Ellen Wayles Randolph

Eleonora Wayles "Ellen" Randolph Coolidge (October 1796 – April 21, 1876) was an American woman who was the granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson and the daughter of Martha Jefferson Randolph and Thomas Mann Randolph. Her early years were spent at Monticello, the estate of Thomas Jefferson, where she received a formal education and was proficient in Latin, French, and other modern languages. Her mother, Martha Jefferson Randolph, provided her with education and upbringing, and Ellen was considered "wonderfully apt" at a young age.

In November 1802, during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, Coolidge traveled to Washington, D.C., with her brother Jeff and her mother for a six-week visit to the President's House. During her childhood, she enjoyed an idyllic rural life on the Monticello plantation, engaging in outdoor activities and acquiring education. She maintained correspondence with Jefferson during her early years, often writing about her studies, books she read, and her interests in poultry and gardening. In 1825, she commissioned a painting from her friend Jane Braddick Peticolas, depicting her brother playing on the Monticello lawn.

Coolidge maintained a close relationship with her grandfather, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson took her on trips to Poplar Forest, his other estate, and paid for her travel to various cities including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond. She acted as Jefferson’s assistant and agent during travel, which led to perceptions that she might not marry, though she eventually married Joseph Coolidge in 1825.

Ellen Wayles Randolph married Joseph Coolidge on May 27, 1825, at Monticello. Following her marriage, she and her husband moved to Boston. Joseph Coolidge was employed by Cottrell, who was an enslaved girl at Monticello in 1809. After their marriage, her personal belongings were shipped to Boston but were lost at sea. In her new home, Jefferson replaced her desk with the one he used to write the Declaration of Independence; this desk is now part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Ellen Coolidge had five pregnancies in six years, including a set of twin boys. Due to Joseph Coolidge’s extended overseas travels to China and Europe, she primarily raised six children as a single parent. She traveled abroad herself in 1838 and 1844, recording her experiences, including a visit to London, in a journal. The Coolidge family spent several years living in Switzerland and other parts of Europe beginning in 1844.

Ellen Coolidge passed away on April 21, 1876, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The personal papers of Thomas Jefferson, including manuscripts and drafts related to his correspondence with Ellen Coolidge and other materials, were donated to the Massachusetts Historical Society. Among these was a draft of a letter from Jefferson to Ellen dated August 27, 1825, expressing how much she was missed and describing her new residence as more suited to her inclinations since slavery had been abolished in Massachusetts in the 1780s.

References:

- Cynthia A. Kierner, Martha Jefferson Randolph, daughter of Monticello: her life and times, University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

- The Family Letters of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Edwin Morris Betts and James Adams Bear Jr., includes correspondence with Ellen Coolidge.

- Thomas Jefferson's Granddaughter in Queen Victoria's England: The Travel Diary of Ellen Wayles Coolidge, 1838-1839, Massachusetts Historical Society, 2012.

- Lisa A. Francavilla, "Ellen Randolph Coolidge's 'Virginia Legends' and 'Negro Stories': Antebellum Tales from Monticello," Massachusetts Historical Review, 2015.