Giving Thomas Jefferson the Business: The Jefferson-Hemings Hoax

A Different Drummer/Middle American News ^ | December, 2003 | Nicholas Stix

[centurion316]

My sympathies are with your family as you deal with both the reality of some connection and the calumny heaped upon your most distinguished family member.

Thanks. I welcome all my cousins, and accept that our famous relation must endure these sorts of attacks. I attempt in some feeble way to defend him where possible, as well as to recognize that one of my relations was up to no good, whether Thomas, Randolph or other of that ilk. The greater tragedy is that the Jefferson clan were inclined to pass on legacies that were larger in liabilities and debts than in tangible assets.

[petitfour]

According to the webpage I posted earlier (post 100, I think), there is no evidence that Woodson was Sally Hemmings child. That doesn't mean he wasn't. Here's another webpage link:

http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/appendixh.html

[LWalk18]

Let me begin by saying that I am not completely convinced that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings' children- I would say that I am 60/40 towards believing that he was. I responded to this thread because the author was, IMO, overly certain that he was not the father, and I tend to cringe when I see either 100% yes or no- we simply cannot be sure.

I am assuming that all of Sally's children had the same father, true (I will get to Woodson in a moment), simply because almost all accounts assume she did (or maybe two at most). Certainly, those who sought to clear Jefferson would have pointed out that she slept around if she did- she was a black woman and a slave, and if it were true it would been in their favor to do so. Also, it seems to me that she would have had more children if she was with lots of men- she had, if I recall, six in a period of eighteen years. And again, she only got pregnant when Jefferson was around, despite the fact that during this time he was hardly at Monticello as Sec of State, VP, and President. Now it is possible that she was pregnant more times and suffered miscarriages- but it seems funny to me that babies who made to birth were all conceived while Jefferson was around. In my opinion, Jefferson (Thomas or Randolph or someone else) who she was with was probably the only man that fathered the children, but there is no definite proof. As for Woodson, when I did research on this topic for a school paper sometimes before the DNA results, I read about Woodson. We know that Jefferson fathered Woodson but we assume that Sally mothered Woodson. In fact, there is no evidence of a slave in Thomas Woodson (or Hemings) at Monticello born in 1790. Jefferson kept excellent records on his slaves (which how we know when the other Hemings were born) in his Farm Book, yet he is not in the book. In addition, Madison Heming's account indicates that the baby Sally was carrying upon her arrival in Virginia from France died at birth or soon after. So there is a serious question, IMO whether Woodson is Sally's son.

Unfortunately, we cannot test the other children, since the test requires a unbroken line of Y-chromosomes. Of the five children commonly discussed, Woodson, I already talked about, Beverly and Harriet (as a daughter, naturally there is no Y-chromosome to test) passed for white as adult so their descendent believe themselves to be white and probably have no clue about being a decendent of a black slave. Madison lived as a black person, but his Y-chromosome line was extinguished generations ago. (Although, as the article points out, they still could test the body of his son). Eston also passed for white, but the Jefferson/Hemings story remained in their family so they were easy to find.

Sorry for the long post, I just love history and I am only my vacation from law school, so forgive me. The whole topics is interesting to us, because it is an historical mystery and because to 21th century society, it contains two of the major obsessions of our time- race and sex. But certainly true or untrue it could never diminish the accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson- those are far too important and stand the test of time, long after people stop caring about who he slept with.

[monkey]

miscegenation

[CatoRenasci]

We know that Jefferson fathered Woodson

Not true. DNA testing showed Woodson was conclusively NOT fathered by any Jefferson male.

There is a William B Hemings, who died in 1910, who could be exhumed and DNA probably obtained (the Jefferson family asked it be done), but the Hemings descendents have said "no."

There is no more reason to believe Sally Hemings had children by one man only than there is to believe she had children by many men. The Carrs confessed to fathering some of the children, and there is contemporary evidence (a former slave's memoir) that Randolph was busy cavorting with the slaves. He was something of a ne'er-do-well in any event. What is more natural and plausable after an evening dancing and fiddling in the cabins than to bed a comely wench? Far more natural and plausable than sneaking down (or sneaker her up to the house) after a formal dinner family and distinguished visitors from abroad. You are correct that we cannot be completely certain, but it seems to me Randolph, who was probably present when Sally conceived Eston, is a far more likely candidate than Thomas.

[LWalk18]

I'm sorry...I am a bad typist and I meant of course he DID NOT father Woodson. Is William Hemings's Madison's son? Yes, he would be helpful to test him as well. I just argue that she would have been with men closer to the plantation, especially if she was pretty- her mother Betty was also reputed to be beautiful, and she had fourteen children- literally one every other year with four different men.

Far more natural and plausable than sneaking down (or sneaker her up to the house) after a formal dinner family and distinguished visitors from abroad.

Wasn't Sally a house slave, if I recall? Most of the Hemings were house slaves.

[tcuoohjohn]

I am very supicious of your post. The primary reason is your use of the word misogny (Of or characterized by a hatred of women.) for miscegenation( The interbreeding of different races or of persons of different racial backgrounds.) Pardon my suspicion, but one intimately familiar with the issue as you say you are, would be unlikely to make that mistake.

You post while true in all respects fails to give due weight to the the probability that Jefferson is the father of Hemming's child. As you say conception can occur from when circumstance. It also true that the statistical likelyhood increases dramatically with multiple efforts.

If you compare the number of possible opportunites of other genetic candidates with those of Jefferson the statistical probabilities of Jefferson being the father of Hemmings child are dramatically larger. It isn't ultimately definitive But if you had to bet the deed to your home which is the strongest probability?..Jefferson..by far.

