Family History of Sally Hemings

(aka "Thomas Jefferson was a rapist")

Francis Eppes IV

White Virginian who enslaved...

Susanna

...a Black African woman.

John Hemings 

White English sea captain who came to port in VA and had an affair with...

Susanna

...the Black African woman enslaved by Francis Eppes IV.

When Susanna gave birth to a daughter by John, he tried to purchase them from Francis Eppes IV, who refused to sell. 

Elizabeth Hemings

Mixed race daughter (1/2 Black, 1/2 White) of John Hemings and Susanna.

Martha Eppes

White daughter of Francis Eppes IV and his wife.

Martha inherited Susanna and Elizabeth
from her father when he died. 

Martha Eppes

Married...

John
Wayles

... a White planter, lawyer, and slave trader in VA.

When Martha Eppes married John Wayles,
her property became his,
so he became the enslaver of Elizabeth. 

Martha and John had several children. 

Martha Wayles

White daughter of Martha Eppes and John Wayles. 

Married...

Thomas Jefferson

... a White planter, lawyer, and Virginian politician who would go on to write the Declaration of Independence and become President of the United States. 

Sally Hemings

Mostly White (3/4) daughter
of John Wayles and Elizabeth Hemings.

When John's wife died, he began raping Elizabeth.

She gave birth to six of his children over twelve years. 

Martha Wayles

...who marries Thomas Jefferson, and...

Sally Hemings

...whose mixed-race, enslaved mother was raped by John Wayles
for a dozen years. 

Just to be clear (because things are getting a little confusing), John Wayles is the father of BOTH...

Martha Wayles Jefferson and Sally Hemings are half-sisters.

Sally is 3/4 White and 1/4 Black.

When John Wayles died, Martha inherited Sally Hemings.

When Martha married Thomas Jefferson,
her property became his property,
so he became the enslaver of Sally Hemings. 

Again, Martha and Sally have the same father
-- they are half-sisters --
but now one of them is married to a Founding Father, and the other is enslaved by him.

Martha and Thomas Jefferson have several children before Martha's death.

After Martha's death,
Thomas takes his oldest daughter to France with him while he works there on behalf of
the newly-formed American government. 

In 1787, he sent for his 9-year-old daughter Polly
to come to France in the care of 14-year-old Sally.

Sally Hemings serves the Jefferson family
in France for two years.

At some point during those two years,
Thomas Jefferson begins raping Sally Hemings.

She becomes pregnant by age 16. 

According to French law, Sally could have petitioned
for her freedom and remained in France.

Instead, she returned to America
as the property of her rapist,
with his promise that he would free their child
when the child turned 21.

Sally would go on to have six children
(who were each only 1/8 Black)
by Thomas Jefferson.

While all of these children were freed at 21,
Sally never gained her freedom.

Her children mostly chose to live their lives
as White people after gaining their freedom. 

If you'd like to learn more
about Sally Hemings and her family,
read the book
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family 
by Annette Gordon-Reed.

Gordon-Reed's work on this text
provided DNA evidence
proving the "relationship" between
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

This book won her the Pulitzer Prize.