THE
MONTICELLO
ASSOCIATION
1999 Annual Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Annual Meeting at the Omni Hotel
Charlottesville, VA May 16, 1999
The 1999 annual meeting of the Monticello Association was held on 16 May 1999 at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia in accordance with paragraph 3 of the by-laws. The meeting was held in conjunction with a luncheon and with approximately 200 members, associate members and guests in attendance. Approximately 35 guests were descendants of Ms. Sally Hemings and Mr. Thomas Woodson; they had been invited by member Lucian K. Truscott IV and by the Association President, Robert Gillespie.
Two guest speakers were featured during and immediately after the luncheon. The first was Ms. Susan Stein, the curator of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. She gave us an update on the latest significant activities conducted by the Foundation and a summary of major plans for the future. The second speaker was Dr. Eugene Foster, the author of the DNA study which linked the descendants of Eston Hemings to a Jefferson male, and which has been widely reported in the press. He discussed his research project and answered many questions from the floor. Both speakers were warmly received.
The President, Mr. Robert Gillespie then called the meeting to order at approximately 1:30 PM. Member John Works immediately made a motion to have the voting members go into executive session to consider the membership issue; this would require that all others leave the room. The motion was seconded and debated. During the debate Lucian Truscott IV made two points. First he stated that there was no membership committee and according to the constitution there could be no provision for voting on membership. Second he stated that the precedent had been established last year to allow non members to remain in the room during the conduct of business. There was some additional discussion during which Ed Taylor, the treasurer, pointed out that there was a database of current members present in the room. He also pointed out that the motion being considered had nothing to do with voting on membership. After some additional debate the vote was taken; the motion failed: 20 yeas, 33 nays.
It should be noted that during the debate, discussion was suspended in order to unanimously recognize Ms. Jane Rotch for her 35 years of service as the graveyard custodian.
The first order of business was to dispense with the reading of last year's minutes. The motion was made, seconded and carried by a large margin.
Next, the secretary, Gerald Morgan, Jr., and the treasurer, Edmund Taylor, Jr., presented their reports. Mr. Morgan also presented the trustee's report. These reports are published separately.
Mr. Taylor also presented the fence committee report which outlined repairs made tot he fence over the past year. He reported that the fence fund has been discontinued and the remaining moneys transferred to the newly created Graveyard Maintenance Fund.
The next subject to come before the meeting was the budget for the year 2000:
| President | $50 |
| Vice President | $100 |
| Treasurer | $500 |
| Custodian | $1,500 |
| Secretary | $5,000 |
| Contingency | $1,000 |
| Historian | $100 |
| Insurance | $700 |
| Washington wreath | $100 |
| Records computerization | $200 |
| Total | $9,250 |
This was passed.
It was explained that the main increases are the allocations for the Secretary and the contingency items. The Secretary will have more mailing expenses to cover the mailing of newsletters and we expect to have some unanticipated expenses requiring an increase in the contingency fund. A motion to approve the budget was made, seconded and passed without further discussion.
In the interests of brevity the Historian's report was not given.
Mr. Gillespie then announced he formation of an ad hoc committee, the Membership Advisory Committee, in accordance with the provisions of the Association by-laws, paragraph 8E. The committee is to continue "...to collect and evaluate information concerning criteria for membership in the Association..." The committee is to report its findings to the Executive Committee and the membership no later than the annual meeting in 2000. The committee is to use sources such as historical data, oral histories, DNA testing, archaeological evidence and genealogical standards and is authorized to spend such funds as may be necessary to obtain professional outside opinions. The members were then identified as:
| V. R. Shackelford, III, chairman Robert T. Coolidge Nancy Morgan Joy Boissevain George Esser |
Lucian Truscott IV then made a motion calling for additional members to be nominated from the floor to serve on the committee. The motion was seconded. Mr. Truscott then nominated himself; however, it was pointed out that he was premature since a vote had not yet been taken on the motion. Mr. . Ed Taylor noted that the constitution provides for the president to appoint members to ad hoc committees and that there is no requirement for members to be nominated or elected from the floor. However the president allowed the motion to stand since he desired to have input from the entire membership on this matter. After some additional debate the vote was taken, the motion failed, 8 yeas, 30 nays.
A discussion then ensued centering on the admission on Hemings and Woodson descendants during which the president stated that the committee findings will be forwarded to the Hemings descendants as well as members of the Association. Other significant comments included those made by Patricia Taylor Salazar who welcomed the Hemings descendants. She deplored the media attempt to characterize the issue as a racial one. She stated that if a vote were taken now she would vote to accept them. She noted that the Association is a legal entity created to maintain a graveyard and that its officers have determined that the matter of admitting Hemings descendants is a complex one which must be addressed carefully. After characterizing the officers as good and honorable volunteers, she said they had her support and if it required further study to answer the questions of descendancy she accepted that. Finally she suggested that those having opinions or considerations on the matter should submit them to the Membership Advisory Committee or the Executive Committee in writing; this would assure careful consideration.
