Sally Hemings facts for kids

Sarah "Sally" Hemings (born around 1773 – died 1835) was an enslaved woman. She was owned by president of the United States Thomas Jefferson. Sally Hemings was one of many enslaved people Jefferson inherited from his father-in-law, John Wayles.

Sally's mother, Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings, was biracial. Her father was John Wayles, who was also the father of Jefferson's wife, Martha. This made Sally Hemings the half-sister of Jefferson's wife. Martha Wayles Jefferson died in 1782 when Sally was about nine years old.

Sally Hemings lived with Thomas Jefferson in Paris, France, for 26 months. During this time, she was a free woman and a paid servant. Slavery was not legal in France. It was during this period that she and Jefferson began a close relationship.

Her son, Madison Hemings, later said that Sally made an agreement with Jefferson. She would return to Virginia and be enslaved again. In return, all of their children would be freed when they turned 21. Many clues, including modern DNA tests, show that Jefferson was the father of her six children. Four of Hemings' children lived to be adults. Sally Hemings died in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1835.

For a long time, people debated whether Jefferson was the father of Hemings' children. This is known as the Jefferson–Hemings controversy. In the late 1990s, new studies and genealogical DNA tests were done. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation found a match between Jefferson's male family line and a descendant of Hemings' youngest son, Eston Hemings. The Foundation believes that Jefferson fathered Eston and likely her other five children.

In 2018, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which runs Monticello, opened an exhibit called Life of Sally Hemings. They stated that it is now accepted that Jefferson was the father of her known children.

Early Life and Family

Sally Hemings was born around 1773. Her mother was Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings (1735–1807), who was also born into slavery. Sally's father was their slave owner, John Wayles (1715–1773). Betty's mother was an enslaved African woman, and her father was a white English sea captain.

John Wayles had six children with Betty Hemings. Sally Hemings was the youngest of these children. These children were younger half-siblings to his daughters by his wives. His first daughter, Martha Wayles, married Thomas Jefferson.

According to a Virginia law from 1662, children born to enslaved mothers were also considered enslaved. This was true even if their fathers were white slave owners. So, Sally and her children were legally enslaved, even though they had mostly European ancestors.

After John Wayles died in 1773, his daughter Martha and her husband, Thomas Jefferson, inherited the Hemings family. This included Sally, who was an infant at the time. Sally, her siblings, and their mother were brought to Monticello, Jefferson's home. The Hemings children were trained for skilled jobs like artisans or house servants. They were at the top of the enslaved community at Monticello. None of them worked in the fields.

Time in Paris

In 1784, Thomas Jefferson was sent to France as the American representative. He took his oldest daughter, Martha, and some enslaved people with him. One of them was Sally's older brother, James Hemings, who became a chef. Jefferson later sent for his younger daughter, Mary (Polly), to live with him. Sally Hemings, who was about 14 years old, was chosen to go with Polly to France.

In 1787, Sally traveled with Polly to London and then to Paris. Jefferson, who was 44 and a widower, was serving as the United States Minister to France. Sally stayed there for two years. Most historians believe that Jefferson and Hemings' relationship started in France or soon after they returned to Monticello. The Monticello museum recognizes that their relationship was complex. It involved a powerful white man and a young enslaved girl. Sally Hemings remained enslaved in Jefferson's house until he died in 1826. In 2017, a room believed to be her living space at Monticello was found and is being restored.

When Polly and Sally arrived in London, they stayed with Abigail and John Adams. Abigail Adams wrote to Jefferson that Sally was "quite a child" and needed care.

Sally Hemings stayed in France for 26 months. Slavery had been ended in France after the French Revolution in 1789. Jefferson paid wages to Sally and James while they were in Paris. He paid Sally the equivalent of $2 a month. Sally also began learning French.

According to her son Madison's memories, Hemings became pregnant by Jefferson in Paris. She was about 16 years old. Under French law, Sally and James could have asked for their freedom. But if she returned to Virginia with Jefferson, she would be enslaved again. She agreed to return to the United States with him. This was based on his promise to free their children when they became adults (at age 21). Sally's strong connections to her mother and siblings likely made her want to return to Monticello.

Return to the United States

Thomas Jefferson in 1791

In 1789, Sally and James Hemings returned to the United States with Jefferson. He was 46 years old and had been a widower for seven years. It was not uncommon for wealthy white men in Virginia to have relationships with enslaved women.

Sally's first child died soon after her return from Paris. She had six children after returning to the US. Their names were:

• Harriet Hemings [I] (1795–1797)
• Beverley Hemings (born 1798)
• A daughter who died as a baby (born 1799)
• Harriet Hemings [II] (born 1801)
• Madison Hemings (born 1805)
• Eston Hemings (born 1808)

Jefferson kept records of births of enslaved people in his Farm Book. However, he did not write down the father of Sally Hemings' children.

Sally Hemings' jobs at Monticello included being a nursemaid, lady's maid, and seamstress. She was described as very fair-skinned with "straight hair down her back." Jefferson's grandson said she was "light colored and decidedly good looking." She is thought to have lived in a room connected to Jefferson's bedroom.

