Jefferson Monroe Levy

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Jefferson Monroe Levy : biography

April 16, 1852 – March 6, 1924

…[The chapter] has noticed with regret various newspaper articles and letters from private persons as to the Government ownership of “Monticello” and reflections upon the Honourable Jefferson M. Levy, the owner of this historic place, and desiring to put on record the Chapter’s views as to such ownership and appreciation of Mr. Levy’s uniform courtesy and consideration to the Chapter, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED: That this Chapter is not in sympathy with the methods adopted by which private property of historic interest is proposed to be taken by the strong arm of Government against the will of the individual;

That it bears cheerful testimony to the care with which Monticello is preserved by Mr. Levy and to the zeal which he evinces in the protection of this sacred shrine. It desires to express its belief that no other individual could show more solicitude for the place or more lavishly expend time and money in its preservation. It gladly bears witness to the hospitality which characterizes Mr. Levy and especially the readiness with which he has always met every wish of the Chapter in regard to the place and to say that the way in which the place is opened to the public is worthy of commendation and could not be made more free consistent with the proper care of the property., Monticello Staff Blog, 18 April 2011, accessed 12 July 2011

In 1915, after the Southerner Woodrow Wilson was elected to the presidency, the likelihood of Congressional approval seemed high, but authorization was not achieved. In the post-World War I economic depression, Levy’s fortune declined. In 1923 he agreed to a down payment and mortgage for the sale of Monticello to the newly organized Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which raised funds for the purchase and to operate it as a house museum.

Source

Early life and education

Born in New York City to Jonas Levy and Frances Phillips, a Jewish couple, Jefferson was one of five children. His father was a merchant and sea captain. Levy and his siblings attended public and private schools. His parents’ ancestors had immigrated from Germany and London in the mid-1700s, and his father’s Sephardic Jewish ancestors were among the first settlers of Savannah, Georgia in 1733.

Levy graduated from the New York University Law School in 1873. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York City, making money in real estate investment and finance.

Other activities

Levy was involved with the American Boy Scouts and resigned from the board along with William Randolph Hearst over poor fundraising actions in 1910.

Political career

Levy was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1899 to March 4, 1901. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900. After this, he resumed the practice of law in New York City, and attended to his real estate and stock investments.

He was later elected to the Sixty-second and Sixty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1911 to March 4, 1915. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1914. He resumed the practice of law in New York City.