Dr. Charles Everett, his surname was also spelled Everette and Everard, (ca. 1767–1848) was an American physician and planter from Albemarle County, Virginia. He was a physician to three American presidents,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, and

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

. He was also a private secretary to Monroe. He served twice in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

in the 1810s. He purchased land from Jefferson that had been part of the

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...

tract that became known as Everettsville. He lived his mid- and later-years on the Belmont Plantation. He owned slaves in the 1800s, and later decided that slavery was a sin. He freed them and his will stipulated creation of a community Pandenarium for them in Pennsylvania, a free state.

Personal life and education

Everett was born around 1767. He studied medicine at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and graduated in 1795. He was then a physician in Albemarle County, Virginia. Everett remained a bachelor throughout his life. His friends included

, Hugh Nelson, Bishop Madison,

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educa ...

, Francis Walker, Alexander Stevenson, John C. Calhoun, and Governor Nicholas.

Edward Coles Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) was an American planter and politician, elected as the second Governor of Illinois (1822 to 1826). From an old Virginia family, Coles as a young man was a neighbor and associate of presidents ...

, in the same social circle as Everett, set his slaves free in 1819. Everett's reputation ranged from being a "cruel tutor", well-respected, and kind-hearted. He is known for being cautious of romance and business arrangements.

Physician

He practiced medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia by 1804. He knew

and attended to him when he was on his death bed. He was Thomas Jefferson's family physician, was President

's physician, and also attended to

. He consulted on the condition of Bishop Monroe and he cared for patients across seven counties. Many men studied the medical practice under Everett. He was said to be "fifty years ahead of his time in scientific thought and vision" by the American Historical Society. He had a medical office in its own building at LaFourche, his residence, which is said to have been owned previously by a man from Louisiana. It was named for Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, his home parish. Thomas Jefferson’s "most admired friends" included physicians, but he also expressed his consternation of physicians to Everett. Jefferson said "whenever he saw three physicians together he looked to see if there were buzzards in the neighborhood."

Landowner and planter

Charlottesville

Everett purchased a lot on High Street in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1804 and two more lots in 1806 that were across the street from his first lot. He established a medical office and had his stables on the two lots. He sold these lots in 1814.

Belmont - Everettsville

Beginning in 1804, he lived at a mansion called LaFourche that was near

at the intersection of Routes 730 and 731, formerly Three Notched and Fredericksburg Roads, in Keswick. In 1811, he purchased a 1,200-acre portion of the Belmont estate, which included a residence, from John Rogers. The other portion of the land, owned by Rogers, is called East Belmont. Everett moved to Belmont, seven miles east of Charlottesville, in 1813. In 1821, Everett had a total of more than 1,000 acres after purchasing a 400-acre tract called Pouncey's from

. It was part of the

tract. The area was also known as Everettsville. Everett lived at Belmont until his death.

Politician

He was a magistrate in 1807. He was then a member of the House of Delegates (1813-1814, 1819-1820), and he was involved in public affairs and politics within Virginia. He was Monroe's personal secretary in 1817; and he was appointed again as the president's private secretary in 1822. They remained close and corresponded until Monroe's death.

Pandenarium

He began planning in 1837 to free his slaves and provide a community for them. His nephew, Dr. Cutlip Everett, a physician from Philadelphia, led the effort. Dr. Charles Everett died in 1848. Everett emancipated all of the slaves on his plantation through his will. He purchased land in Pennsylvania to establish a community called Pandenarium. Local abolitionists assisted in the project to establish 24 furnished homes set on two acre lots, orchards, wells, and graded roads. A group of 63 people traveled from Virginia and arrived in Mercer County, Pennsylvania in 1854.

Death

Everett died in 1848. Besides the stipulations in the will for the community that would become Pandenarium, the rest of the estate went to Dr. Charles D. Everett, his nephew.