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When young Thomas Jefferson married the widow Martha Wayles
Skelton, their first nights were spent inside a promise:
Monticello, on the grounds he’d received from his father,
was only partially completed. Martha Jefferson would spend
just “a little over half of her married life” and much
heartbreak there.
After having birthed several children, most of whom didn’t
live, Martha sickened and died in the fall of 1782; perhaps
compassionately, Thomas Jefferson was sent by the U.S.
Congress to Europe. With him, he took his daughter,
11-year-old Martha; and James, the son of Elizabeth Hemings,
Jefferson’s late wife’s slave and her half-sister. Jefferson
sent his youngest two daughters, along with Elizabeth’s
youngest daughter, Sally, to his sister-in-law’s home.
Known as a lively, intelligent girl, young Martha was quick
with languages, could sing and dance, and had become her
father’s best support after her mother’s death. Shortly
after she arrived in Paris, she was sent to a convent
school, and considered the idea of becoming a nun.
In 1787, Jefferson sent for his second daughter,
then-nine-year-old Maria, who arrived in Paris with
fo14-year-old “companion-maid” Sally Hemings. Maria must
have been rather used to being uprooted: over the years, her
father had sent her to several homes to be raised and
educated. Paris was just another in a long line. No record
was made of Sally’s feelings, although Kerrison imagines she
was unhappy.
Just two years later, Thomas Jefferson, his daughters, and
his slaves returned home to Virginia, reportedly to great
fanfare. Seventeen-year-old Martha, wishing to avoid being
suddenly “supervised,” quickly became betrothed.
Eleven-year-old Maria, a sweet child, was soon sent to
Philadelphia, to boarding school. Sixteen-year-old Sally,
pregnant with her master’s child, didn’t have to come home
to Virginia at all; in France, she was legally free, but she
chose to return after negotiating with Jefferson.
She’d be, after all, “a mother of children destined for
freedom.”
For the casual reader, Jefferson’s Daughters may be a
challenge but that’s not author Catherine Kerrison’s fault;
it’s because of naming habits of 18th century
people. For instance, there are several Marthas in this
book, so beware.
There’s also a lot of back story here, too, but it’s
necessary. Kerrison reaches well back into time to explain
several points that she makes later, especially when it
comes to Sally Hemings, her actions, and her decisions that
showed eye-popping strength. There – once we get more into
Hemings’ life and that of her eldest daughter, Harriet – is
where this book becomes totally compelling and
can’t-put-down irresistible.
Of course, it’s perfect for historians but anyone who’s
interested in women’s issues and Black history will be happy
reading this book, too. Once you settle into Jefferson’s
Daughters, it may become one of your favorites. |
