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The Monticello Getting Word Project
Jennifer Schlegel
[1] Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home has become a landmark historical site. It has grown beyond the extensive house and gardens into a place of historical information, research and collections, education materials, shopping, and community. The Getting Word aspect of the Monticello website locates and records oral histories of the descendants of Monticello's enslaved families. Almost 180 descendants contributed memories and stories through personal testimonies, letters, and photographs. As Eliga Diggs remarks, descendants appreciate the oral history tradition of their families: "To really know your ancestors, it means a lot." The Getting Word oral history project first began collecting research and conducting interviews in 1993 to investigate the African American families of Monticello. The organization also mapped out the family trees of the slaves and their descendants and tracked the whereabouts of many descendants. The Getting Word website focuses particularly on hearing the stories of the descendants' fight for freedom and equality, their fulfillment of dreams, and their navigation of the color line.
[2] First, the freedom and equality struggle by Monticello's African American families was a long and difficult journey. They fought for their freedom as well as others by participating in the Underground Railroad and buying their family members still in bondage. Monticello's former residents battled for equality as lines were drawn and the Civil War was fought. Lastly, the descendants campaigned for their rights in the political world to receive their liberty and equality.
[3] Resilient and resourceful, the slaves of Monticello resisted their forced servitude. "We came to fight for liberty, justice, & equality. These are gifts we prize more highly than gold," according to John Freeman Shorter, a descendant of Elizabeth Hemings. Only a few young unmarried men sought freedom by running away and were rarely successful. Most of Monticello's African American residents maintained "day-to-day resistance, marked by ingenuity and cooperation" to help "moderate harsh working conditions and preserve customary rights." Even families who received their freedom before 1865 continued to fight persistently for the abolition of slavery. This assistance took the form of aiding fugitive slaves and forging free papers by the Fossett family and participating in the Underground Railroad by the Thomas and Jemima Woodson family. Jesse Fossett of the Elizabeth Hemings line founded a new Cincinnati church because of the previous one's close association with slaveholders. Abolitionists in Washington, DC, including the free grandchildren of Betty Brown, made events and speeches to advocate slave freedom.
[4] The Civil war was a fight for racial equality both on and off the battlefield. African Americans faced much racial prejudice even in the Union Army. The Monticello descendants split along the color line of regiments for the Union Army as four fought in white regiments and six in the "colored." John Wayles Jefferson and Beverly Jefferson, sons of Eston Hemings, as well as William Beverly Hemings and Thomas Eston Hemings, sons of Madison Hemings, served as white, leaving behind their African American heritage. In the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, James Monroe Trotter, William H. Dupree, and John Freeman Shorter all were black officers who were fully commissioned and were related to the descendants of Monticello. These soldiers were considered "three as worthy men as ever carried a gun" by the regiment's chaplain. They faced prejudice when a few other white officers threatened to resign if they were promoted to lieutenants and were only officially commissioned after the fighting was over. Black soldiers also had to fight for equal rights against the government. Although the soldiers of the Massachusetts 54th and 55th "colored" regiments joined expecting equal payment and treatment as the white soldiers, the War Department then established their pay at half of the white soldiers' salary. The regiments featuring Shorter and Trotter protested through speeches and letters, and, until their conditions were accepted, the regiments declined any payment. In October of 1864, the government relented and allowed full pay to the "colored" regiments. Additionally, slaves who received wartime emancipation faced obstacles as well. Monticello's gardener Wormley Hughes's descendant Fountain Hughes remembers that "We [the freed] had no home, you know . . . . Well after freedom, you know, colored people didn't have nothing."
[5] The descendants of the African American families of Monticello were found in the headlines as they strove valiantly to gain equal rights. Three particular descendants were featured in 1915 in their campaigns for equality. Frederick M. Roberts of the Madison Hemings line was a Los Angeles newspaper owner and editor as well as a state legislator. He championed equality and opportunity and fiercely protested discrimination of any kind. As the first African American to be elected to the California state legislature, Roberts worked for public welfare and civil rights issues through numerous initiatives. Patricia Roberts, daughter of Frederick, recalls that "We were always brought up to be proud of our heritage." After attending Harvard University, William Monroe Trotter, an Elizabeth Hemings descendant, founded a newspaper in Boston for civil rights and equality. He then helped to establish the Niagara Movement along with W.E.B. DuBois, and both wrote its Declaration of Principles. The Niagara Movement set the stage for the NAACP. Founder of the National Association of Colored Women, Coralie Franklin Cook championed female empowerment and civil rights for blacks. Descendants also participated in the Civil Rights Movement by promoting desegregation of schools, sacrificing for education, and voting, despite hostile environments in many towns in the South. "Make a difference" was the mantra of Peggy Preacely as the Civil Rights Movement became a priority in her life through protests and arrests.
