Thomas Jefferson Family Tree: The Story Behind the Author of the Declaration

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), born 13 April 1743 in Shadwell, Goochland (now Albemarle) County, Virginia, and died 4 July 1826 at Monticello, Virginia (on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration), was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809).

The Family's Roots: A Welsh-English Family in Virginia

The Jefferson family is Welsh-English Colonial, settled in Virginia.

His Parents

Father: Peter Jefferson (1708–1757) — surveyor and plantation owner.

Mother: Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720–1776) — from the prominent Randolph family of Virginia.

His Siblings

Jane (1740–1765); Mary (1741–1817); Elizabeth (1744–1774); Martha (1746–1811); Peter Field (1748–1748); Lucy (1752–1810); Anna Scott (1755–1828); Randolph (1755–1815, twin).

His Wife: Martha Wayles Skelton

Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson (1748–1782) — widow of Bathurst Skelton; married Thomas on 1 January 1772. Died at 33 in 1782 after giving birth to Lucy; Thomas never remarried.

Their Children (only 2 survived to adulthood)

Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph (1772–1836) — eldest; married Thomas Mann Randolph Jr.

Jane Randolph (1774–1775).

Unnamed son (1777–1777).

Mary "Polly" Jefferson Eppes (1778–1804) — married John Wayles Eppes.

Lucy Elizabeth I (1780–1781).

Lucy Elizabeth II (1782–1784).

Sally Hemings

Sally Hemings (1773–1835) — enslaved at Monticello; long-suspected and DNA-confirmed mother of at least 6 of Jefferson's children — Harriet I (1795–1797), Beverly (1798–after 1873), Harriet II (1801–after 1863), Madison Hemings (1805–1877), Eston Hemings (1808–1856), and an unnamed daughter (1799).

The Jefferson Family Tree at a Glance

Father: Peter Jefferson (1708–1757).

Mother: Jane Randolph Jefferson (1720–1776).

Wife: Martha Wayles Skelton (1748–1782; m. 1 January 1772).

Children (Martha): Martha "Patsy" (1772–1836); Mary "Polly" (1778–1804); plus 4 children who died young.

Children (Sally Hemings): Harriet I (1795–1797); Beverly (1798–after 1873); Harriet II (1801–after 1863); Madison Hemings (1805–1877); Eston Hemings (1808–1856); + an unnamed daughter (1799).

Thomas Jefferson:

  • Born 13 April 1743, Albemarle County
  • College of William & Mary, Williamsburg (1762)
  • Burgess of Virginia 1769–1775
  • Delegate to Continental Congress 1775; principal author, Declaration of Independence (June 1776)
  • Governor of Virginia 1779–1781
  • U.S. Minister to France: 1785–1789
  • First U.S. Secretary of State: 1790–1793 (under Washington)
  • Vice President of the United States: 1797–1801 (under Adams)
  • Third President of the United States: 4 March 1801 — 4 March 1809
  • Louisiana Purchase: 1803
  • Founded the University of Virginia: 1819
  • Died: 4 July 1826, Monticello — at 83, on Declaration's 50th anniversary

What the Jefferson Family Story Teaches Us

A surveyor-planter father. A Randolph-lineage mother. Eight siblings. A 10-year marriage that produced 6 children, only 2 of whom survived to adulthood. Six more children with enslaved Sally Hemings. A 50-year political career that wrote the Declaration and doubled the United States.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Jefferson story carries the same lesson. Some legacies hold both the founding ideal and its deepest contradiction.

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