Martha Jefferson

Martha Wayles was born on October 30, 1748 (O.S. October 19, 1748), the only surviving child born to Martha Eppes Wayles (1721–1748) and John Wayles (1715–1773), Martha's mother, Martha Eppes Wayles, had previously given birth to twins in 1746, but neither survived; the girl was stillborn and the boy died hours after his birth. Martha's father John was a Lancaster-born emigrant to the Thirteen Colonies who worked as an attorney and prosperous planter and slave trader. In addition, he was an agent for the Farrell and Jones company based in Bristol, undertaking activities such as debt collection on their behalf. Martha Eppes Wayles was a daughter of Francis Eppes, a settler of the Bermuda Hundred, an early Virginian colony established along the Appomattox River. While little is known of Martha Eppes Wayles' life, she had an appreciation for fine literature, such as her favorite novel, Tristram Shandy and Les Aventures de Télémaque. (Her rebound version of the book, The Adventures of Telemachus, contains her signature on the title page and resides at the Library of Congress). Martha Wayles had two stepmothers, neither of whom lived long after their marriages to John Wayles, and through one stepmother she had four half-sisters. of Malvern Hill. They had four children: Sarah, Elizabeth, Tabitha and Anne. ==Marriages and children==

Martha Wayles first married Bathurst Skelton (born 1744), an attorney, on November 20, 1766, at age 18. Their son, John, was born on November 7, 1767. Skelton died on September 30, 1768. Martha then moved back to The Forest following her husband's death. Three-year-old John died on June 10, 1771. They had six children, but only two daughters reached adulthood. (May 28June 14, 1777), lived for 17 days • Mary "Maria or Polly" Jefferson ==Slaves and Wayles' estate==

Martha and Thomas Jefferson acquired a number of slaves as part of her dowry for her marriage, and later from the estate of John Wayles, which made Thomas the second largest slave owner in Albemarle County. The dowry increased the number of slaves he owned from 52 to 187. Sally Hemings, who was fathered by John Wayles, was the half-sister of Martha Wayles Jefferson, and the subject of a scandal about her relationship with Thomas Jefferson. Upon Wayles' death, Betty Hemings and her six children with John Wayles were moved "without hesitancy" to Monticello to prevent the Hemings from being separated. The estate was worth £30,000, but was in debt to Farrell and Jones in Bristol for £11,000. Wayles three sons-in-law, including Thomas Jefferson, decided to break up the estate and its debts. Martha and her husband Thomas Jefferson inherited the Willis Creek and Elk Hill plantations and a total of 135 people, including members of the Hemings family. They also inherited £4,000 in debt. Jefferson and other co-executors of the Wayles estate worked for years to clear the debt and the overwhelming debt led to Thomas Jefferson's financial ruin. ==Contemporaneous descriptions==

No contemporaneous portraits of Martha Jefferson survive, but she has been described by family members and Isaac Granger Jefferson as small, graceful, and pretty, and like her daughter, Mary Jefferson Eppes. She was described by Robert Skipwith, her sister's husband, as having possessed "... the greatest fund of good nature ... that sprightliness and sensibility which promises to ensure you the greatest happiness mortals are capable of enjoying." She played the harpsichord piano forte, while Thomas Jefferson played violins. Martha reportedly played the harpsichord "very skillfully and who, is in all respects, a very agreeable sensible and accomplished lady," according to a Hessian officer, Jacob Rubsamen, who visited Monticello in 1780. She was an accomplished needlewoman, some of her embroidery still exists. ==First lady of Virginia==

, Governor Jefferson's residence in Williamsburg Martha Jefferson was First Lady of Virginia from 1779 to 1781, during the American Revolution. The letter to James Madison's mother, Eleanor Conway Madison, is the only letter written by Martha Jefferson known to now exist. She published an appeal in the Virginia Gazette, announcing that collections would be taken in the churches. Nationally, the Ladies Association raised $300,000 to buy linen shirts for Washington's army. ==Health problems==

, including Thomas Jefferson's gravesite Managing the Jefferson household became increasingly difficult for Martha Jefferson, who had endured at least one case of smallpox, may have had diabetes, and was weakened by her numerous pregnancies, which would ultimately kill her. Thomas limited his political service due to her health. Jefferson was in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress in 1776, where he drafted the Declaration of Independence over a period of two weeks in June 1776. He wished to return to her as soon as possible. Thomas served as governor and in the House of Delegates in Virginia. He declined the offer to serve as the commissioner to France made by the Continental Congress while she was alive. ==Death==

The birth of Lucy Elizabeth II, their youngest child, in May 1782 was reportedly the most difficult pregnancy for Mrs. Jefferson, since the infant was over 16 pounds at birth. ==Legacy==

Martha Jefferson was portrayed by Betty Buckley in the 1969 Broadway Musical 1776, and by Blythe Danner in the 1972 film adaptation 1776. ==Notes==