Ursula Granger
Ursula Granger (b. 1738 – 1800) was a woman enslaved by president of the United States Thomas Jefferson for over 27 years, who described her as a person who "unites trust & skill."[1] She worked as a cook, dairymaid, laundress, and wet nurse, and has been referred to as the "Queen of Monticello"[2][3] and as a pioneer of Black cidermaking in America.[4]
Ursula Granger | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1738 |
| Died | 1800 (aged 61–62) |
| Known for | Enslaved cook and household staff of Thomas Jefferson |
| Spouse | George Granger Sr. |
| Children | George Granger Jr. Bagwell Granger Archy Granger Isaac Granger |
Life edit
Ursula was born around 1738. In January 1773, Granger was purchased in a bidding war and enslaved by Thomas Jefferson,[5] and she became a highly trusted domestic servant within Jefferson's household.[6] Martha Jefferson had specifically written that she was "very desirious to get a favorite house woman of the name Ursula."[7] Granger was purchased along with her sons and, later, her husband, George Granger Sr.[8] Her husband became referred to as "Great George," and was a farm foreman and Monticello's only African American overseer.[9]
Granger is frequently mentioned in the papers of Thomas Jefferson.[10][11][12] She served as a pastry cook (later head cook for a period)[2] and laundress, with duties including meat processing and preservation[13] and supervising the bottling of cider at Monticello.[14] Ursula was also the wet nurse for Jefferson's eldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, who later served as the Acting First Lady of the United States.[15] After Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779, he took Ursula and her family with him to Williamsburg and Richmond when he was elected governor.[2]
Death and descendants edit
Ursula fell ill[16] in late 1799 and died in the spring of 1800, aged 61 or 62.[17][18] Ursula, her husband, and her son George Granger Jr. all died within months of each other in 1799 and 1800.[7]
Ursula's youngest son, Isaac, using the surname Jefferson, survived into the 1840s as a free man in Petersburg, Virginia, and his recollections of life at Monticello were recorded.[19] Ursula's granddaughter, Ursula Granger Hughes, was named after her and briefly served as an enslaved White House chef when Jefferson became president.[3] The last surviving recorded interview of a person enslaved by Thomas Jefferson was in 1949 with Fountain Hughes, a descendant of Ursula.[20][21]
Legacy edit
The excavated and restored first kitchen of Monticello, referred to as the "Granger/Hemings Kitchen," is exhibited with details about the life of Ursula Granger, Sally Hemings, and "other enslaved cooks and chefs who helped create early American cuisine."[22]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "From Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, 4 February 1800," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-31-02-0304 . [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 31, 1 February 1799 – 31 May 1800, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 359–361.]
- ^ a b c Gordon-Reed, Annette (August 25, 2009). The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 569. ISBN 978-0-393-33776-1.
- ^ a b "Slavery and French Cuisine in Jefferson's Working White House". WHHA (en-US). Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Hayes, Darlene (February 9, 2022). "George and Ursula Granger: The Erasure of Enslaved Black Cidermakers". Cider Culture. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Kidd, Thomas S. (2022). Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25006-0.
- ^ Stanton, Lucia C. (2012). "Those who Labor for My Happiness": Slavery at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-3223-1.
- ^ a b "Ursula Granger, an Enslaved Cook, Dairymaid, Laundress, and Nursemaid". Monticello. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Wiencek, Henry (October 16, 2012). Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves. Macmillan. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-374-29956-9.
- ^ Bushman, Richard L. (May 22, 2018). The American Farmer in the Eighteenth Century: A Social and Cultural History. Yale University Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-300-23520-3.
- ^ "Founders Online: From Thomas Jefferson to Nicholas Lewis, 11 July 1788". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Founders Online: From Thomas Jefferson to Nicholas Lewis, 16 December 1788". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Founders Online: Memorandum for Nicholas Lewis, [ca. 7 November 1790]". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Founders Online: Memorandum to Richard Richardson, [ca. 21 December 1799]". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ Schwartz, Marie Jenkins (April 6, 2017). Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves. University of Chicago Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-226-14755-0.
- ^ Sandy, Laura R. (April 3, 2020). The Overseers of Early American Slavery: Supervisors, Enslaved Labourers, and the Plantation Enterprise. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-04896-4.
- ^ "Founders Online: From Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, 31 March 1800". founders.archives.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "To Thomas Jefferson from Martha Jefferson Randolph, 30 January 1800," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-31-02-0294 . [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 31, 1 February 1799 – 31 May 1800, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 347–348.]
- ^ "To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Mann Randolph, [ca. 19 April 1800]," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-31-02-0437 . [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 31, 1 February 1799 – 31 May 1800, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 522–524.]
- ^ "The Granger Family". Monticello. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Hughes (Hemings)", Getting Word, Monticello Foundation, accessed 26 May 2013
- ^ "Interview with Fountain Hughes, Baltimore, Maryland, June 11, 1949", American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, World Digital Library, accessed 26 May 2013
- ^ "Granger/Hemings Kitchen at Monticello". Monticello. Retrieved December 19, 2022.