Letter from Sally Hemings to Elizabeth Hemings

Dearest Mother,

How is everything at the Monticello? I hope that everything is well.

I am writing to tell you that I am coming home. These past two years in France has been wonderful and I have learned a lot from living and working in French culture. Mr. Jefferson is going home to Monticello and I have decided to go back with him, along with Jimmy*.

I don’t know if Jimmy has told you about the differences between France and Virginia, but life for slaves is different here. It is the reasons behind my choosing to go back to Virginia despite these differences part of why I am writing to you as well. In France, there are no slaves, only servants and there is an opportunity for slaves brought to France to claim their freedom in the Courts if their masters will not free them. Although Mr. Jefferson hides us from the French government and still keeps us as slaves in French society, Jimmy and I have a lot more freedom to explore and work here, and the atmosphere here is also different. I am learning French, as is Jimmy, who may have told you that he is studying to be a chef. Life is much pleasanter here.

You must be wondering, given the high possibility of freedom that I could have here if I refuse to go back to Monticello with Mr. Jefferson, why I am not choosing to do so. It is true that I probably could persuade Jimmy to stay with me and have us build ourselves a new life here, on free soil. Jimmy and I earn enough money, especially with the wages Mr. Jefferson pays us, to start a new life in France. I have thought long and hard about my decision, talking to Jimmy and many of the servants and people that live here, to ultimately decide to come home.

One of the reasons is that we are treated very well by Mr. Jefferson, being paid higher wages than most of the servants I know, provided with food, house, and clothes. Jimmy’s studying to become a chef is also supported by Mr. Jefferson. I also believe it is Jimmy’s wish to someday serve as Mr. Jefferson’s personal chef, as he does here. I’m sure that Jimmy would like to go back to Virginia with him and it will be difficult for me to ask him to stay here with me. In addition, I miss you and everyone at the Monticello and wish to be with you. I have always thought of our situation as more or less of a family while living at the Monticello, or here in France. Even though we are slaves, we are given more opportunities than many of the others we know.

I may also be with child. In exchange for coming back with Mr. Jefferson, who most wishes me to accompany him to Monticello, I have secured that my future children will one day be free, when they reach the age of 21. I hope to be able to raise my children in the home I grew up in, surrounded by my family.

I know that you may not fully understand my reasons for coming home, to continue to be a slave in a place that is much stricter than here in France. It has been difficult to make such a decision without your advice and guidance, but I believe that this is the best choice for me, to guarantee that my children will have support growing up, and that I can see them grow up and live as free individuals.

I will see you soon.

Lovingly,
Sally

*James as he is referred to by his family.

Questions: It is interesting to see the similarities in which white women and black women slaves are regarded by the white men when in a sexual relationship. As a wife to Jefferson, Martha’s “body was not her own” and as a slave mistress to Jefferson, neither was Sally’s (147). How does the view of women’s bodies as property of their white male counterparts influence the treatment of both black and white women during this period? How did Jefferson reconcile the increasing health risk to Martha as their sexual relations led to her continuing struggles with childbearing and ultimately, her death, especially when he knew her strength was weakening as she continued to give birth? Was Jefferson reminded of these experiences when he took Sally to be his mistress and produced seven more children, or did he decide this case was different, because Sally’s race allowed her to bear children with little risk to her health? If so, does that mean that Sally’s African side decreased her chances of facing the difficulties her half sister Martha faced with childbearing?