'Jefferson's Daughters' tells the story of three of Thomas Jefferson's daughters – white and black
When Thomas Jefferson, recently widowed, was appointed minister to France in 1784, he brought his eldest daughter, 11-year-old Martha, with him. Martha thrived in Paris, where, to her father’s distaste, aristocratic women were well educated and vocal about their political opinions. Several years later he sent for Martha’s sister Maria, directing his 14-year-old slave Sally Hemings to accompany the younger girl, as her maid, on the long journey across the ocean. Paris would have been revelatory
