We explore the mysterious deaths of Thomas Jefferson’s sister Elizabeth and her enslaved body servant Little Sall, who both drowned just days after the first recorded earthquake in Virginia’s history. We also dig into how Elizabeth’s apparent intellectual disabilities were handled by biographies over the years.

Show notes and sources (like Susan Kern’s The Jeffersons at Shadwell) detailed at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!