Historians Uncover Sally Hemings’ Living Quarters (Photos)

Archeologists have uncovered an area in former President Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home that is thought to have been the living quarters of Sally Hemings, a slave believed to be the mother of the president’s six children. According to NBC News, an area of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello mansion has been excavated to reveal Hemings’ living quarters, which were adjacent to the president’s bedroom. “This discovery gives us a sense of how enslaved people were living.

Some of Sally’s children may have been born in this room,” said Gardiner Hallock, the director of restoration for Jefferson’s plantation. “It’s important because it shows Sally as a human being — a mother, daughter, and sister — and brings out the relationships in her life.” According to the Daily Mail, Hemings’ room was built in 1809. It is 14 feet, 8 inches wide and 13 feet long. The room was thought to be converted into a bathroom for tourists in 1941.

The excavation of the room began after historians analyzed a description of Hemings’ living quarters written by one of Jefferson’s grandsons. Upon investigation, it was discovered that her room may have been hiding underneath the bathroom. “For the first time at Monticello we have a physical space dedicated to Sally Hemings and her life. It’s significant because it connects the entire African American arch at Monticello,” said Mia Magrauder Dammann, a spokeswoman for Monticello.

The director of Archaeology at Monticello, Fraser Neiman, said that the excavation revealed the original 1800s brick hearth and fireplace, as well as a brick structure for a stove and the building’s original floors. Neiman said, “This room is a real connection to the past. We are uncovering and discovering and we’re finding many, many artifacts.” Sally Hemings’ father was Jefferson’s father-in-law, John Wayles.

When Jefferson inherited Wayles’ estate in 1774, Hemings, who was born in 1773, became Jefferson’s property, along with her mother, Elizabeth Hemings. Sally Hemings had six children, all of whom are believed to have been fathered by Thomas Jefferson after the death of his wife, Martha Jefferson. Hemings’ room is now in the process of being restored for public viewing. Monticello’s curators plan to include Hemings in Jefferson’s life story. Monticello currently offers tours of the grounds focusing solely on the experiences of enslaved people who lived and worked on the plantation at the time. There is also a Hemings family tour available.

During Jefferson’s presidency, rumors spread about his relationship with Hemings, with one journalist writing that he had “kept, as his concubine, one of his own slaves.” The journalist wrote that Jefferson had “several children” by his slave, who was identified only as Sally at the time. Jefferson never publicly commented on his relationship with Hemings and Hemings left no known accounts, according to the Daily Mail. Sources: NBC News, Daily Mail / Photo credit: YF12s/Wikimedia Commons, Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello via NBC News