Before he went exploring, he was Thomas Jefferson's private secretary
In 
seeking to establish, what he called an empire for liberty, Jefferson influenced ... 
of Connecticut, who had explored the Pacific with Captain Cook, to seek a Pacific 
.... Lewis, his private secretary and a U.S. army captain, spent months in scientific
... [DOC] [TLE] Thomas Jefferson: Life Before the PresidencyMiller Center [PAR] Little is known about Jefferson's mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, who died in 
1776.