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Sally HemingsQuarter slave, maid, governess and secret mistress of American President Thomas Jefferson
Country:
 USA |
Content:
Biography of Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings was born in Shadwell, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA. Her mother, Betty Hemings, was a mulatto slave, the daughter of an English captain and an African woman, and belonged to a white American man named John Wayles. John was officially married to a white woman with whom he had legitimate children, one of whom, Martha, later became Thomas Jefferson's legal wife. However, he also had a relationship with the slave Betty, who gave birth to a mulatto child and another slave, Sally.
After the death of her parents, the slaves and property passed to Martha, Sally's half-sister. Martha herself died in 1782 and passed her belongings to her husband, with whom she had her own children, but only one child, a white girl named Martha Jefferson, survived. This is where the story of Sally's relationship with Thomas Jefferson, who was 30 years older than her, begins.
Meeting in Paris and Return to the US
Their destinies intertwined closely in Paris, where 16-year-old Sally arrived, pretending to be one of Martha Jefferson's governesses. She lived in the same house as Jefferson. According to French law, she had the right to go to the police and obtain emancipation, but she did not do so and returned to the US following him.
Children and Controversy
Almost every year or every other year, Sally was pregnant. Sources indicate that she gave birth to eight children, six of whom are documented:
- Harriet Hemings (I) (October 5, 1795 - December 7, 1797)
- Beverly Hemings (possibly also William Beverly Hemings) (April 1, 1798 - after 1873)
- Unnamed child (possibly named Fenny in honor of Sally's sister Fenny) (born 1799 - died shortly after)
- Harriet Hemings (II) (May 22, 1801 - died after 1863)
- Madison Hemings (James Madison Hemings) (January 19, 1805 - died in 1877)
- Eston Hemings (Thomas Eston Hemings) (May 21, 1808 - 1856)
Thomas Jefferson himself documented the births, but the father's name is either not mentioned or erased in his record book, although the births of children from other slaves do include the father's name. Sally herself died in 1835 in Charlottesville, Virginia, without officially receiving her freedom, but enjoying the informal independence provided by her deceased daughter, Martha Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson, however, provided freedom to all of Sally's children, and most of them, being light-skinned (except for dark-skinned Eston), moved to the northern part of the country, where they passed as white.
The scandalous nature of Sally Hemings' relationship with Thomas Jefferson gained notoriety in the American press, particularly in the white conservative community that refused to believe the events. Several books and movies have been made based on the story of their relationship.
