Jupiter Evans

Portrait by Artist to Come

QUICK FACTS

BORN:

1743 at Shadwell Plantation, Albemarle County, Virginia

DIED:

1800 at Monticello, Albemarle County, Virginia

House slave on the Shadwell and Tuckahoe Plantations of Peter Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s father.

Jupiter and Thomas were both born in 1743 and they grew up together. He was Jefferson’s personal valet until Jefferson married Martha in 1772. Then, at the Monticello plantation, Jefferson chose his wife’s half-brother, Robert, as his valet.

Jupiter Evans was then in charge of the Monticello stables until his death in 1800.

CONNECTED TO:
| Jefferson, Thomas

Categories

Virginia

Slave

The failure of the Loyalists to flock to the royal standard cannot be understood without appreciating how effectively they had been locked down and neutralized by the patriots. Loyalists could not buy, sell, or bequeath property or other assets. They were barred from all legal recourse to recover debts or redress any other injury. They could not practice law or teach unless they had taken an oath of allegiance to the cause. They could not be executors of estates or be a guardian to a child. Any person who wrote, or spoke, or by any act libeled or defamed Congress ... should be brought to trial.

— Michael Stephenson

Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought (2007)