Jefferson, Martha (1748–1782)

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Jefferson, Martha (1748–1782)

Wife of Thomas Jefferson who died before he was president of the United States. Name variations: Martha Skelton. Born Martha Wayles in October 1748 (the specific day is in dispute) in Charles City County, Virginia; died on September 6, 1782, in Monticello, Virginia; daughter of John Wayles (a planter and lawyer) and Martha (Eppes) Wayles; half-sister of Sally Hemings (1773–1835); married Bathurst Skelton, on November 20, 1766, in Williamsburg, Virginia (died 1768); married Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826, third president of the United States), on January 1, 1772, in Williamsburg, Virginia; children: (first marriage) one son who died in infancy; (second marriage) five daughters and one son—only two daughters, Martha Jefferson Randolph (1775–1836) and Maria Jefferson Eppes (1778–1804), lived to adulthood; both served as White House hostesses during Jefferson's administration, 1801–09.

When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, his beloved wife Martha had been dead for 19 years. Although he never recorded their life together, and apparently destroyed her letters, historians agree that she was a great love of his life and had a lasting influence on him.

Martha Wayles was born in October 1748 to a prosperous Virginia lawyer and planter, John Wayles, and the first of his three wives, Martha Eppes Wayles . Her only sibling was a half-sister, Sally Hemings , daughter of John Wayles and his slave Betty Hemings . As was the custom of the day, Martha was tutored at home, but at an early age became an avid reader and a talented musician, singing and playing both the pianoforte and the harpsichord. At age 18, she married Bathurst Skelton, a planter, who died less than two years later, leaving her with an infant son.

It may have been Thomas Jefferson's love of books or his facility on the violin that endeared him to Martha, who as a wealthy and beautiful young widow had her choice of suitors. Their courtship was filled with music and plans for the magnificent home Jefferson was building at Monticello. The two were married New Year's Day 1772, after a wedding postponement to grieve the death of Martha's young son. During their honeymoon trip to Monticello, a fierce snowstorm forced them to abandon their carriage and finish the last leg of the journey up a treacherous mountainside on horseback. Arriving late and half frozen at their barely habitable new home, the only welcome was a bottle of wine found hidden on a shelf behind some books.

During the next ten years, Martha gave birth to six children, four of whom died in infancy. Two daughters, Martha Jefferson Randolph and Maria Jefferson Eppes , lived to adulthood. Although Jefferson referred to his marriage as "unchequered happiness," his wife's delicate health and mental anguish over the deaths of her children was a factor in his career. Refusing a foreign appointment, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates and later as governor.

Shortly after New Year's Day 1781, a British invasion forced Martha and her newborn daughter, Lucy Elizabeth, to flee their residence in the Governor's House in Richmond. As a result of the journey, the baby later died. Jefferson resigned the governorship and promised his inconsolable wife he would not seek public office again. The grieving Martha became pregnant once more and gave birth to her last daughter in May of 1792. She never recovered her health and Jefferson remained at her bedside until her death on September 6, at the age of 34. Martha Jefferson was laid to rest at Monticello with four of her children.

Eppes, Maria Jefferson (1778–1804)

White House hostess during her father's administration. Name variations: known as Polly in her youth; Mary Jefferson Eppes. Born Mary Jefferson in 1778; died in 1804; daughter of Martha Jefferson (1748–1782) and Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826, third president of the U.S.); married her cousin John Wales Eppes; children: several, including Frances Eppes and Maria Eppes (who died in childbirth at age 25).

Thomas Jefferson found his way back into politics but never remarried. For years, many believed that Martha's half-sister Sally Hemings became his mistress and gave birth to his son. In 1999, DNA tests provided conclusive evidence that Hemings' progeny had a blood link to Jefferson. Martha and Thomas' daughters, Martha and Maria, served alternately as White House hostesses during the eight years of Jefferson's presidency. Occasionally, Dolley Madison , wife of the then secretary of state, filled in for the sisters. Martha Jefferson Randolph also tended to her father's household during his retirement at Monticello. Thomas Jefferson died there in 1826.