Lucy Jefferson Lewis

Lucy Lewis, née Jefferson (October 10, 1752 – May 26, 1810), was an American settler and member of the Jefferson family. She was born at Tuckahoe plantation, the eighth of ten children of Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph Jefferson. Her birth occurred in Virginia, and she was nine years younger than her brother, Thomas Jefferson, who later became the third President of the United States. Her family belonged to the planter aristocracy in Virginia, and her early education was provided domestically by her mother, alongside her sisters. Her father died when she was young, which affected her upbringing.

On September 12, 1769, at the age of 16, Lucy Jefferson married her first cousin, Charles Lilburne Lewis. Charles was related to Meriwether Lewis, who co-led the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The marriage produced eight children: Randolph, Isham, Jane Jefferson, Lilburne, Mary Randolph, Lucy B., Martha, Ann (Nancy), and Elizabeth. However, her relationship with her brother Thomas Jefferson was noted as distant following her marriage, and he did not maintain close personal ties with her or her husband's family. It is also recorded that Thomas Jefferson was not close to Charles Lewis's sister, Elizabeth Henderson.

By 1806 or 1808, the Lewis family moved to Livingston County, Kentucky, alongside their sons Randolph and Lilburne and their respective families. Prior to their relocation, Jane and Mary had established independent households. Lucy and Charles Lewis established a plantation called "Rocky Hill" near what is now Smithland, Kentucky.

Thomas Jefferson took an interest in the education of Lucy’s sons, encouraging their studies. Lucy Jefferson Lewis died in 1810 at the age of 57. She was interred on the grounds of the Rocky Hill plantation; however, her grave site has been lost over time, and the estate is now in ruins.

In 1812, a series of events involving her family members occurred. Her sons Lilburne and Isham Lewis were involved in the murder of a slave named George. The incident was uncovered after the collapse of a chimney during the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes revealed the victim’s skull. Lilburne and Isham were arrested; Lilburne, in an apparent suicide attempt, was killed while preparing for a potential suicide pact with Isham, who then escaped from jail and disappeared. Lilburne’s death and the slave’s murder tarnished the family's reputation.

Commemorative efforts in Livingston County include the erection of a monument honoring Lucy Jefferson Lewis by the Daughters of the American Revolution at the intersection of U.S. Route 60 and Kentucky Route 137. A bridge named the Lucy Jefferson Lewis Memorial Bridge spans the Cumberland River near Smithland. An obelisk was also placed in her memory at Rocky Hill Cemetery by a local DAR chapter, which bears her name.

Her ancestry links to the Jefferson family lineage, including her notable relatives in American history.