Sally Hemings never officially married. As an enslaved person, her marriage would not have been recognized by Virginia law. She kept her children close to her while she worked. Her son Madison said that when they were young, the children "were permitted to stay about the 'great house'." They did light tasks like running errands. At age 14, the boys began training with the plantation's carpenter. Harriet trained as a spinner and weaver. All three boys learned to play the violin, just like Jefferson.

In 1822, Beverley, who was 24, left Monticello and was not chased. His sister Harriet, 21, followed in the same year. The overseer, Edmund Bacon, said he gave Harriet $50 and put her on a stagecoach to the North. Bacon later wrote that Harriet was "near white and very beautiful." He said people believed Jefferson freed her because she was his daughter.

Jefferson only formally freed two enslaved people while he was alive: Sally's older brothers Robert and James. James had to train his brother Peter for three years to gain his freedom. Jefferson later freed all of Sally's surviving children: Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston. He did this through his will after he died. Harriet was the only enslaved woman Jefferson allowed to go free. Of the hundreds of enslaved people he owned, Jefferson freed only five in his will, all from the Hemings family.

No documents have been found for Sally Hemings' own freedom. However, Jefferson's daughter Martha (Patsy) Randolph informally freed Sally after Jefferson's death. This allowed Sally to live in Virginia with her two youngest sons in nearby Charlottesville for nine years until she died. In the 1833 census, all three were listed as free people of color. Sally Hemings lived to see a grandchild born in a house her sons owned.

Children's Lives

Historians have learned details about the lives of Beverley, Harriet, Madison, and Eston Hemings. Three of Sally Hemings' four surviving children (Beverley, Harriet, and Eston) chose to live as white adults in the North. They were mostly European in their background, and they looked white. Harriet was described as "nearly as white as anybody, and very beautiful." Madison wrote that both Beverley and Harriet married into white communities.

Both Madison and Eston married free women of color in Charlottesville. After their mother died in 1835, they and their families moved to Chillicothe in the free state of Ohio. Census records at the time listed them as "mulatto", meaning mixed-race.

Later, Eston and his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, to be farther away from slave catchers. There, he changed his name to "Eston H. Jefferson" to show his connection to his father. His whole family then used the Jefferson last name. From then on, the Jeffersons lived in the white community.

Madison's family were the only Hemings descendants from Monticello who continued to identify as part of the black community. Over time, some of their descendants also passed into the white community, while many others remained in the black community.

Both Eston and Madison were successful in their lives. They were carpenters, and Madison also had a small farm. Eston became a professional musician and bandleader. He was known for playing the violin and leading dances.

Grandchildren and Descendants

Madison's Descendants

Madison's sons fought for the Union in the Civil War. Thomas Eston Hemings joined the United States Colored Troops. He was captured and died in a prisoner-of-war camp. His brother James tried to join the Confederate army as a white man to rescue him. James Hemings was later rumored to have moved to Colorado and lived as a white man.

A third son, William Hemings, joined the regular Union Army as a white man. William never married or had children. He died in 1910.

Some of Madison Hemings' children and grandchildren who stayed in Ohio faced limited opportunities for black people at that time. They often worked as laborers or small farmers. They tended to marry within the mixed-race community.

Madison's daughter, Ellen Wayles Hemings, married Alexander Jackson Roberts. Their first son, Frederick Madison Roberts (1879–1952), was Sally Hemings' and Jefferson's great-grandson. He was the first person of known black ancestry elected to public office on the West Coast. He served in the California State Assembly for nearly 20 years. Their descendants have a strong history of college education and public service.

Eston's Descendants

Colonel John Wayles Jefferson, a grandson of Hemings, through her son Eston

Eston's sons also joined the Union Army as white men from Madison, Wisconsin. His first son, John Wayles Jefferson, had red hair and gray eyes, like his grandfather Jefferson. John Jefferson became a hotel owner. He was an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War. He fought at the Siege of Vicksburg. After the war, John Jefferson became a successful cotton broker in Memphis, Tennessee. He never married or had children.

Eston's second son, Beverley Jefferson, also served in the Union Army. He also ran hotels and built a successful horse-drawn "omnibus" business. He and his wife had five sons. Three of them became a doctor, a lawyer, and a railroad manager. Beverley Jefferson was described as "a likeable character" and "one of God's noblemen." His great-grandson, John Weeks Jefferson, is the Eston Hemings descendant whose DNA was tested in 1998. This DNA matched the Y-chromosome of the Thomas Jefferson male line.

There are known male descendants of Eston Hemings Jefferson today. There are also known female descendants of Madison Hemings' three daughters: Sarah, Harriet, and Ellen.

Cultural Depictions

Sally Hemings has been the main subject of many artistic works. These include a novel, a television mini-series, a stage play, and two operas. She is also featured in the film Jefferson in Paris. She has appeared as a character or topic in many other shows and plays.

See also

In Spanish: Sally Hemings para niños

• Thomas Jefferson and slavery
• List of slaves