Martin Hemings
Martin Hemings was the oppressed son of Elizabeth Hemings. He was born and raised in The Forest, John Wayles’ plantation house. Martin was assigned to Monticello following Wayles’ death in 1773 and served as Thomas Jefferson’s butler. According to family legend, Martin Hemings was in charge of concealing the Jeffersons’ family silver when Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton’s troops approached Monticello in 1781. 1 After an unexplained disagreement, Hemings “desired” that Jefferson sell him to another leader, and Jefferson agreed.
Martin Hemings
Mary Hemings Bell
Mary Hemings Bell was Elizabeth Hemings’ eldest known daughter. Bell and her family were brought to Monticello in 1774 following the division of the estate of Martha Jefferson’s father, John Wayles, where she worked as an enslaved household servant and seamstress. Between 1772 and 1783, Mary Hemings Bell gave birth to six children, some of whom were sold away from her and others who lived in freedom.
Mary Hemings Bell