CHAPTER VIII.

MR. JEFFERSON'S

SERVANTS.

MR. JEFFERSON AN INDULGENT MASTER-NOT WILLING TO HAVE HIS SERVANTS OVERWORKED, OR WHIPPED-NAILS STOLEN BY JIM HUBBARD-HIS PENITENCE AND FORGIVENESS-FAVORITE SERVANTS-THE HOUSE SERVANTSIN THE ROOM WHEN MRS. JEFFERSON DIED-HIS PROMISE NOT TO MARRY AGAIN-MR. JEFFERSON'S INSTRUCTIONS IN REGARD TO HIS CIDER-SALLY HEMINGS CROSSED THE OCEAN WITH MARIA JEFFERSON-THEIR STAY IN LONDON WITH MRS. ADAMS-MRS. ADAMS' LETTERS-URSULA, JOHN HEMINGS, JOE FOSSET-A FUGITIVE SLAVE-SERVANTS FREED BY MR. JEFFERSON-HIS VIEWS OF SLAVERY.

“MR. JEFFERSON was always very kind and indulgent to his servants. He would not allow them to be at all overworked, and he would hardly ever allow one of them to be whipped. His orders to me were constant, that if there was any servant that could not be got along with without the chastising that was customary, to dispose of him. He could not bear to have a servant whipped, no odds how much he deserved it. I remember one case in particular. Mr. Jefferson gave written instructions that I should always sell the nails that were made in his nailery. We made from sixpenny to twenty

penny nails, and always kept a supply of each kind on hand. I went one day to supply an order, and the eight-penny nails were all gone, and there was a full supply of all the other sizes. Of course they had been stolen. I soon became satisfied that Jim Hubbard, one of the servants that worked in the nailery, had stolen them, and charged him with it. He denied it powerfully. I talked with Grady, the overseer of the nailery, about it, and finally I said, 'Let us drop it. He has hid them somewhere, and if we say no more about it, we shall find them.' I examined his house, and every place I could think of, but for some time I could find nothing of the nails. One day after a rain, as I was following a path through the woods, I saw muddy tracks on the leaves leading off from the path. I followed them until I came to a tree-top, where I found the nails buried in a large box. There were several hundred pounds of them. From circumstances, I knew that Jim had stolen them. Mr. Jefferson was at home at the time, and when I went up to Monticello I told him of it. He was very much surprised, and felt very badly about it. Jim had always been a favorite servant. He told me to be at my house next morning when he took his ride, and he would see Jim there. When he came, I sent for Jim, and I never saw any person, white or black, feel as badly as he did when he saw his mas

ure.

HIS SERVANT JIM HUBBARD

105

ter. He was mortified and distressed beyond measHe had been brought up in the shop, and we all had confidence in him. Now his character was gone. The tears streamed down his face, and he begged pardon over and over again. I felt very badly myself. Mr. Jefferson turned to me, and said, 'Ah, sir, we can't punish him. He has suffered enough already.' He then talked to him, gave him a heap of good advice, and sent him to the shop. Grady had waited, expecting to be sent for to whip him, and he was astonished to see him come back and go to work after such a crime. When he came to dinner-he boarded with me then he told me, that when Jim came back to the shop, he said, 'Well, I'se been a-seeking religion a long time, but I never heard any thing before that sounded so, or made me feel so, as I did when master said, "Go, and don't do so any more;" and now I'se determined to seek religion till I find it;' and sure enough, he afterwards came to me for a permit to go and be baptized. I gave him one, and never knew of his doing any thing of the sort again. He was always a good servant afterwards

"Mr. Jefferson had a large number of favorite servants, that were treated just as well as could be. Burwell was the main, principal servant on the place. He did not go to Washington. Mr. Jeffer son had the most perfect confidence in him. He

told me not to be at all particular with him-to let him do pretty much as he pleased, and to let him have pocket money occasionally, as he wanted it.

"Once or twice every week while Mr. Jefferson was President, I opened every room in the house, and had it thoroughly aired. When I was so busy that I could not attend to this myself, I would send the keys to Burwell, and he would air the house, and was, if possible, more particular than I was. He stayed at Monticello, and took charge of the meat-house, garden, &c., and kept the premises in order. Mr. Jefferson gave him his freedom in his will, and it was right that he should do it.

"The house servants were Betty Brown, Sally, Critta, and Betty Hemings, Nance, and Ursula. They were old family servants, and great favorites. They were in the room when Mrs. Jefferson died.* She died before I went to live with him, and left four little children. He never married again. They have often told my wife, that when Mrs. Jefferson died, they stood around the bed. Mr. Jefferson sat by her, and she gave him directions about a good many things that she wanted done. When she came to the children, she wept, and could not speak for some time. Finally she held up her hand, and spreading out her four fingers, she told him she

*Mrs. Jefferson died in 1782.

MRS. JEFFERSON'S DEATH

107

could not die happy if she thought her four chil dren were ever to have a step-mother brought in over them. Holding her other hand in his, Mr. Jefferson promised her solemnly that he would never marry again. And he never did. He was then quite a young man, and very handsome, and I suppose he could have married well; but he always kept that promise.

"These women remained at Monticello while he was President. I was instructed to take no control of them. They had very little to do. When I opened the house, they attended to airing it. Then every March we had to bottle all his cider. Dear me, this was a job. It took us two weeks. Mr. Jefferson was very particular about his cider. He gave me instructions to have every apple cleaned perfectly clean when it was made. Here are his instructions:

"We have saved red Hughes enough from the north orchard to make a smart cask of cyder. They are now mellow, and beginning to rot. I will pray you, therefore, to have them made into cyder immediately. Let them be made clean one by one, and all the rotten ones thrown away, or the rot cut out. Nothing else can ensure good cyder.'

"Sally Hemings went to France with Maria