What's Happening

Black cidermakers. Abram's garden. Book talk for This Is Our Home.

It’s the fourth week of my research fellowship at the International Center for Jefferson Studies. Time has been flying. The narrative I was hoping to discover—that there were enslaved Black winemakers here at Monticello—has really come together. Here are some updates on what’s happening and what I’m looking forward to.

Happenings in the library:

• Last week, I took a closer look at enslaved cidermakers and gardeners, both of which are well-documented at Monticello. Books like American Cider (2021) proclaim Jupiter Evans as Jefferson’s enslaved cidermaker, though the Monticello website and museum don’t recount this story at all. I haven’t found evidence that Evans produced cider, though he was likely involved in bottling it.¹

• Monticello does point to George and Ursula Granger. While Jefferson was abroad in France, the orchards were cared for by George, who knew from experience that apples “ought to make three gallons [of cider] to the bushel.² When Evans suddenly died in 1800, Ursula took over bottling, because nobody else “[united] trust and skill to do it.”³ Though, the Grangers died from the same illness as Evans soon after.