Letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1805 up for sale

PHILADELPHIA – A dealer of rare historic documents is selling a letter that provides a poignant insight into the family side of a Founding Father.

The July 24, 1805, letter from President Thomas Jefferson to his friend and estate manager discusses the 62-year-old president’s desire to have his Poplar Forest plantation in Virginia appraised so he could begin parceling off portions of the property to his grandchildren.

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The Raab Collection in Philadelphia has set the price at $35,000 for the one-page handwritten letter, which belonged to an anonymous collector and has never been available to scholars or the public.

Raab Collection president Nathan Raab said the letter shows that even while serving as president, Jefferson’s mind was occupied with family and the legacy he would be leaving his grandchildren.