Though hundreds of people were enslaved at Monticello, many of the details of their lives are lost to history. Enslaved African Americans were denied access to education and literacy, and their lives went largely unrecorded by white historians for centuries. Decades of archaeological, documentary, and oral research helped to uncover some of the histories of those held captive at Monticello.
Videos about individuals enslaved at Monticello
Monticello Voices - A look at Monticello’s history as a plantation and the enslaved people whose labor kept Jefferson’s 5,000-acre enterprise running. Aired on October 14, 2020 (running time, 24:40)
Mary Hemings Bell, an older sister of Sally Hemings, had a long-term relationship with her owner and came to be seen in Charlottesville as his common-law wife.
Harriet Hemings, the daughter of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, is allowed to leave Monticello.
While Jefferson often gets the credit, it was enslaved chefs like James Hemings and his successors, who created Monticello's famed "half Virginian, half French" cuisine.
Ursula Granger, a Valuable Cook
The Life of Nancy Hemings - an Enslaved Monticello Weaver
An Enslaved Mother Leaves Monticello
The Life of Sally Hemings
Monticello Enslaved Community Database
A searchable database of information on all known enslaved individuals at Thomas Jefferson's plantations.
Articles on individuals enslaved at Monticello
(from our Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia)
Domestic Workers
- Mary Hemings Bell
- Critta Hemings Bowles
- Burwell Colbert
- Betsy Hemmings
- Elizabeth Hemings
- Martin Hemings
- Sally Hemings
- Robert Hemmings
Skilled Trade Workers
- Jupiter Evans
- Edith Fossett
- Joseph Fossett
- Peter Fossett
- Ann-Elizabeth Fossett Issacs
- Beverly Hemings
- Eston Hemings
- Harriet Hemings
- James Hemings
- Madison Hemings
- Peter Hemings
- John Hemmings
- Mary Hern
- James Hubbard
- Robert Hughes
- Wormley Hughes
- Isaac Granger Jefferson
Field Workers