Thomas Jefferson's Immediate Family and Children
Thomas Jefferson had six children with his wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. Their names were Martha Jefferson Randolph, Jane Randolph Jefferson, unnamed son, Mary Wayles Jefferson, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson, and Eston Hemings Jefferson. Only Martha, Mary, and Eston survived into adulthood. Martha Jefferson Randolph later managed the White House household for her father. The family lived at Monticello in Virginia. More details are available on the Monticello official site. Monticello Family Life
Martha Wayles Jefferson was Thomas Jefferson's wife and first cousin. She brought enslaved individuals from her father's estate into the marriage. The couple had ten pregnancies, but only six children were born alive. Martha Jefferson died in 1782, ten days after the birth of their last child, Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson never remarried. He continued raising his surviving children and grandchildren at Monticello.
Jefferson's Children and the Hemings Family
Sally Hemings was an enslaved woman at Monticello and the half-sister of Martha Jefferson. She is widely believed to have had a long relationship with Thomas Jefferson. Most historians now agree that Jefferson fathered at least some of her children. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation states that the evidence strongly supports this conclusion. Sally Hemings at Monticello
Eston Hemings Jefferson was born in 1808 and is the youngest known child of Thomas Jefferson. He later changed his surname to Jefferson and moved to Ohio. His descendants identified as white in later generations. The Hemings family remains central to the story of Jefferson's household. DNA evidence linked the Jefferson and Hemings descendants in a 1998 study. NPS Sally Hemings
Legacy of Thomas Jefferson's Descendants
Martha Jefferson Randolph had eleven children with her husband Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. Their descendants include notable figures in American history. Mary Wayles Jefferson married John Wayles Eppes and had children who carried on the Jefferson family line. Eston Hemings Jefferson's descendants have been studied for their complex racial identity. The family's history reflects the broader narratives of early American society.
Thomas Jefferson's immediate family and descendants shaped American politics and culture. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren carried his name into the nineteenth century. The Hemings descendants continue to reclaim their place in this history. Modern scholarship emphasizes the full scope of Jefferson's family, including enslaved members. The Smithsonian and Library of Congress provide extensive primary sources. Library of Congress Jefferson Papers