Biographies of 3 Poplar Forest Slaves-- James, Hannah, & Billy

Documents and archaeological findings reveal most of what is known about Poplar Forest slaves, who left few written records of their own.  Although Jefferson and his overseers wrote mainly about work schedules, births, deaths, and the economics of running a large plantation, these accounts contain a few glimpses into the slaves' private world.

Archaeological research has revealed the size, materials and layout of slave cabins and yards, the types of belongings people owned, the foods they ate, and what they did at home.  Excavations hint at their participation in the local economy, their creation of privacy, and their view of the world around them. 

The following biographies trace the lives of members of the Hubbard family.

James Hubbard was born in 1743.  At age 30, he became Thomas Jefferson's property and moved to Monticello.  Hubbard worked as a waterman, carrying goods to market and returning with plantation supplies.  His work subjected him to only loose supervision, and enabled him to visit family and friends as he navigated the rivers between Charlottesville and Richmond.

Hubbard became foster father to three young children upon their parents' deaths.  He also married Cate, the mother of two young daughters, Hannah and Rachael.  Together, they had six more children.

By the mid-1780s, Jefferson moved the family to Poplar Forest.  There, James Hubbard became headman, overseeing field laborers.  This position allowed Hubbard more autonomy and better living conditions than other slaves, and demanded that he enforce rules and discipline within his community.  In his later years, Hubbard became the hogkeeper.

James Hubbard lived to be a great grandfather.  His children's lives reflect the range of experiences common among slaves.  Nace and Hannah became headman and housekeeper.  Nancy died as a teenager, and Joan was given away as part of Martha Jefferson's dowry.  James, who shared his father's name, became a habitual runaway and Jefferson sold him.  The elder James Hubbard remained at Poplar Forest with his wife until his death, sometime between 1820 and 1826.

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Born in 1770 at Monticello, Hannah moved with her family to Poplar Forest as a teenager.  There she met and married Solomon.  Like others who married within the plantation community, Hannah established a new household with her husband.  Jefferson likely rewarded the couple with a pot and a bed.

The fate of Solomon is unclear, but he was no longer living at Poplar Forest by the mid-1790's.  He left behind his wife and three young children.

By 1810, Hannah married Hall, a plantation blacksmith and hogkeeper.  The couple lived together with her five younger children.  Hannah's last child was born in 1812.

Hannah worked in the fields and probably spent some of her time spinning flax and wool into yarn.  Her mother, Cate, trained girls to spin, and Hannah might have learned that skill at an early age.  By 1811, she served as Jefferson's housekeeper, preparing the house for his visits, cooking and washing for him, and greeting visitors in his absence.  She may have lived in the dependency wing while Jefferson and his family visited.

Hannah could read and write, skills that she probably shared with other slaves.  Archaeologists discovered pieces of a writing slate at a slave quarter, suggesting that at least one resident was literate.  A single surviving letter written in 1818 from Hannah to Jefferson describes the state of the house and sends wishes for his health.

Hannah also expressed her Christian faith in the letter, one of the few hints that survive of the spiritual beliefs of people living at Poplar Forest.  An African Meeting House stood nearby, and Poplar Forest residents might have attended services there on Sunday.

While Hannah's letter points to the importance of Christianity in her life, other Poplar Forest slaves maintained spiritual and healing practices derived from Africa.  When Hall became ill in 1819, he believed that only a conjurer could cure him.  Hannah's brother Phil used medicine from a "negroe doctor" provided by a fellow slave.  Both men probably died that year.

Hannah's life is last recorded in an 1821 provision list.  Whether she lived beyond the sale of her son William and the breakup of the community following Jefferson's death is 1826 is unclear.

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William was born at Poplar Forest in 1799.  Unlike his grandfather and mother, he rebelled violently against slavery.  In 1812, Jefferson sent him to Monticello to learn a trade.  His sister Sally and cousin Maria journeyed with him to work in the textile shop.  Two of his uncles, and other slaves from Poplar Forest, lived at Monticello too.

William showed promise as a craftsman.  Yet by age 18, he had a bad reputation.  In late 1817 Jefferson removed him from the supervision of enslaved master carpenter John Hemmings, assigning him to make barrels.  Within two months, having proved to "be so ungovernable and idle" that he could no longer remain in the cooper's shop, William was sent back to Poplar Forest to work in the fields.

In the fall of 1819, he attacked a Poplar Forest overseer.  The man was not seriously hurt.  Following the attack, William ran away to Monticello to argue his case.  Jefferson's farm manager urged him to dispose of the young man.  How or if Jefferson punished William is not known, but he sent him back to Poplar Forest.

Three years later, William and two others were arrested and tried for attacking another Poplar Forest overseer and for conspiracy to rebel.  William was convicted of the first charge and sentenced to be burned on the hand and publicly whipped.  The others were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.  Following the trial, Jefferson sent the three men, along with a fourth slave believed to have taken part in the attack, to Louisiana.  He hoped this would deter other slaves from rebellious behavior.  By early 1824, all had died except William.  He tried again to run away, and was caught in New Orleans and sold.