James Maury

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Reverend James Maury (1719–1769) who was born in Dublin, Ireland was Matthew Fontaine Maury's grandfather, the young Thomas Jefferson's teacher in his Classical School for Boys, teacher of three future US Presidents and five future signers of the Declaration of Independence including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Considered the "best known" school in Albemarle county, Virginia, the log building in which he taught was on the border of Albemarle and Louisa counties.

Reverend James Maury taught instruction in classics, manners and morals, mathematics, literature, history and geography (Dabney 110), Latin and Greek. Most of these boys when going to Reverend Maury's school, lived there as home was too far away to leave the school area and be back the next morning. Therefore, these boys knew another well as young adults and as adults they worked together in making this nation great.

Thomas Jefferson lived with Reverend James Maury for two years while being educated. Jefferson and others naturally went home on special holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas and sometimes on the week ends. Jefferson started in Maury's Classical School for Boys immediately after his father, Peter Jefferson, died.

Reverend Maury fathered 11 children. One of these was James Maury, Jr. (1746–1840), whom Thomas Jefferson asked US President George Washington for an appointment. And so it was done, as President Washington appointed him as America's first consul to Liverpool, England -- a position that Reverend James Maury's oldest son held from 1790 to 1829, quitting due Jacksonian politics. During this overseas appointment, both he and his nephew Matthew (born in 1806) had opportunities to discuss and study the natural philosophy lectures (mainly physics) of Thomas Young published in 1807.

When Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, married, it was Reverend James Maury that performed the marriage ceremony.

Reverend James Maury considered knowledge of geography as one of the essential features in the education of a "well-rounded young gentleman"(Allen 61) and strongly promoted settling the west. Later President Thomas Jefferson gained the Louisiana Purchase and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Thomas Jefferson wrote an autobiography and in it he wrote of Reverend James Maury, as a "correct and classical scholar" Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson.