Lesson Plan

Jefferson’s Cipher to Lewis & Clark, Was It Necessary?

Article

John Hemmings, an enslaved craftsman

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…

Article

Joseph Fossett, an enslaved blacksmith

Joseph Fossett was born in 1780 in Richmond, Virginia. When he was twelve, he went to Monticello. He learned to make nails. He also fetched wood and water and waited tables in the main house When he was sixteen, Joseph trained to be a blacksmith. He put shoes on horses and sharpened hoes and plows.…

Lesson Plan

Journal Writing

Article

Martha Jefferson Randolph, Jefferson’s daughter

Martha Jefferson was born at Monticello on September 27, 1772. Her father was Thomas Jefferson. Her mother was Martha Wayles Jefferson. When she was ten years old, her mother died. Martha recalled that her father "kept to his room for three weeks. .." Martha shared her father’s sadness. Thomas Jefferson encouraged Martha’s studies. When she…

Article

Martha Wayles Jefferson, Jefferson’s wife

Only a few facts are known about Thomas Jefferson’s wife. There are no letters written by her. There are no pictures of her. Martha Wayles was born October 19, 1748 in Charles City County, Virginia. She married Thomas Jefferson in 1772 on New Year’s Day. She was twenty-three years old. Martha shared with Jefferson a…