This Hampton Inn may look completely ordinary, but its normal façade could hide something significant. This very well could be the location of the grave of Sally Hemings. Hemings was a slave of Thomas Jefferson’s family who possibly had a very close relationship with the founding father. The location of her final resting place is not known for certain: She may be buried in an unmarked grave at Monticello, or else in a graveyard that used to be on this spot.
Rumors that Jefferson had a relationship with Hemings started after his wife passed, in the early 19th century. He and his family members roundly denied the accusations, but there is a real possibility that he fathered children with her. Though modern DNA evidence has strongly suggested that Jefferson fathered at least one of 6 children with Hemings, detractors still argue that other relatives of Jefferson could be the children’s father, possibly his younger brother, Randolph. However, it wasn’t uncommon in that time period for a wealthy widowed slave owner to have a relationship with a female slave – Jefferson’s own wife, Martha, had half-siblings who were slaves, including Sally Hemings herself. The controversy still hasn’t been sufficiently resolved, and for now the truth has been lost to history.
Photo “ThomasJeffersonStateRoomPortrait.jpg” is licensed under Public Domain
Photo “Incomplete Family Tree of Sally Hemings.jpg” by Nanodudek is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
