Jefferson, Isaac ( December 1775–1850), enslaved blacksmith, was born at “Monticello” in Virginia, the son of George, a foreman and overseer, and Ursula, a pastrycook and laundress. In 1773 Thomas Jefferson purchased Isaac’s parents from two different owners in Powhatan County. George rose from foreman of labor to become, in 1797, overseer of Monticello—the only slave to reach that position. Ursula, who had been a “favorite house woman” of ...
