Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a two-part series.

By Donald R. Serfass

dserfass@tnonline.com

imon Jefferson had a remarkable story to tell. But nobody wanted to listen.

He was a victim of antebellum attitudes, the pre-Civil War era when people often paid no mind to what a black man had to say, even a free black man.

Jefferson was the first barber in Tamaqua and possibly the town’s first citizen of color.

He claimed John Wilkes Booth came into his barbershop for a shave and proceeded to reveal a plot to assassinate the president.

Jefferson became alarmed and, according to published accounts in the Tamaqua Evening Courier, tried to intervene. He began by warning police and prominent business leaders.

He then jumped on a train and followed Booth to Washington, D.C., to warn President Abraham Lincoln and his staff.

Unfortunately, he was rebuffed in attempts to gain access. Dejected, he returned to Tamaqua, after which Lincoln was, indeed, assassinated by Booth. Jefferson told the story for the rest of his life.

He also named names. He identified police and business leaders he’d warned. Interestingly, he named them during their lifetimes and not one stepped forward to contradict him.

Jefferson felt a special affinity toward American presidents. He claimed to have seen all since “the elder Adams down to Grant,” but not necessarily while they held office.

On top of that, he claimed to be a grandson of President Thomas Jefferson.

People scoffed when he said it. A black man in Tamaqua a descendant of a president? It couldn’t be, they said.

But Jefferson insisted otherwise, suggesting a physical relationship between the president and slaves.

He also said his father was born of the president’s freed slaves, which resulted in Simon being born a free man.

Then, in 1998, DNA research uncovered a suggested genetic link between Thomas Jefferson and slave Sally Hemings’ youngest son.

The talk that Jefferson had fathered children by Hemings was perhaps the worst-kept secret of Monticello.

A 2001 report by the National Genealogical Society states that Thomas Jefferson practically invited scandal “by refusing to send away the Hemings children who so obviously looked like him.”

In Tamaqua

Simon Jefferson arrived in Tamaqua from Maryland as early as the 1840s, according to genealogical research.

Accompanying him was his daughter Mary Ann. Census records also identify a wife, Elizabeth or Sarah Elizabeth. She apparently passed away between 1870 and 1880 and little is known.

A talkative barber, Jefferson was well known. He was said to have had a mind for politics and was up to date on events of his day.

He even spoke of having heard a speech given in Baltimore by Gen. Andrew Jackson following the Battle of New Orleans.

No photos exist, but he is described as small in stature, neat in appearance and well-spoken. He did not wear glasses and was said to have a very steady hand, ideal for his trade.

He appeared to be a man of culture, having been exposed to theater and arts in the Baltimore area.

In unusual vernacular, Jefferson is described in census records as “an unbleached citizen,” terminology unacceptable today.

His barbershop catered to the elite and he was admired. A successful businessman, he purchased a house at 114 Hunter St.

Downtown locations

Jefferson’s barbershop occupied various midtown sites, although all were within one general block.

His first shop was on Berwick Street, an area now occupied by Wells Fargo Bank. He later moved to Hunter Street at the corner of West Broad at a site that in later years was home to the Tamaqua Evening Courier building, now a borough-owned parking lot.

He eventually located to the 1850 Anthracite Bank building, 133 W. Broad. There, he set up in the former office of Civil War Col. Henry Lutz Cake.

Church records show that Jefferson was paid $4.50 in May, 1852, for services rendered as sexton at the First Presbyterian Church, then located in the nearby union church building.

Enjoying good health and apparently a sound mind, Jefferson worked until his senior years when he suffered what was called a “paralytic stroke.”

He died a few years later, Aug. 26, 1886, at 93 or 100. His exact age was unknown even by him as he wasn’t sure of his birth date.

He is buried at the King-Parmley family plot at Tamaqua Odd Fellows Cemetery.

The position of his grave near the cemetery’s Grand Avenue attests to him being well-to-do or highly thought of, as those sites were more expensive.

No further research was done on Jefferson’s claims, nor was DNA testing performed, if even possible.

After his death, records show that in 1895, daughter Mary Ann, then wife of John Parmley, was working as a housekeeper for George Vardy, New England Valley. She died in 1920, at 84.

After her death, the amazing story of Simon Jefferson faded away and became lost to time.

Today he lies in total anonymity in an unmarked grave. The location of his burial plot is identified only in cemetery records.

The man who came incredibly close to changing the course of American history never had a tombstone.