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
Granger was born around 1738. In January 1773, she 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] Granger 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 Granger and her family with him to Williamsburg and Richmond when he was elected governor.[2]
Death and descendants
Granger fell ill[16] in late 1799 and died in the spring of 1800, aged 61 or 62.[17][18] Granger, her husband, and her son George Granger Jr. all died within months of each other in 1799 and 1800.[7]
Granger'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] Her 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 Granger.[20][21]
Legacy
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]
