About the Project

Monticello is one of the most comprehensively documented plantations in America, with tens of thousands of preserved reports, letters, artifacts, and an active descendant community. Interwoven within these materials are the stories of families enslaved by the Jefferson family, shedding light on their lives through different lenses. DASFAM envisions a unique resource that accumulates every historical reference to the people enslaved at Monticello, building a more comprehensive story of genealogical history, travel, commerce, and social dynamics from the 18th century onwards. The digital archive will serve as a tool for researchers, descendants, and enthusiasts to follow people throughout their life from slavery to freedom.

Disclaimer

Please note that this project is currently under development, and the information shared here does not yet cover the depth of knowledge that the Thomas Jefferson Foundation has built over the past few decades. As the archive adds new materials, data will continue to be updated.

DASFAM is a research database based on historic documents, some of which use terms and phrases that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation. Such phrases are retained in their historical context to avoid censoring, erasing, or otherwise altering the historical record, but are quoted to clarify their historic origin.

	View All Documents Browse and filter source documents connected to enslaved persons, which currently include Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book and select documents from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson Retirement series.
	View All People Browse and filter records of enslaved persons. Person Records may contain biographical information, genealogy, relevant archival sources, descendant stories, and additional resources.
	About DASFAM Learn more about the project's structure and methodology.