Jefferson and Madoc: Restore the Madoc Plaque!

Few people who read this blog will be unaware that Thomas Jefferson was of Welsh descent but some may be unaware that he was born on this day in 1743. If you want to follow some Jefferson links you could do worse than to head on over to our Calendar page which can be found here.

The particular point of this post is not to discuss Jefferson in general, however, but to draw attention to his attitude to the Madoc legend. In the following excerpt from a letter written by Jefferson on January 22nd, 1804 he makes it clear that Meriwether Lewis ( also of Welsh descent ) will receive further instructions from a 'Mr Rees' regarding the lost Welsh speaking Indian tribes. The letter suggests that Jefferson regarded finding them as a supplementary objective of the expedition:-

In that of the 13th instant I enclosed you a map of a Mr. Evans, a Welshman, employed by the Spanish government for that purpose, but whose original object I believe had been to go in search of the Welsh Indians, said to be up the Missouri. On this subject a Mr. Rees, of the same nation, established in the western part of Pennsylvania, will write to you.

All in all today is a good day to sign the Alabama Welsh Association's petition to restore the Prince Madoc Plaque in Mobile Bay if you havent already done so.

Sign the petition HERE!