What She Looked Like
It’s a misconception that Sally Hemings has been enslaved her entire life. She was born a slave until Jefferson’s death in 1826. She had decades to spend freely. It is believed she spent only a short time at Monticello. This recent discovery gives us important new information about this woman. There is no picture of her or anything else showing what she looks like. Isaac Granger Jefferson was one of the few people who wrote about her. He said that Sally Hemings was “mighty near white… very handsome, long straight hair down her back.”
What She Looked Like
She Was A Lovely Woman
Despite having no portraits of her, there are many descriptions of her appearance. Thomas Jefferson Randolph, President Jefferson’s grandson, described her as “light colored and decidedly good looking.” According to reliable historians, she worked at the estate as a seamstress and chambermaid. Jefferson kept meticulous records and notes on the previous property’s finances and births. However, it did not appear that he wrote about this woman.
She Was A Lovely Woman