Next Ms. Young, a guest, was granted permission to speak. She hoped that whatever criteria were established to consider the admission of applicants for membership be the same as those used in admitting anyone who has ever become a member of this association. She stated that it appeared that we now want to reexamine our constitution and by-laws to see if they adequately defined membership so that we could admit those we wanted to join the association or be buried in the graveyard.
After some additional discussion Mr. Jack Taylor made a motion to acknowledge and support the studies underway by the Association and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation bearing on these issues, which must be completed before this Association can consider substantive changes in an orderly manner; further that the Executive Committee have these studies completed in a timely manner; that the results be communicated to the interested parties; and that the Executive Committee suggest a course of action for the Association based on these studies and comments, as far in advance of the next annual meeting as possible. The motion was seconded and after some discussion was voted on and passed.
Ms. Westerinen, a guest, was given the floor and commented that the Association had the opportunity to assume a leadership position in the United States, to welcome a brand new family of articulate, accomplished people who give honor to the Jefferson name.
Lucian Truscott IV was recognized. Prior to making a motion he made the following comments: First, there were two issues involved, establishing a genealogical link with Thomas Jefferson and establishing "new" criteria for membership. Second, there is no provision for voting on regular members; there is such a provision for associate and honorary members. He then alluded to comments the president made at last year's meeting. Mr. Gillespie stated that his comments were recorded in the minutes and that if Mr. Truscott took issue with them he should have done so before the minutes were approved earlier.
At this point three Hemings descendants asked to apply for membership. The secretary told them that he would send them applications for membership, and that if they submitted them they would be considered in the same manner as any other.
Next Jack Taylor presented the slate of officers to serve for the next year: They were:
| President | James J. Truscott |
| Vice President: | Virginius R. Shackelford III |
| Secretary: | Edmund R. Taylor, Jr. |
| Treasurer: | Gerald Morgan, Jr. |
There were no nominations from the floor. It was moved and seconded to approve the slate of officers for the coming year. The motion was approved by acclamation.
The secretary then nominated a number of persons to be admitted to the Association as Associate Members. It was moved and seconded to approve their membership, the motion carried without further discussion. (See page 23 of the printed Annual Report for names.)
Lucian Truscott, IV then made a motion that the Association accept the nomination of Hemings and Woodson descendants who were present to be honorary members pending the outcome of the studies underway. After some debate the motion was ruled out of order because the Hemings do not meet the criteria for honorary membership.
Mr. Gillespie then turned the gavel over to James Truscott who outlines his plans for the future of the Association. His key points were to get help for each of the members of the Executive Committee, to encourage the selection of officers from more distant parts of the country, and to continue the newsletter as a means of increasing interest and participation in the Association. He stated that next year he would propose raising the dues to approximately $15.00 per year to cover expenses such as procuring computers for the secretary and treasurer and to help pay travel expenses for those officers, who live at at great distance, to attend Executive Committee meetings. He also stated that the identification of criteria for membership will remain a top priority with him.
Edmund Taylor, speaking from the floor, suggested that we recognize Bob Gillespie for his outstanding leadership for the past two years, whereupon he received a standing ovation. Mr. Gillespie then made a final statement about the high quality of the members of the Executive Committee. He requested members to accept the responsibility, if called on, to serve on Association committees.
The new President then called for a motion to adjourn. It was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously about 2:30 PM.
Treasurer's Report
Annual Meeting
16 May 1999
On the financial side I am glad to report that the Treasurer's Account show a balance of $25,712.58 which represents an increase of $2,438.61 over the balance at this time last year. A large part of our continued solvency is owed to the generous contributions made by many of our members.
Last year we inaugurated a Fence Fend to repair and preserve the fence around the graveyard. We expended $30,275.00 which paid for repair and replacement of sections of parts of the fence and for stripping. priming and painting the entire fence. There is still work to be done but the fence is now in a stable state. With future care of the graveyard in mind, the Executive Committee has decided to convert the balance of this fund to a Graveyard Maintenance Fund. This separate account is necessary since it is very complicated to withdraw funds from the Trust Fund. This money will be used independently from the regular Custodian's budget. At this time there is $30, 946.82 in this account.
Please remember that I still have copies of the Collected Papers, Volumes I and II. Although the family listings are only valid up to 1983, both books have many interesting articles. Volume I is a reprint and is $12.00; and Volume II is hardbound and is $30.00.
To close I want to say that I have informed the Executive Committee that this will be my last year as Treasurer. Ten or so years is enough. Anticipating no horde of eager applicants I ask that any of you who are interested or know of a candidate, contact any member of the Executive Committee. The job is not onerous and you get to know a lot of nice people.