Amanda Daddona, a grad student, and Matthew Davis, a doctoral student, were sifting through boxes when they came across the historical treasure.
"There was this folder, just unmarked and inside of it there was this letter," Daddona said. "It took me a while to get to it so, when I did, I was stunned!"
Daddona and Davis were tasked with sorting through documents at a Victorian house now known as the Rockford Museum in Wilmington.
"Obviously, this is a big deal to find a letter from a president, particularily a founding father," Davis said. "It's not just any old president."
The letter, written in 1808, was written to a prominent doctor who lived at the house. The letter was about the death of John Dickinson, a founding father and signer of the U.S. Constitution.
"Thomas Jefferon had obviously worked with John Dickinson during the revolution and he was a mutual friend, and he was expressing his condolences upon his death," said Daddona.
Both students have many more boxes to sift through, so more surprises are bound to come.
They do know, however, that topping the Jefferson letter will be tough.
