Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The Eye of God at Newchurch in Pendle
St. Govor’s Well.
St. Govor’s Well
Shivsrushti
Pierced domes of Hammam Seffarine.
Hammam Seffarine
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Grasshopper Chapel and grounds.
How the Rocky Mountain Locust Plague Spawned Federal Disaster Relief
3 days ago
The Guy Bradley Visitor Center at Flamingo in Everglades National Park.
America’s First Game Warden Died Fighting for the Birds
3 days ago
Echo Park Time Travel Mart.
Atlas Obscura Presents: Traveling Back in Time for Coconut Cake With The Sporkful
4 days ago
One of the PATH’s many entrances.
A Supposedly Boring Mall I Might Actually Visit Again
5 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Wisconsin Madison Eston Hemings's Grave

Eston Hemings's Grave

The final resting place of one of Thomas Jefferson's formerly enslaved sons.

Madison, Wisconsin

Added By
Oakland Steingass
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Eston Hemings’s grave.   orstonestreet / Atlas Obscura User
Eston Hemings’s grave.   orstonestreet / Atlas Obscura User
What appears to be the family plot   rhays40 / Atlas Obscura User
  MadisonIthaca / CC BY-SA 3.0
The gravestone is no longer laying flat, but has been reset and is now vertical   nogrodsmithy / Atlas Obscura User
  nogrodsmithy / Atlas Obscura User
  nogrodsmithy / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Eston Hemings was born an enslaved person on May 21, 1808. His mother was Sally Hemings, and his father is believed to have been, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.

Hemmings spent his early life in Monticello, Jefferson’s primary plantation just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Eston’s mother was a mixed-race enslaved person, and he along with his siblings were all 7/8 white, “legally” white in Virginia at the time. Hemmings was a trained carpenter, and because Jefferson was so fond of the violin, he and all his siblings were taught it from a very young age. When Jefferson died in 1826, his will freed Hemmings and his siblings.

Now a free man, Hemmings married a formerly enslaved person, Julia Ann Isaacs, and they had three children. In 1837 he moved his family to Ohio. He became a professional musician there and had his children educated in integrated schools.

The family left in 1852 due to the Fugitive Slave Act, which put pressure on ex-slave communities in free states bordering slave states. Hemings moved his family to Madison, Wisconsin, and changed their surname to Jefferson. He died in 1856, a well respected and loved man. 

Related Tags

Presidents Gravestones Burial Places Cemeteries Graveyards Black History Graves

Know Before You Go

The grave is located in plot 3, near the road and right across from plot 2.

Community Contributors

Added By

orstonestreet

Edited By

nogrodsmithy, rhays40, Michelle Cassidy

  • nogrodsmithy
  • rhays40
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

August 19, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Eston Hemings's Grave
1 Speedway Rd
Madison, Wisconsin, 53705
United States
43.064492, -89.431609
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Forest Products Laboratory

Madison, Wisconsin

miles away

Annie Stewart Memorial Fountain

Madison, Wisconsin

miles away

L.R. Ingersoll Physics Museum

Madison, Wisconsin

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madison

Madison

Wisconsin

Places 18
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Forest Products Laboratory

Madison, Wisconsin

miles away

Annie Stewart Memorial Fountain

Madison, Wisconsin

miles away

L.R. Ingersoll Physics Museum

Madison, Wisconsin

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madison

Madison

Wisconsin

Places 18
Stories 1

Related Places

  • Three concrete slabs with small, destroyed remains of headstones sit behind a V-shaped tree opening.

    Taos, New Mexico

    The Three Brujas

    Three witches are said to be buried beneath these unmarked concrete graves.

  • Mittie Manning’s Tomb

    Holly Springs, Mississippi

    Mittie Manning's Tomb

    This tomb was fashioned with a sliding window for a grieving mother who struggled with her daughter's death.

  • The gravestone.

    Edinburgh, Scotland

    Grave of 'The Great Lafayette'

    A magician and his beloved, pampered canine were buried together, within days of each other, due to a tragic twist of fate.

  • Tombs.

    Tlacotalpan, Mexico

    Municipal Cemetery of Tlacotalpan

    The graveyard displays the colonial Mexican and Caribbean architectural fusion that defines this city.

  • The backside of the grave, which features the fudge recipe.

    Logan, Utah

    'Kay's Fudge' Gravestone

    Kay Andrews's recipe was so good, her family immortalized it in stone.

  • Gore Hill Cemetery.

    St Leonards, Australia

    Gore Hill Cemetery

    One of Sydney's oldest graveyards hides in plain sight behind a hospital.

  • Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

    Grave of Caroline Walter

    Flowers have mysteriously appeared on her effigy every day for the last 150 years.

  • Two foam-green crypts with planters.

    Oaxaca, Mexico

    Panteón General (General Cemetery)

    This graveyard boasts a medley of diverse and imaginative funeral architecture.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.