Genise monticello biography of martin
Thomas Jefferson's connections to fraternal organizations have often been misunderstood.!
Martin Hemings
Martin Hemings was an American man enslaved to Thomas Jefferson.[1][2] He worked as Jefferson's butler at Monticello.[3][4]
Family history and early life
See also: Hemings family
Martin Hemings was born on a plantation called "The Forest" that belonged to John Wayles.
He was the oldest male child of Elizabeth Hemings. The historical record does not name his father, but it was not John Wayles,[1] making him the half-brother of Sally Hemings and James Hemings.
The memory of Thomas Jefferson has long been associated with the American experience of race and slavery.
When Martha Wayles Skelton married Thomas Jefferson, Hemings and many people in his family went with Skelton to Jefferson's house at Monticello. Martin Hemings was 17 or 18 years old. He later became the butler of Monticello and lived there for many years.[1][5] When Thomas Jefferson became governor of Virginia and lived in houses in Richmond, Virginia and Williamsburg, Virginia, Martin Hemings went with him.[2]
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