Mary "Polly" Jefferson was born to
Thomas Jefferson and
Martha Jefferson (née Wayles) in 1778. Their first child,
Martha "Patsy" Jefferson, was born in 1772. By the time that Polly was born, Jane (1774–1775) and a son who lived for only a few weeks in 1777 were both dead. Her father was elected the
governor of Virginia on June 1, 1779, and the family first moved to
Williamsburg. The government relocated to
Richmond in 1780 and the family moved there. Martha had not seemed to recover during the four months following Lucy's birth and died on September 6, 1782. Lucy Elizabeth died of
whooping cough on October 13, 1784 Jefferson received a letter from Adams that said that Polly was "the favorite of every creature in the House." Polly, who had a love of reading, was sufficiently schooled that she did well at the elite school. She spoke French "easily enough" according to her father and in addition to her French studies, she also learned Spanish, drawing, and how to play the harpsichord. Polly and Patsy became ill with
typhus and were at their father's house from the winter of 1788 until the spring of 1789. The
French Revolution broke out during their last few months in Paris. She boarded there until September 1793, and may have been removed due to a
yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that ultimately killed 5,000 people. ==Marriage and family==