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Jefferson's Daughters
Jefferson's Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America | Catherine Kerrison
13 posts | 7 read | 1 reading | 30 to read
The remarkable untold story of Thomas Jeffersons three daughterstwo white and free, one black and enslavedand the divergent paths they forged in a newly independent America Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. In Jeffersons Daughters, Catherine Kerrison, a scholar of early American and womens history, recounts the remarkable journey of these three womenand how their struggle to define themselves reflects both the possibilities and the limitations that resulted from the American Revolution. Although the three women shared a father, the similarities end there. Martha and Maria received a fine convent school education while they lived with their father during his diplomatic posting in Parisa hothouse of intellectual ferment whose celebrated salonnires are vividly brought to life in Kerrisons narrative. Once they returned home, however, the sisters found their options limited by the laws and customs of early America. Harriet Hemings followed a different path. She escaped slaveryapparently with the assistance of Jefferson himself. Leaving Monticello behind, she boarded a coach and set off for a decidedly uncertain future. For this groundbreaking triple biography, Kerrison has uncovered never-before-published documents written by the Jefferson sisters when they were in their teens, as well as letters written by members of the Jefferson and Hemings families. She has interviewed Hemings family descendants (and, with their cooperation, initiated DNA testing) and searched for descendants of Harriet Hemings. The eventful lives of Thomas Jeffersons daughters provide a unique vantage point from which to examine the complicated patrimony of the American Revolution itself. The richly interwoven story of these three strong women and their fight to shape their own destinies sheds new light on the ongoing movement toward human rights in Americaand on the personal and political legacy of one of our most controversial Founding Fathers.
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review
SW-T
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Mehso-so

This one wasn‘t for me. Could tell it was well researched. Some authors can put together a good narrative with relatively little information. Others have to insert “it‘s believed” or “experts think” or “it‘s unknown” into the mix. That, for me, halts the narrative too much so it‘s start-stop-start-stop and there was enough of that here to be distracting. Appreciate the effort to tell the story, but the method didn‘t work well for me.

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Lauren_reading
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Pickpick

This book had really good parts and parts that I was bothered by.

The parts I really enjoyed was learning about Jefferson‘s three daughters lives. His two surviving daughters with his wife and then his daughter with Sally Hemings all led such different lives and the author did great research on all three. There is just more limited information about Harriet Hemings, especially after she left Monticello.

Lauren_reading The parts that bothered me included the author not really denouncing Jefferson until later in the book. Some of the phrasing and terms could have been done better as well.

Overall it was interesting and you continue to learn how racist and misogynistic Jefferson was.
3y
43 likes1 comment
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cdreincarnate
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Pickpick

Such a great book about Jefferson‘s three daughters of two races who survived to adulthood. I wish we knew more about what happened to Sally‘s daughter, but apparently she did a really good job of covering her tracks after she “escaped” from slavery. Also loved the take on Sally Hemmings who likely used her relationship with Jefferson to negotiate a better situation for herself and her children.

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mrsmarch
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#pandemicbirthday #litsylove My 6 year old couldn‘t wait for me to birthday, so we birthday now. Mostly homemade drawings and one book from my mom. And lots of LitsyLove letters!

Eggs Happy Birthday 🥳🎶🥳 4y
ValerieAndBooks I‘m so glad you have Jefferson‘s Daughters now. Look forward to what you think! 4y
MoonWitch94 Happy Birthday!!!!!!! 🎊🎁🎂🎉🎈 4y
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Simona Happy birthday❣️🥂🍾 4y
NeedsMoreBooks Happy birthday! 🎁🎂 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Happy Birthday 🎈🎂🎉🎁 4y
40 likes6 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
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Pickpick

The author does an excellent job of showing attitudes towards gender and race at the time Thomas Jefferson‘s daughters were living. His two white daughters received excellent educations for females at that time and were considered privileged. Another daughter Harriet (by his slave Sally Hemings) escaped VA and passed for white, probably in Washington DC, & we don‘t know her fate. All three daughters had such potential but was restricted by 👇

ValerieAndBooks attitudes towards race and gender, especially Harriet. Maybe her descendants will be revealed someday. I highly recommend this book. It‘s non-fiction (which I want) — I was initially fooled by the cover which makes it look like historic fiction. (edited) 4y
mrsmarch I was at BN yesterday and almost picked this up but I have so much to read!! Glad you tackled it! I too am put off by the cover — it is right in that “headless female seen from the back” trope and I wonder if that was a deliberate choice to snag atypical nonfiction readers in our post-Hamilton world. 4y
ValerieAndBooks @mrsmarch Oh I hope you‘re able to get to this soon! I think you‘d especially like the last part when the author attempts to track Harriet down by using DAR resources. Agree with you totally on the cover! 4y
mrsmarch @ValerieAndBooks My DAR state conference was cancelled as of yesterday. I‘m upset and telling myself I‘m being silly. Chapter mtg tomorrow is still on, it‘s a lunch with fewer than two dozen attendees. I have an application to sign and mail — but will there be anyone at National to process it?? 4y
67 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
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Look at what I just saw on Facebook! Details are still forthcoming on how the DAR Library will run this new book club (virtually? In-person? When? Etc) , but maybe it‘d be something you‘d like to do also @mrsmarch @umbrellagirl (and share thoughts here on Litsy) ?! I‘m definitely interested in reading both.

ValerieAndBooks @mrsmarch I have to admit that I‘ve seen it, but didn‘t pick it up for a closer look because the cover made it appear that it was historical fiction. But will now definitely plan on getting a copy soon! We visited Monticello last fall, and since then I‘ve certainly wanted to learn more about his family and Sally Hemings. 4y
umbrellagirl Looks good! 4y
53 likes3 comments
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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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I am not even sure I want to visit Monticello again. I left with Harriett.

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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Pickpick

I loved this book on so many different levels. Its the first hx book that I will deem a favorite. I loved the author‘s writing style, her perspective (neither romanticizing or demonizing the events), her putting bits of her own feelings into the story and on and on. This is not just a story about the Jeffersons and Hemings or about slavery vs. freedom. It causes us to take a deep, serious look at human nature, who we really are as people⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

27 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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It was Jefferson‘s intention, rather than oversight or error, to design his home in a way that imposed order on the mountain: women and children relegated to the invisible upper floors, slaves and their work hidden beneath the terraces.
(So interesting. My Photo: Monticello 2/16)

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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So delighted to find this book that offers all the best things that I love about reading. For sure, it has already inspired another trip to Monticello

Reviewsbylola This sounds like it could be super good. I haven‘t been to Monticello since I was a kid but I did recently buy a different book about Jefferson. 6y
DrSabrinaMoldenReads They now acknowledge his relationship with Sally Hemings in the tours. @Reviewsbylola (edited) 6y
Ericalambbrown You‘ll have to let us know how it is! SO glad they aren‘t ignoring that anymore 6y
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Mdargusch Sounds very interesting. Stacking! 6y
DrSabrinaMoldenReads It really is @Mdargusch It is well-explained and well-researched 6y
32 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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I found absolutely the best library books for my vacation. You already know though that I am taking more than two books. 🤓

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mandarchy
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Soaking up stories from the 18th century.

2 likes2 stack adds
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abbylibrarian
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Oh man, whoever checked out this book before me went to lunch at an Indian restaurant; yum! 😋 #librarylife

Lacythebookworm 😂 I love finding receipts and lists left behind in books! 6y
23 likes1 stack add1 comment