The Hemings family was a group of people who lived in Virginia.  They were Elizabeth Hemings and her children and other descendants.  They were enslaved people, meaning some of their ancestors had been kidnapped in Africa and brought over the Atlantic Ocean in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.  Some of them became free later.  For part of their history, they were enslaved to the Eppes family, to the Wayles family, and to Thomas Jefferson.  The Hemingses were the largest family to live at Monticello.

Beginning

According to Elizabeth Hemings' grandson, Madison Hemings, her mother was a fully African woman and might have been born in Africa.  She was enslaved to the Eppes family in Virginia. Historians do not know for sure what her name was.  Papers with the names of enslaved women in the Eppes family include "Dinah," "Judy," "Abbie," "Sarah," "Parthenia," and others.  Historian Annette Gordon-Reed said that there were many girls named "Thenia" in the Hemings family, and they might have been named after Parthenia, also spelled Parthena.  But she also says that "Sally" is a nickname for "Sarah," and there were many girls named "Sarah" and "Sally" in the Hemings family too.  So Elizabeth Hamings' mother's white name was probably Parthenia or Sarah.

Madison Hemings told the story: Elizabeth Hemings' mother was an African woman and her father was an English sea captain named Hemings.  The sea captain tried to buy Elizabeth Hemings from her owner when she was born.  Even though he offered the owner a lot of money, the owner still said no.  He said he wanted to see what a half-white, half-African child would look like.  Then Captain Hemings tried to take the child away from the owner without paying, but someone told the owner about his plan. Captain Hemings left Virginia and did not come back.

Captain Hemings tried to take his daughter from one of the men in the Eppes family, but historians do not know which one because they do not know when Elizabeth Hemings was born.  One paper says "about 1735."

Elizabeth Hemings lived at the Eppes family's house, which was called Bermuda Hundred until 1746.  That year, Martha Eppes married John Wayles.  Elizabeth and other enslaved people went with Martha to Wayle's house as part of her marriage settlement.  A marriage settlement was any property that a married woman could control and her husband couldn't.  Technically, the Eppes family owned Elizabeth Hemings.

Elizabeth Hemings lived as a house servant.  That means she did not grow tobacco or cotton in the fields like other enslaved people in Virginia did. Historians think that Elizabeth Hemings' job with the Wayles family was to help raise Martha Wayles, later Martha Wayles Skelton-Jefferson. After Johyn Wayles' wife died, he made Elizabeth Hemings his concubine, which means they had a sexual relationship but he did not free her or marry her.  Historians do not know how Elizabeth Hemings felt about this.

When Martha Wayles Skelton married Thomas Jefferson, Hemings and many people in her family went with Martha Skelton to Jefferson's house at Monticello.  Historians think Elizabeth Hemings took care of Martha Wayles Skelton-Jefferson when she became sick and that she was there when she died.

Habits

The Hemingses were known for pooling resources.  That means that if one of them had money or other good things, they would share it with the others.  They also had what historian Annette Gordon-Reed calls a "mania" for naming their children after each other.  A mother would name her children after her own sisters or brothers.

Thomas Jefferson wrote a lot, so historians know more about the Hemingses who lived on Monticello than about many other enslaved people.  We know that six of Elizabeth Hemings' children were Martha Jefferson's half-brothers and half-sisters because they had the same father: John Wayles.  We do not know what Martha Jefferson or the Hemingses thought about this.  We do know that Robert and James Hemings helped Martha Jefferson and her daughters escape from British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.  We do not know whether the Hemings men thought of themselves as two men helping their sister and nieces, as two men helping their master's wife and daughters, as both, or as neither one.

Thomas Jefferson trusted many people in the Hemings family.  When he was away from Monticello, he would allow the Hemings men to leave, choose other people for whom to work, and keep all their wages.  The law of Virginia at the time said he did not have to do this.  Jefferson freed several people in the Hemings family.  He did not get along with all the Hemingses.  He had a fight with Martin Hemings.

Jefferson was not always happy to free enslaved people.  When Robert Hemings asked to make a deal with Jefferson for his freedom, Jefferson was not happy about it.  He said that Robert had been lured away from him. After freeing Robert, Jefferson stopped letting his enslaved people travel so much.  Historian Annette Gordon-Reed writes that she thinks Jefferson figured out that letting enslaved people live as if they were free made them want to be free for real.  It also let them learn things about the outside world.

Family

Elizabeth Hemings' children with an unknown partner, probably a black man:

Mary Hemings Bell (1753-after 1834)
Mary Hemings' children with earlier partners:
Daniel Farley (1722-1837)
Molly (1777-after 1790)
Joseph Fosset (1780-1858)
Betsy Hemings (1783-1857)
Mary Hemings' children with Thomas Bell:
Robert Washington Bell
Sarah Jefferson Bell

Martin Hemings (1755-after 1795)
Betty Brown (1759­-post 1831)
Billy (1777-1778)
Wormley Hughes (1781-1858)
Burwell Colbert (1783-1862)
Brown Colbert (1785-1833)
Melinda Colbert (1787-1860)
Edwin (1793-after 1819)
Robert (1799-after 1820)
Mary Colbert (1801-1843)
Nancy Hemings (1761-after 1827)
Billy (1780-after 1795)
Critta Hemings (1783-1819)

Elizabeth Hemings' children with John Wayles:
Robert Hemings (1762-­1819)
Robert Hemings' children with his wife:
Martin Hemings
Elizabeth Hemings
James Hemings (1765-1801)
Thenia Hemings (1767-1795)
Mary
Lucy
Betsy
Susan
Sally
Critta Hemings (1769­-1850)
James Hemings (1787-after 1815)
Peter Hemings (1770­-after 1834)
Eugenia Hemings (1803-1885)
James Hemings (1804-1870)
Anderson Hemings (1808-1868)
Betty Hemings
Sally Hemings (1773­-1835)
Sally Hemings' children with Thomas Jefferson:
 an unnamed baby
 Harriet (1795-1797)
 Beverly Hemings (1798- after 1822)
 a daughter (1799-1800)
 Harriet Hemings (1801- after 1822)
 Madison Hemings (1805-1877)
 Eston Hemings Jefferson (1808-1856)

Elizabeth Hemings' children with Joseph Neilson, known:

John Hemings (1776-1833)

Elizabeth Hemings' children with Joseph Neilson, possible:

Lucy Hemings (1777-1786)

References

People from Virginia
Slaves