John Hemmings, an enslaved craftsman

1776 - after 1830
Overview

John Hemmings was Betty Hemings's youngest son. He was Thomas Jefferson’s slave and a talented woodworker. At fourteen he worked as an “out-carpenter”. He chopped down trees for firewood. He cut logs for building materials. He helped build fences, barns, and the slave cabins on Mulberry Row. When he was seventeen, John Hemmings worked with…

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