John Wayles Jefferson

Biography

John Wayles Jefferson, born 1835, inherited a complex heritage and chose to serve the Union when the nation was torn apart, working alongside soldiers as an officer's attendant and later as a respected member of his community. He dedicated himself to honest labor and to maintaining the quiet dignity that marked his family name.

He spent his later years near Madison and, upon his death in 1892, was laid to rest at Forest Hill Cemetery, where visitors can reflect on the bridges he built between past and present.