Mary Jefferson Eppes

Mary Jefferson Eppes (August 1, 1778 – April 17, 1804), known as Polly in childhood and Maria as an adult, was the younger of Thomas Jefferson's two daughters with his wife who survived beyond the age of 3. She married a first cousin, John Wayles Eppes, and had three children with him. Only their son Francis W. Eppes survived childhood. Maria died months after childbirth.

Early life and education Mary "Polly" Jefferson was born to Thomas Jefferson and Martha Jefferson (née Wayles) in 1778. Their first child, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson, was born in 1772. By the time Polly was born, Jane (1774–1775) and a son who lived for only a few weeks in 1777 were both dead.

Her father was elected the governor of Virginia on June 1, 1779, and the family first moved to Williamsburg. The government relocated to Richmond in 1780 and the family moved there. Martha had not seemed to recover during the four months following Lucy's birth and died on September 6, 1782. Lucy Elizabeth died of whooping cough on October 13, 1784

In the care of Sally Hemings, at age nine Polly sailed to Europe to join her father and older sister Patsy in Paris. They first landed in England, where Abigail Adams, wife of the U.S. Minister John Adams, looked after the girls before they joined her father in Paris: Abigail developed a deep and lasting affection for Polly. Jefferson received a letter from Adams that said that Polly was "the favorite of every creature in the House." Polly, who had a love of reading, was sufficiently schooled that she did well at the elite school. She spoke French "easily enough" according to her father and in addition to her French studies, she also learned Spanish, drawing, and how to play the harpsichord. Polly and Patsy became ill with typhus and were at their father's house from the winter of 1788 until the spring of 1789. The French Revolution broke out during their last few months in Paris.

In the fall of 1792, her father enrolled her in Valeria Fullerton's school in Philadelphia, where she made good friends and was able to visit her father on Sundays. He lived near the school in Philadelphia at that time. She boarded there until September 1793, and may have been removed due to a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia that ultimately killed 5,000 people.

Marriage and family

Maria, as she was now called, married her childhood friend and cousin John Wayles Eppes, the son of Francis and Elizabeth Epps, on October 13, 1797, at Monticello. The couple lived at his plantation, Mont Blanco, on the James River in Chesterfield and often visited his family's plantation, Eppington.

After several miscarriages, Maria and John had three children: an unnamed daughter (December 31, 1799 – January 1800) Maria had poor health as her mother did.

quote|text=My aunt, Mrs. Eppes, was singularly beautiful. She was high-principled, just, and generous. Her temper, naturally mild, became, I think, saddened by ill-health in the latter part of her life. In that respect she differed from my mother, whose disposition seemed to have the sunshine of heaven in it. ... [My mother] was intellectually somewhat superior to her sister, who was sensible of the difference, though she was of too noble a nature for her feelings ever to assume an ignoble character. There was between the sisters the strongest and warmest attachment, the most perfect confidence and affection.|author=Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge to Henry S. Randall, January 15, 1856