Slave Memoirs & Oral Histories

Hemings, whose recollections were recorded in 1873, gave his history in a matter-of-fact manner, referring to Jefferson as his father a number of times.

Dictated to the Reverend Charles Campbell in 1847, Issac Jefferson's recollections provide a vivid account of the life of young enslaved boy at Monticello. (Links to the Encyclopedia Virginia.)

Israel Jefferson’s 1873 recollections of his life include an account of a visit by Marquis de Lafayette to Monticello in 1824.

Peter Fossett, who was sold away from his family after Jefferson's death, remembers Monticello and tells his life story in 1898.

A 1949 interview with Fountain Hughes, whose grandfather was owned by Jefferson, is among the few surviving sound recordings of former slaves.