Introduction [excerpt] Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge has all but been forgotten by history. Those who know her name associate her with Thomas Jefferson, her nation-building grandfather who once authored The Declaration of Independence. During her life she functioned as, and behind-the-scenes, played a major role as Jefferson's biographer and apologist, educating others about his personal life and defending him against some of his harshest critics. Yet, like many women of the...