophical beliefs and contempt for religious establishments brought clerical opposition to the appointment, and he did not assume the position.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

Purchased from Joel Levin, 23 October 2023.

Language of Description

English

Restrictions Apply

No

Dates

  • Creation: November 19, 1819

Creator

Extent

.04 Cubic Feet (1 legal folder)

Language of Materials

English

Inventory

1 letter