John Wayles (January 31, 1715 – May 28, 1773) was a colonial American planter, slave trader and lawyer in colonial Virginia. He is historically best known as the father-in-law of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Wayles married three times, with these marriages producing eleven children; only five of them lived to adulthood. Wayles' continual rapes of slave Betty Hemings resulted in six additional children, including Sally Hemings, who was the mother of six children by Thomas Jefferson and half-sister of Martha Jefferson. Early life and education Wayles was born in the city of Lancaster on January 31, 1715. The young Wayles likely became aware of the burgeoning transatlantic slave trade and "its ability to make merchants rich". Wayles emigrated as a young man to the Virginia Colony, likely during the 1730s. Career Wayles received his licence to practice law in Virginia in 1741, entering into the profession the very same year. He began his legal career by traveling on horseback to plantations in the Tidewater, where he obtained work creating legal documents. He was also a prosecuting attorney in Henrico County. In Virginia, Wayles became part of the planter elite. His plantation, called "The Forest", was located in Charles City County. Eventually becoming a slave trader, Wayles earned a fortune from the institution of slavery. He arranged for tobacco sales between planters in Virginia and buyers in Europe. In addition to these businesses, Wayles also worked as an agent for Farrell and Jones of Bristol, included performing debt collection. During the period leading up to the Revolutionary War, the tobacco economy was unstable and laws made the tobacco trade difficult for Wayles to conduct tobacco trade and collect debts. The economic and legal constraints led to the "bankruptcy of the Virginia plantation system". Jefferson began legal work for Wayles in 1768. Personal life Marriages and children On May 3, 1746, Wayles married Martha Eppes (born on April 10, 1721 at Bermuda Hundred), the daughter of Colonel Francis Epps. She was a young widow. Their children were: Twins, a girl and a boy, who died within hours of their birth on December 23, 1746. Martha, born on October 31, 1748, the couple's only child to survive to adulthood. The infant's 27 year-old mother died six days later on November 5, 1748. Secondly, Wayles married Tabitha Cocke, of Malvern Hill, also of the planter class. They had several