[6] Second, the African American families of Monticello endured so that they may fulfill their dreams of teaching each generation the value of powerful family bonds and spiritual faith. The families believed in the importance of passing down principles, skills, tradition, and strong family pride. Slavery as an institution split up families carelessly. In the years following Jefferson's death, many slaves were sold to pay off his high debts. As a result, many slaves endeavored to find lost family members. When Edna Jacques thinks of her elders, she commented that "they kept their families together, this is key, they survived slavery . . . . So we're very proud of them." The slaves of Monticello viewed religion with importance, and many former slaves created churches upon their release. The religious variety at Monticello can be represented by three churches from Virginia and Ohio. The Eden Baptist Church featured members of both the Hemings and Gillette family and participated in the Underground Railroad among other abolitionist actions. The Union Run Baptist Church was established on land from a grandson of Thomas Jefferson, and the first minister was a descendant of Elizabeth Hemings. Finally, the popular Hemings descendant Peter Fossett established the First Baptist Church. Martha Fletcher recalls how "they [the congregation] respected his [Fossett's] authority," which is an admirable accomplishment for someone coming from his background.
[7] The descendants of the enslaved residents took great pride in their education and achievements. They prized their literacy and were determined to take any opportunities to earn an education. As Israel Gillette Jefferson disclosed, "I consider what education I have as a legitimate fruit of freedom." When a grandson of Jefferson taught Peter Fossett to read, the slave passed on the knowledge to other slaves despite the risk of harsh punishment. Numerous descendants of the Hern, Hemings, and Woodson families became teachers or professors. "It was impressed upon me through my uncles and my grandfather, my parents, that . . . education is no question. You will be educated," commented Robert H. Cooley III. Descendants accomplished many landmark achievements in work, military, and politics. Members of the Woodson and Hemings family struggled against racial prejudice but were determined regardless. As Hemings descendant Edna Jacques commented, "You were expected to achieve." Originating from Washington, DC, she advanced far in corporate America and became the first woman on IBM's corporate marketing board. Woodson descendants Gen. John Q. T. King, who lived by the principle "Develop yourself to the fullest," and James T. Wiley among others fought in World War II, advanced up ranks, and earned competitive medals. The descendants that crossed the color line found more opportunities, but they had to cut relations with their families and ancestral history. Beverly and John Wayles Jefferson held positions of wealth as owners of hotels and then advanced up the ranks to colonel in the army.
[8] Third, the importance of racial identity increased as descendants navigate the color line. While some descendants fight to reduce the division, others choose to pass over into a white identity. The controversy became complicated as many descendants' "appearance was racially ambiguous." For example, the Eston Hemings family line associates as white, while the Madison Hemings family line identifies as black, in honor of their African American heritage. When joining the Navy in War World II, George Pettiford of the Madison Hemings line insisted on serving with the black unit despite pressure to go to the white side. He knew that "This is my line. I want to be what I am." His daughter Patricia Roberts also identified as black and is often questioned about her decision to be so. As an individual, Roberts knows that "You don't have to be black, you could be whatever you want." She furthermore believes "That was the way we were brought up, to take pride in who we were." Crossing the color line produced a mix of advantages and disadvantages as one was given more opportunities at the cost of familial support and connection. Three of Sally Hemings's children passed permanently into the white world. Her sons Beverly and Eston and her daughter Harriet left the family and cut the connection. Racial prejudice was experienced by descendants in a variety of ways. The Jim Crow physically separated friends, while such racial groups as the Ku Klux Klan committed overt and violent acts. Racial prejudice is particularly difficult for those who appear white but identify as black in honor of their heritage. Patti Jo Harding remembers that "The blacks don't like it because you're light skinned and the whites know you're black so you're just like stuck there."
[9] Overall, the Getting Word website is a collection of stories that delineate the stories of the descendants of the slaves of Monticello as they struggle for freedom and equal rights, fulfill their dreams, and consider the color line. The African American families were determined to have equal rights for themselves and their families. The descendants of slaves have come far in achievements and their family values. Racial identity becomes complicated as one's history is considered as well as appearance. The oral history tradition preserved many personal stories of history. As one Monticello descendant declared, "This is how word is passed down."
