Jefferson's Lineage

"The tradition in my father's family was that their ancestor came to this country from Wales ..." -Thomas Jefferson, 1821

Martha Wayles Jefferson

“...every time I kiss they hand to bid adieu, every absence which follows it, are preludes to that eternal separation which we are shortly to make!’’

Martha Jefferson Randolph

Jefferson's eldest daughter and her family were a constance presence in his life.

The Education of Martha Jefferson Randolph with Monticello Guides Kyle Chatterton and Laura-Michal Balderson

The Randolph Children

In retirement at Monticello, Jefferson was surrounding by his grandchildren from Martha and Thomas Mann Randolph.

Maria Jefferson Eppes

"god bless you my ever dear daughter and preserve you safe to the blessing of us all” -Thomas Jefferson, 1804

Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson

"Such is the story that comes down to me."
-Madison Hemings, 1873

The issue of Jefferson’s paternity of the children of Sally Hemings has been the subject of controversy for at least two centuries, ranging from contemporary newspaper articles in 1802 (when Jefferson was President) to scholarly debate well into the 1990s. It is now the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s view that the Jefferson fathered the children of Sally Hemings and the issue is a settled historical matter. Questions remain about the nature of the relationship that existed between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings; whether she had a child at Monticello shortly after they returned from France in 1789; and whether there is anything to connect Jefferson, Hemings, and Thomas Woodson.