People Enslaved at Monticello
People Enslaved at Monticello
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.
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*indicates link goes to an article in our Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
Bartlet (b. 1786), Enslaved Nailer
Ben (b. 1785), Enslaved Nailer
Critta Hemings Bowles (1769–1850), Enslaved Domestic Servant
Cary (b. ca. 1785–sold 1803), Charcoal-burner, Nailer
Brown Colbert (1785–after 1831), Enslaved Nailer
Burwell Colbert (1783–1862), Enslaved Nailer
Davy (b. 1785), Enslaved Charcoal-burner, Nailer, Sawyer
Dolly (b. 1794), Enslaved Weaver
Eliza (b. 1805), Enslaved Quiller
Jupiter Evans (1743–1800), Enslaved Coachman, Hostler, Stonecutter, Valet
Joseph Fossett (1780–1858), Enslaved Blacksmith, Nailer
Frank (1757-1809), Enslaved Charcoal-burner
Barnaby Gillette (1783–after 1827), Enslaved Cook, Nailer
Agnes Gillette (1798–1817), Enslaved Spinner
Israel Gillette (1800–c. 1879), Enslaved Carder (links to page in the Getting Word African American Oral History Project)
George Granger, Sr. (1730–1799), Enslaved Overseer
George Granger, Jr., (1759–1799), Enslaved Blacksmith, Manager, Nailer
Isaac Granger Jefferson (1775–1846), Enslaved Blacksmith, Nailer, Tinsmith
Ursula Granger (1737–1800), Enslaved Cook, Dairymaid, Laundress, Nursemaid
Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings (1735–1807), Enslaved Domestic Servant
Eston Hemings Jefferson (1808-1856), Enslaved Joiner
Harriet Hemings (1801–after 1822), Enslaved Spinner
Madison Hemings (1805–1877), Enslaved Joiner
Nancy Hemings (1761–post 1827), Enslaved Brewer, Cook, Weaver
Peter Hemings (1770–after 1834), Enslaved Brewer, Cook, Spinner, Tailor
Sally Hemings (b. 1773–1835), Enslaved Domestic Servant
John Hemmings (1776–1833), Enslaved Carpenter, Master Joiner
Priscilla Hemmings (ca.1776–1830), Enslaved Nursemaid
Cretia Hern (b. 1779), Enslaved Spinner
David Hern, Jr. (1784–after 1829), Enslaved Blacksmith, Charcoal-burner, Nailer, Wagoner
Mary Hern (b. 1780), Enslaved Weaver
Moses Hern (1779–after 1832), Enslaved Blacksmith, Field Laborer, Nailer
John Hern (b. 1800), Enslaved Carder
Randall Hern (b. 1802), Enslaved Carder
Ben Hix (1784–1799), Enslaved Nailer
Kit Hix (b. 1786), Enslaved Nailer
James Hubbard*(1783–after 1812), Enslaved Charcoal-burner, Nailer, Stonecutter
Phil Hubbard (1786–1819), Enslaved Nailer, Sawyer
Wormley Hughes (1781–1858), Enslaved Coachman, Gardener, Hostler
Isabel (1800–1822), Enslaved Spinner
Isaiah (b. 1800), Enslaved Carder
John (b. 1785), Enslaved Nailer
Lewis (1758/60–1822), Enslaved Carpenter, Field Laborer, Joiner
Lewis (b. 1788), Enslaved Nailer
Maria (b. 1798), Enslaved Spinner
Nanny (b. 1799), Enslaved Spinner
Sally (b. 1797), Enslaved Weaver
Shepherd (b. 1782), Enslaved Nailer
Suck (b. 1758), Enslaved Worker
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At Monticello, Jefferson recorded only one free black man and two “mulatto” servants who worked in the 1770s and 1780s as general laborers. Jefferson hired enslaved laborers, often termed “jobbers” or “hirelings,” from nearby owners to build the canal for his mills at Shadwell mills, dig an icehouse, excavate the foundations of the main house wings, construct the Shadwell toll mill, and begin the initial work on the Shadwell manufacturing mill. In some cases, these hired slaves ran away to their home plantations; others married and formed families with Monticello slaves. In the 1770s and 1780s, Jefferson hired white indentured servants and “bonded” mixed-race workers to work at Monticello. Indentured servitude – contract work with no pay – was a kind of temporary slavery that was a common form of labor in colonial Virginia.
George Bradby, a Free Black General Laborer
William Rice, an Indentured Servant and Stonecutter
Buck, a Hired Enslaved Shoemaker
Edmund, a Hired Enslaved Field Laborer
Photographs of six people enslaved at Monticello
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Isaac Granger Jefferson (1775-1846) was the son of George Granger, Sr., an enslaved foreman of labor and overseer at Monticello, and Ursula, an enslaved pastry cook and laundress. Isaac Jefferson worked at Monticello as a nailmaker, tinsmith, and blacksmith. He became free in the 1820s and was still practicing his blacksmithing trade in his seventies, when his recollections of life at Monticello were preserved.
LUCY COTTRELL
Lucy Cottrell was the daughter of Dorothea (Dolly) Cottrell, a house servant at Monticello (and the property of Jefferson's son-in-law Thomas Mann Randolph). In 1827 Dorothea and Lucy became the property of George Blaettermann, a professor at the University of Virginia, in an exchange for members of the Hughes family he had purchased at the 1827 slave auction at Monticello. About 1850 Dolly and Lucy Cottrell were taken to Maysville, Kentucky, by the professor's widow, who freed them five years later. In this daguerreotype Lucy Cottrell is holding Charlotte, daughter of Blaettermann's foster son.
Ann-Elizabeth Fossett (1812-1902) was the fourth child of Joseph Fossett, head blacksmith at Monticello, and his wife, Edith Hern Fossett, the Monticello cook. Ann-Elizabeth, her mother, and seven of her siblings were sold in the January auction following Jefferson's death. Through her family's efforts, she became free in 1837 and moved with her husband, Tucker Isaacs, and their children to southern Ohio in 1850.
Peter Fossett (1815-1901) was the fifth child of Joseph and Edith Fossett. At age eleven, he, too, was sold at the Monticello auction and remained in slavery until 1850, when his freedom was purchased by family members. He joined his parents in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he became a prominent caterer, community leader, and minister.
Robert Hughes (1824-1895) was the tenth child of Ursula and Wormley Hughes, and thus the great-grandson of Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings and the great-nephew of Isaac Jefferson. After Thomas Jefferson's death, Robert Hughes, a blacksmith, remained in slavery on the plantation of Jefferson's grandson until the end of the Civil War. He owned his own farm and was the founding minister of Union Run Baptist Church in Shadwell, VA.
SALLY COTTRELL COLE
Sally Cottrell Cole (c1800-1875) lived at Monticello more than fifteen years as personal servant to Jefferson's granddaughter Ellen Randolph. In 1827 Thomas Key, a professor at the University of Virginia, purchased her and took measures to free her. She worked as a seamstress and domestic servant. In 1848 she married a free man of color, Reuben Cole.
Monticello Enslaved Community Database
A searchable database of information on all known enslaved individuals at Thomas Jefferson's plantations.
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