[mrustow]

Does it really matter?
I don't see this as particularly slanderous, nor did the acusations seem to have hurt him during his lifetime. I don't think the revelations that were acknowledged true today about Strom Thurmans 'love child' are going to damage his reputation.
Whether we are speaking of Thurman or Jefferson, it is a non-issue.
Thomas Jefferson was a radical in every sense of the word. It was not until the 20th Century that norms had changed enough that even the Democrat Party wanted to claim him as one of their own.

No one is gonna prove any of this either way.

It's some kind of weird control thing, as in controlling the writing of American history. Also, Jeffeson was opposed to race-mixing, and so, they want to paint him as a hypocrite. Last, and weirdest of all, they think they can somehow claim "community property" for the descendants of Jefferson's slaves for everything he accomplished.

[mrustow]

No one is gonna prove any of this either way.

Actually, the article would appear to disprove many of the claims made by the Hemings Party.

[mrustow]

There's a dispute as to whether Jefferson's wife and Sally Hemings were half-sisters, but I'm not competent to do it justice. As for why people should have a problem with all of this, I can't rationally answer that question, but I took a stab at the irrational part, in #128.

[mrustow]

The DNA testing that was performed proved that "A" Jefferson was the father.Not necessarily Thomas Jefferson. That confirmation is lost to history.

Bingo!

[cyborg]

I agree with you. I don't know what people serve to gain by proving Thomas Jefferson's paternity. Exactly how is this supposed to change people's lives? I think the motivation behind the Thurmond story is the same here. It's all about making these men hypocrites. They are to me, but my chief aim for living isn't overturning America and her beloved foundations.

Does this now mean anything and everything the descendants of Jefferson did are going to be included in black history month? Is Jefferson?

[cajungirl]

The John Adams bio was wonderful and did talk about Hemmings. Abigail apparently read the Calander accusations and said she thought all the slave owning southerners took liberties with slave women. After reading the Adams bio, I got a dislike of Jefferson. Adams seemed like a better man.

[Trickyguy]

a very educated, mulatto nanny

Those who knew her said she was about 12 years old mentally and emotionally.

[centurion316]

I plead guilty to the misuse of words, as others have already pointed out. Laziness, ignorance, public school education, and the deliterious effects of Jack Daniels are my only excuses. I may be considered unlikely to make that mistake, but make it I did and did so my falling victim to the MS Word Spellchecker trap. Oh, what will my English teachers say?

Thomas Jefferson is no doubt among those who comprise the set of individuals were genetically capable of fathering Eston Hemings. The evidence is clear in that regard. But, that is not the contention of the media and much of the academic community. They have declared that Jefferson was, without doubt, the father, case closed. This is not science, nor is it history. Of course, there's no story, and no agenda if it turns out to be Randolph or another lesser known Jefferson. That's my point, and I'm sticking to it, my limited proficiency with the English language notwithstanding.

[cyborg]

Not from accounts that I read. Depends on who is doing the talking.

[Toskrin]

Abigail apparently read the Calander accusations and said she thought all the slave owning southerners took liberties with slave women.

Not much is spoken in our history books on the significance of miscegeny in maintaining slavery. Wherever men and women mix, sex often becomes an unspoken, undocumented, but overriding factor. Was there any doubt what the purpose of a light-skinned, young female slave would be on any plantation?

No one ever speaks of it, but I think sex is also a large part of what attracts men to radical Islam. Women have no rights. Men can marry four women at a time. A man can escape a rape charge simply by saying the sex was consensual.

[cyborg]

A young mulatto female slave fetched among the highest prices at auctions and between plantations. Not only for being in the house, but I suppose better to be sexing someone that was closer to onself and easy on the eyes.

About the appeal of islam, yes absolutely. I agree with you. People are attracted to religions that give them license for their vice.

[wideminded]

...liberal historians Joseph Ellis and Eric Lander, sought to exploit the hoax, to rescue the authors’ sexually compromised hero, Bill Clinton.

Eric Lander is not a "liberal historian". He is a research scientist who is head of the Whitehead Institute at MIT, which does cutting-edge research on DNA. Eric Lander is not trying to "rescue" Bill Clinton.

More importantly, this article claims that there are up to 25 persons from the Jefferson family who could have fathered Sally Hemming's children. Jefferson only had one brother who lived and no sons. So any other man with the same Y chromosome would have to come from a more distant branch of the family. But how would such a person have contact with Sally Hemmings over a period of many years? No one has given a plausible explanation of this. Thus there is actually only one other person other than Jefferson who could have fathered the children, his brother Randolph. But is has been shown that the dates when all these children were conceived coincides with dates when Thomas Jefferson had access to Sally Hemmings.

Given the DNA evidence, which should not be taken too far, but is nevertheless irrefutable, a lot of the arguments in this article are irrelevant.

[tcuoohjohn]

Now I am even more suspicious. As any descendant of Thomas Jefferson and a Virginian would know, there are no deleterious effects of Jack Daniels save mixing imbibing God's libation and the operation of a motorcar. In fact, I have found that several healthy drams of Jack Daniels tends to improve ones spelling, provides a singular grace to one's prose, and I suspect, improves one singing skills.

Be that as it may however, time to grip the old toro by the horns here. Do you agree that, on balance, that Thomas Jefferson is most likely to be the father of one or more of Sally Hemmings children?... though it is a diffcult task could you apply some subjective percentage likelyhood that Thomas Jefferson was the father of one of Hemming's children?...I'll be bold here....I would say it is 80-90% likely that Jefferson was the father of at least one of Hemming's children.