Lisa at the ptjrs
Monticello Staff
Managing Editor
Papers Editor/Staff
Charlottesville, VA
About Me
I am the managing editor of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, so that means I get to spend my days reading Jefferson's mail, his family's mail, his friends' mail...I'm also pursuing my PhD at George Mason University, I love to read, hike, bike, and spend time with my best friend, Patrick.
What an intriguing story, Anna! I think you've got something there that's definitely worth following up on - women have often led in matters of preservation, commemoration, and memorialization (there are a few books written that touch on this, Drew Gilpin Faust's "This Republic of Suffering,"...more »
This is one of my favorite features on our webpages. Thanks so much for sharing these recipes with us, Leni! more »
Monticello and the International Center for Jefferson Studies hosts a wide variety of talks given by Jefferson and Jefferson-era scholars visiting from around the country, and several more that make up the Thomas Jefferson Foundation staff. The talks are generally free and open to the public,...more »
Looking for something different to do on your lunchbreak? Stop here and select any one of our podcasts. You can choose from a discussion about early American southern cuisine, or hear Andrea Wulf talk about the evolution of the English country garden and the role that 18th-century American...more »
I really enjoy the whole "Day in the Life" series, but I'm always especially interested in the food. I really like to read the recipes, the processes that went into managing the kitchen, the amount of preparation that went into each meal, and the planning that had to happen...more »
If you've never visited Monticello or Charlottesville, but are planning to anytime soon, this page is a great place to start. You can plan your visit from here: there are links for places to stay, other sites to check out, where to eat, even if you think you'd like to go bowling, play...more »
My colleagues and I - the staff of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series - are part of the International Center for Jefferson Studies. The ICJS promotes and supports research and scholarship on Jefferson and his times and hosts lectures, conferences, and workshops, generally free and...more »
Jefferson's contemporaries - friends, enemies, family members, and visitors - left us invaluable descriptions of what it was like to talk with him. Even with all the documents Jefferson left behind, we sometimes miss his opinions on topics that come up during the course of casual...more »
All the portraits of Thomas Jefferson cannot present the man as he appeared in life as well as those who met and knew him.more »
When you first think of Monticello, you may think it's simply a house surrounded by gardens and a bit of farmland. I know that's what I thought many years ago. As a high school student from the Pacific Northwest, it was hard for me to comprehend fully just how vast a plantation...more »
Women's work - both slave and free - has often been overlooked, but if you're interested in what some of the women of Jefferson's plantation were working on, start here. Not only will you learn of the value and importance of home textile manufacture, but you'll also see that...more »
This is my second favorite feature from our new Visitor Center - It's so clever. If there's one thing I've noticed while working with Jefferson's manuscripts, it's that he really liked his lists and calculations! I love the way this exhibit vividly depicts Jefferson...more »
This is such a stirring exhibit. Images, words, music, and voices work together, truly capturing the spirit of independence and the American Revolutionary War. We were all very excited when the exhibits began to come together and this one is my favorite. It vividly shows us how turbulent that...more »
This is one of my favorite rooms in the house. I know it's a bit small and maybe a little too chilly in winter, but it just seems like such a pleasant spot to talk with friends and family over a little something to eat and drink. And who wouldn't want to chat with those "...more »
At the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, we spend our days reading Jefferson's mail and preparing the manuscripts for publication, transcribing each letter Jefferson wrote or received, providing information about the people, places, and events mentioned in them, all to make the...more »
I really love gardens! On this page I can see what's growing and blooming at Monticello, learn a little bit about the plants themselves, their history, and how some of them came to be growing in Jefferson's gardens. I love all the flowers, but my favorites are the Peonies. A few years...more »
One of my favorite projects! The Family Letters Digital Archive is a growing collection of transcriptions of letters written between Jefferson's family members and close friends - his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, in-laws, and others who visited at Monticello for extended...more »
These letters are so much fun and a real hodge-podge sometimes, showing just how varied Jefferson's retirement-era correspondence could be. In Jefferson's day anyone could write to him whether they knew him or not, which really shows just how accessible the public expected him to be....more »