Levy, Jefferson M. (Jefferson Monroe), 1852-1924

<p>Jefferson Monroe Levy (April 16, 1852 – March 6, 1924) was a three-term U.S. Congressman from New York, a leader of the New York Democratic Party, and a renowned real estate and stock speculator.</p>

<p>In 1879 at the age of 27, he took control of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. His late uncle Uriah P. Levy had purchased the property in 1834, several years after Jefferson's death. Like his uncle, Levy spent a considerable part of his fortune having Monticello and its grounds restored and preserved. In 1923, the property was purchased by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (then known as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation), a privately established group formed to purchase and operate Monticello as a memorial. It has since operated the site and mansion as a house museum. The Levy family privately protected the National Historic Landmark for nearly a century because of their regard for Thomas Jefferson and on behalf of the American people.</p>

<p>Born in New York City to Jonas Levy and Frances (Phillips) Levy, an American Jewish couple, Jefferson was one of five children. His father was a merchant and sea captain, and his mother was a descendant of Jonas Phillips and his wife Rebecca Machado. Levy and his siblings attended public and private schools. His mother's parents had immigrated from Germany and London in the mid-1700s, respectively, and his father's Sephardic Jewish ancestors, also from London, were among the first settlers of Savannah, Georgia in 1733.</p>

LEVY, Jefferson Monroe, a Representative from New York; born in New York City April 16, 1852; attended public and private schools; was graduated from the New York University Law School in 1873; was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York City; from his uncle, Commodore Uriah P. Levy, he inherited ``Monticello'' (formerly the estate of Thomas Jefferson); elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1901); was not a candidate for renomination in 1900; resumed the practice of law in New York City; elected to the Sixty-second and Sixty-third Congresses (March 4, 1911-March 3, 1915); was not a candidate for renomination in 1914; resumed the practice of his profession in New York City and died there March 6, 1924; interment in Cypress Hills Cemetery.

<p>Jefferson Monroe Levy (1852-1924) was a successful three-term New York congressman, businessman, and lawyer who purchased Monticello at a public auction on March 20, 1879, for $10,500. He owned and cared for the Monticello estate until it was purchased by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation forty-four years later, in 1923.</p>

<p>After the death of Uriah Phillips Levy in 1862, the Civil War and seventeen years of litigation over Levy's will left Monticello at the mercy of an indifferent public and the elements. In 1870 a visitor described the house as "moss-covered, dilapidated, and criminally neglected." When Jefferson Levy, Uriah's nephew, finally prevailed as sole owner of the house, the challenge to rescue Monticello had only just begun.</p>

<p>In the 1860s, Uriah Levy's grieving widow, abetted by much of Levy's family, challenged her husband's will, which had left Monticello to the U.S. government. After a suit that went all the way up to New York State's highest court, Mrs. Levy prevailed. While the suit was in litigation, Congress declined the gift — after all, aside from not knowing what to do with it, Monticello was firmly behind enemy lines. The Confederacy, in fact, confiscated Monticello as enemy property and put it up for auction in 1864. Benjamin F. Ficklin bid $80,500 — all in Confederate money, of course. After the war the Levy family had no problem regaining ownership, but it was unclear to one and all who in the family actually owned what. At one point there was a partition suit that resulted in forty-seven beneficiaries of varying degrees. Eventually, after a number of lawsuits in Virginia courts, one owner did emerge, and we shall turn to him in a minute. But first, we must look at the house itself, because when the dust had settled, the new owner must have wondered if his prize had been worth all the effort.</p>