Martha Jefferson | |
---|---|
![]() | |
First Lady of Virginia | |
In office June 1, 1779 – June 3, 1781 | |
Preceded by | Dorothea Henry |
Succeeded by | Anne Fleming |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles City, Colony of Virginia, British America | October 30, 1748
Died | September 6, 1782 Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America | (aged 33)
Spouse(s) | Bathurst Skelton (1766–1768) Thomas Jefferson (1772–1782; her death) |
Children | John (1767–1771) Martha (1772–1836) Jane (1774–1775) Peter (1777) Polly (1778–1804) Lucy Elizabeth (1780–1781) Lucy Elizabeth (1782–1784) |
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, born Martha Wayles (October 30, 1748 – September 6, 1782) was the only wife of her second husband, Thomas Jefferson.
She was a widow at her second wedding, as her first husband had died young. When her second husband, Jefferson, was Governor of Virginia, she served as First Lady of Virginia from 1779 to 1781.
The Jeffersons had six children together. Only two daughters survived to adulthood, and only one past the age of 25. Weakened by childbirth, Martha Jefferson died several months after the birth of her last child, twenty years before her husband became the third President of the United States. At her wishes, he never married again.