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 1748 - 1782 (33 years)
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| Name |
Martha Wayles Skelton |
| Born |
19 Oct 1748 |
The Forest Plantation, Charles City, Virginia  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Died |
06 Sep 1782 |
Monticello, Albermarle, Virginia |
| Notes |
- MARTHA WAYLES SKELTON JEFFERSON
First husband:
18 years old, to Bathurst Skelton (June 1744 - 30 September 1768) planter, on 20, November 1766 likely at "The Forest" plantation; they lived at his Charles City County plantation for one year and ten months, the endurance of their marriage as Bathurst died in 1768.
Born:
1748, October 19
"The Forest" plantation, Charles City County, Virginia
Father:
John Wayles, barrister and landowner, born 31 January, 1715 in Lancaster, England; died 23 May, 1773 in Charles City County, Virginia
Mother:
Martha Eppes Wayles, born 10 April, 1712 in Bermuda Hundred, Chesterfield County, Virginia; married John Wayles on 3 May, 1746; died 5 November, 1748
When Martha Eppes married John Wayles, she brought with her, as part of her dowry, an African slave woman and the woman's half-black, half-white daughter. The woman, enslaved in Africa, sailed to Virginia on a slave ship commanded by an English sea captain with the last name Hemings. Captain Hemings impregnated the slave who gave birth to a daughter she named Betty. The slave and her daughter were sold to Francis and Frances Eppes, and they gave the young enslaved "Betty Hemings" to their daughter Martha Eppes family. When Captain Hemings learned that the newly married Wayles had inherited his concubine and their daughter Betty, he offered to buy the pair. Wayles refused to sell them. He would eventually have six children by her.
Martha Wayles Jefferson never knew her mother Martha Eppes Wayles since she had died two weeks and three days after giving birth to her.
After the death of his first wife, Martha Eppes (the mother of Mrs. Jefferson), John Wayles married two more times; he married secondly to Mary Cocke by whom he had one [name unknown] daughter who died young; John Wayles married a third time, on 3, January 1760 to Elizabeth Lomax, with whom he had three daughters. After the death of Elizabeth Lomax (28 May 1763), Wayles took the half-black half-white slave Betty Hemings as his concubine and had six children by her. Betty Hemings was mentioned in the will of John Wayles, thus providing evidence that she really was his mistress and not merely his slave. The first husband of Elizabeth Lomax was Reuben Skelton - he was the brother of Martha Jefferson's first husband, Bathurst Skelton; thus Martha Wayles Skelton's brother-in-law was her stepmother's first husband:
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=3
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| Person ID |
I12363 |
Devin Timber |
| Last Modified |
8 Sep 2011 |
| Father |
John Wayles, b. 31 Jan 1715, England , d. 23 May 1773, Charles City Co., Virginia (Age 58 years) |
| Mother |
Martha Eppes, b. 10 Apr 1712, Bermuda Hundred, Chresterfield Co., Virginia , d. 5 Nov 1748, Prob. Charles City Co., Virginia (Age 36 years) |
| Family ID |
F3929 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Sources |
- [S67727] Mary Frances Reynolds Eggleston.
Martha Wayles Skelton married Thomas Jefferson d/o John and Martha Epps Wayles. They had six children, Martha b. 1772, Jane b. 1774, Jefferson infant son b. 1777, Mary b 1780, Jefferson infant b. 80, and Lucy b. 1782.
Marriage:
First husband:
18 years old, to Bathurst Skelton (June 1744 - 30 September 1768) planter, on 20, November 1766 likely at "The Forest" plantation; they lived at his Charles City County plantation for one year and ten months, the endurance of their marriage as Bathurst died in 1768.
Second Husband:
23 years old, to Thomas Jefferson (13, April 1743? 4, July 1826) lawyer and member of the House of Burgesses for Albermarle County (1769-1775), on 1, January, 1772 at "The Forest" plantation; they departed for a honeymoon in the cottage on the property of what would become later famously known as Monticello, though the mansion house was not yet built
Children:
by her first marriage, one son; John Skelton (1767?1771)
by her second marriage, five daughters, one son; Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph (1772?1836), Jane Randolph Jefferson (1774?1775), an unnamed son (died in infancy, 1777), Maria ?Polly? Jefferson Eppes (1778?1804), Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson [1] (1780-1781), Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson [2] (1782?1785)
Polly Jefferson married John Wayles Eppes (1773-1823), her first cousin (her mother Martha Wayles Jefferson and his mother Elizabeth Wayles Eppes were half-sisters) and also her second cousin (her maternal grandmother Martha Eppes Wayles and his paternal grandfather Richard Eppes were siblings)
Occupation after Marriage:
Much as she had for her father during his periods of widowhood, Martha Jefferson ran the plantation life of Monticello. It was a considerable responsibility: reading recipes to slaves and overseeing food preparation in the kitchens; food preservation; clothing needs for the family and slaves; and managing the house slaves and their responsibilities. Among the few remaining examples of her handwriting is a precise ledger of the plantation's main cash crop, tobacco, suggesting she worked with Jefferson more as a full partner in this one aspect of life at Monticello than would be otherwise usual.
Numerous contemporary accounts of visitors and guests to Monticello consistently suggest that Martha Jefferson was an active hostess when she felt well; her beauty, grace and especially her musical skills were frequently commented upon; she and Jefferson read literature and poetry to each other, and played musical duets together, he on the violin.
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