Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

New book disputes claim Jefferson fathered children of slave Hemings
The Washington Times ^ | Tuesday, August 30, 2011 | Stephen Dinan

Posted on 08/31/2011 9:24:49 AM PDT by tellw

In a book due out Thursday, eminent scholars say it's unlikely that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings' children, disputing a decade's worth of conventional wisdom that the author of the Declaration of Independence sired offspring with one of his slaves.

The debate has ensnared historians for years, and many thought the issue was settled when DNA testing in the late 1990s confirmed that a Jefferson male fathered Hemings' youngest son, Eston. But, with one lone dissenter, the panel of 13 scholars doubted the claim and said the evidence points instead to Jefferson's brother Randolph as the father.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: clinton; dna; hemings; jefferson
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-36 next last

1 posted on 08/31/2011 9:24:56 AM PDT by tellw
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: tellw
". . . the evidence points instead to Jefferson's brother Randolph as the father."


They didn't call him RANDY for nothing!

2 posted on 08/31/2011 9:29:55 AM PDT by haywoodwebb (The "Manchurian Candidate" Will Fall!! - - You Betcha!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

IMHO, Jefferson would have owned up to it...but he’d never rat out his bro.


3 posted on 08/31/2011 9:30:12 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw
Where does Jefferson go to get his reputation back?

The claim was pushed hard for one reason, to make Bill Clinton seem ok. TJ did it, and we love him, so let's overlook Clinton. Then it just stuck, facts notwithstanding.

4 posted on 08/31/2011 9:30:59 AM PDT by Defiant (Calling all citizens from all over the world, this is Captain America calling.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

This is just another lie (one among thousands) that progressives have been telling us for years.


5 posted on 08/31/2011 9:36:35 AM PDT by WilliamHouston
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

This is just another lie (one among thousands) that progressives have been telling us for years.


6 posted on 08/31/2011 9:36:41 AM PDT by WilliamHouston
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

As I remember it, Randolph was a bit limited in intellect and was more likely to be found at the slave quarters than at the main building. The evidence has pointed to him for a while, but the MSM only want TJ to be the father when it could have been any number of Jefferson men.


7 posted on 08/31/2011 9:36:41 AM PDT by Pharmboy (What always made the state a hell has been that man tried to make it heaven-Hoelderlin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

Ann Coulter was all ovver this back when “How to talk to a Liberal, If You Must” was published. Just read the chapter “Sally does Monticello”.
As she said, oral histroy Claims Thomas as the father, but would you want to claim a former president as your father, or the President’s half-wit brotherwho, according to the account of one of Jefferson’s slaves “He don’t have much more sense than Isaac”. Also, the brother was well known to spend most of his time at the slave quarters. Again, Coulter covered it in her book.


8 posted on 08/31/2011 9:38:48 AM PDT by chae (I was anti-Obama before it was cool)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pharmboy
Isn't it probably the case that your typical Democrat thought maybe TJ was smart enough to figure out what to do to sire babies, but the others weren't?

Remember, he's one of their FOUNDERS (Jefferson/Jackson/Day = "clues") and they really want him to be smart enough to do that.

9 posted on 08/31/2011 9:40:11 AM PDT by muawiyah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: tellw

I might have to amend my about page depending on what the evidence shows.


10 posted on 08/31/2011 9:41:47 AM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat, attack!" Bull Halsey)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw
Interesting. I've heard somewhere before that TJ's brother was likely the one to blame....

Bookmark.

11 posted on 08/31/2011 9:46:45 AM PDT by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis (Want to make $$$? It's easy! Use FR as a platform to pimp your blog for hits!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

This thread is the first time that I’ve heard of the TJ brother angle, which casts doubt on the whole premise.

Imagine that, I have to go to FR to get this point of view.


12 posted on 08/31/2011 9:57:58 AM PDT by cicero2k
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tellw

Mama’s baby. Daddy’s maybe.


13 posted on 08/31/2011 9:59:04 AM PDT by bgill (just getting tagline ready for 6 months after you vote in Perry - Tried to warn you he's a RINO.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: haywoodwebb

Apparently memories are short here. The entire Hemmings story was known to be false at the time it was pushed into prominence during the Monica Lewinski scandal. The purpose of the smear of Jefferson was to “normalize” Clinton’s behavior (see - a great President like Jefferson had “human” failings, so we would be narrow-minded and puritanical to be hard on Billy Jeff Clinton).


14 posted on 08/31/2011 10:01:31 AM PDT by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: tellw

Jefferson wasn’t a racist ?


15 posted on 08/31/2011 10:07:06 AM PDT by 4Speed
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cicero2k

The Washington Times has this as a front page story but I have not seen it anywhere else. Maybe the WSJ will catch onto it. I also emailed the link to Drudge and RealClearPolitics.com


16 posted on 08/31/2011 10:15:29 AM PDT by tellw
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: tellw

Another po-mo smear debunked.


17 posted on 08/31/2011 10:24:45 AM PDT by IronJack (=)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: achilles2000

Yes, it was a cover for Clinton, and lest we forget, was the cover page in Time Magazine the week before the election, if I recall correctly. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Yeah, right.


18 posted on 08/31/2011 10:32:53 AM PDT by NotTallTex
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: tellw
'The "Jefferson family" DNA used in the 1998 test came from descendants of his uncle, which the scholars said means any one of two dozen Jefferson men living in Virginia at the time Eston was conceived could have been the father.'

The issue is settled.

TJ could or couldn't have been the father.

19 posted on 08/31/2011 10:35:44 AM PDT by Palter (Celebrate diversity .22, .223, .25, 9mm, .32 .357, 10mm, .44, .45, .500)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cicero2k
This thread is the first time that I’ve heard of the TJ brother angle, which casts doubt on the whole premise.

Same here. I never considered that Thomas Jefferson had a brother Shoot could have been a nephew, or anyone. Duh.

20 posted on 08/31/2011 10:36:00 AM PDT by madison10
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-36 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson