Madison Hemings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Madison Hemings
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1870 federal census of Ross County, Ohio; enumerator broke protocol to note of Madison Hemings, “This man is the son of Thomas Jefferson!”
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| Born |
James Madison Hemings
January 19, 1805 Monticello outside Charlottesville, Virginia
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| Died | November 28, 1877 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Fine woodworker; farmer |
| Known for | Son of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Hughes McCoy
(m. 1831; died 1876) |
| Children | 9 |
| Parent(s) | Sally Hemings Thomas Jefferson |
| Relatives | Beverley Hemings (brother), Harriet Hemings (sister), Eston Hemings (brother), Betty Hemings (grandmother) |
James Madison Hemings (born January 19, 1805 – died November 28, 1877) was the son of Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman, and Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. Madison was born into slavery at Jefferson's home, Monticello, in Virginia. This was because of a law that said children born to an enslaved mother were also enslaved.
Madison was the third of Sally Hemings' four children who lived to be adults. He grew up at Monticello and learned to be a skilled carpenter and woodworker. He also learned to play the violin and earned money by growing vegetables. After Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, Madison and his younger brother Eston were freed.
For many years, there was a debate about whether Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings' children. In 1873, Madison Hemings gave an interview where he said Jefferson was his father. Later, in 1998, a DNA study showed a match between the Jefferson family and a descendant of Madison's younger brother, Eston. This evidence strongly suggests that Thomas Jefferson was indeed the father of Eston and likely Madison and his other siblings too.
Contents
Growing Up at Monticello
Madison Hemings was born into slavery at Monticello, a large plantation in Virginia. His mother, Sally Hemings, was an enslaved woman who worked in the main house. Sally and Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha, were half-sisters. They shared the same father, a planter named John Wayles.
Sally Hemings spent some of her teenage years in France, where slavery was not allowed. Madison Hemings later said his mother told him that her relationship with Thomas Jefferson began in Paris. She agreed to return to the United States only after Jefferson promised to free her children when they turned 21.
Madison Hemings called Sally Hemings "mother" and Thomas Jefferson "father." He said Jefferson was usually kind to him. Madison grew up with his older brother Beverley, older sister Harriet, and younger brother Eston. They were all light-skinned and some looked a lot like Jefferson.
Learning Skills and Earning Money
Madison Hemings was named after Jefferson's close friend, James Madison, who later became president. As a young boy, Madison and his siblings had lighter duties than other enslaved children. They stayed near their mother and knew they would be freed at age 21.
Madison learned to read and write, partly from white children and partly by teaching himself. When he was about 12 or 14, he became an apprentice to his uncle, John Hemings. He learned carpentry and fine woodworking. His brothers, Beverley and Eston, also learned these skills.
By 1824, Jefferson gave Madison and Eston a small piece of land to grow vegetables. They were paid for the cabbages they harvested. All three Hemings brothers also learned to play the violin, an instrument Jefferson enjoyed.
Freedom and New Beginnings
According to Thomas Jefferson's will, Madison Hemings and his brother Eston were freed in 1827, when Madison was 21 years old. Their mother, Sally Hemings, was not formally freed. However, Jefferson's daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, allowed Sally to live as a free person.
The Hemings family rented a house in Charlottesville, where Sally lived with her sons. Madison, Eston, and Sally were sometimes listed as free white people in official records. Sally Hemings passed away in 1835. Madison had built a house in Charlottesville during this time.
Life in Ohio
In 1836, Madison Hemings, his wife Mary Hughes McCoy, and their baby daughter Sarah moved to Pike County, Ohio. Eston and his family had already moved there. They settled in Chillicothe, Ohio, which was a free state and had a strong community of free Black people. It was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, a secret network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom.
Madison and Mary Hemings lived in Ohio for the rest of their lives. Madison worked as a farmer and a very skilled carpenter. They had nine children together. Their daughter Sarah was born in Virginia, and the rest were born in Ohio.
Two of their sons fought in the American Civil War for the Union Army. One served in the United States Colored Troops, and the other joined the regular army as a white man.
Family Legacy
Madison and Mary Hemings' grandson was Frederick Madison Roberts. He became the first African American elected to office on the West Coast. He served in the California legislature for nearly 20 years.
In 2010, Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, received an award for her work. She worked with other descendants of the Jefferson family to help heal the past of slavery. They created "The Monticello Community" for all the descendants of people who lived and worked at Monticello during Jefferson's time.
Many of Madison Hemings' descendants who stayed in Ohio were interviewed for a project called "Getting Word." This project collects stories from the descendants of enslaved families at Monticello. Researchers found that Hemings' descendants often married within the mixed-race community. They chose light-skinned spouses and identified as people of color within the Black community.
Jefferson-Hemings Controversy
The question of whether Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings is known as the Jefferson–Hemings controversy. Sally Hemings had at least six children. Madison Hemings' memoir states that her first child was conceived in Paris but died soon after birth. Another daughter named Harriet also died young. Four other children lived to adulthood: Beverley, Harriet (the second daughter with this name), Madison, and Eston.
Beverley and Harriet left Monticello when they were around 21 years old. Jefferson recorded them as "runaways" but secretly helped Harriet travel to Philadelphia. He never tried to re-enslave them. Madison and Eston were freed by Jefferson's will after his death. Historians note that the Hemings family was the only enslaved family where all the children were freed or helped to escape by Jefferson. This special treatment suggests their unique relationship to him.
In 1998, a Y-DNA test was done on descendants of the Jefferson and Hemings families. Y-DNA is passed down from father to son. The test showed no match between the Carr family (who some believed were the fathers) and the Hemings descendant. However, it did show a match between the Jefferson male line and the Hemings descendant. This was a rare type of DNA.
After this, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (which runs Monticello) and the National Genealogical Society both studied the historical evidence. They concluded that Jefferson was likely the father of all of Sally Hemings' children.
In 2012, the Smithsonian Institution and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation created a major exhibit. It stated that "evidence strongly support[s] the conclusion that Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings' children."
