Ursula Granger Hughes

Ursula Granger Hughes was born enslaved in 1787, on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello plantation. She grew up at Monticello and married Wormley Hughes, an enslaved man who went on to become Jefferson’s head gardener.¹ 

In November 1801, at fourteen years old, Ursula went to work at the White House, training with Jefferson’s French chef, Honoré Julien. She was likely selected for this role because of her age, gender, and strong family ties to Monticello. Ursula was pregnant when she arrived, although Jefferson probably did not know this information. As an enslaved person, she was not paid wages. However, Jefferson did pay her a $2.00 gratuity each month.² In March 1802, Ursula gave birth to the first baby born at the White House.³ Throughout the summer of 1802, Jefferson debated sending Ursula and her baby home to Monticello.⁴ It is possible she traveled back to Monticello at this time as Ursula is no longer recorded in Jefferson’s memorandum book after July 1802. It remains unclear whether her child would have been healthy enough to make the journey. However, a letter written to Jefferson from steward Étienne Lemaire, indicates what may have happened to the baby, possibly named Asnet: “Sir, the poor little child Asnet died on the 14th of this month, but I assure you that the good Lord rendered a great service to him and to his mother, since he would have been infirm all his life.” ⁵ Lemaire wrote this letter from the White House to Jefferson at Monticello. Although the child he references in this letter ultimately remains unknown, the baby, Asnet, may have been Ursula’s child.⁶ 

Ultimately, Ursula did return to Monticello at some point that summer and her child did not live to adulthood. Upon her return, she worked in the fields and went on to have eleven more children with her husband Wormley.⁷ From 1804-1809, Jefferson hired Ursula out to John H. Craven at Jefferson’s nearby property, Tufton Farm.⁸ 

When Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, there was an enormous debt to settle. As a result, on January 1, 1827, over a hundred enslaved people were sold as part of his estate sale. Ursula and her four youngest children were sold to George Blaetterman, a University of Virginia Professor.⁹ There is no information about her later years or death.