[Verginius Rufus]

The study which supposedly showed that Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings' children was published just before the 1998 midterm election--apparently the publication date was moved up. Of course that was right in the middle of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. As I recall, one of the descendants had DNA that suggested descent from one of Jefferson's nephews surnamed Carr (who had been suspected by Jefferson relatives as possibly fathering one or more of Sally's children).

Besides the DNA article, there was Fawn Brodie's book about Jefferson, and much earlier, an 1873 newspaper article in Ohio based on information from Madison Hemings, one of Sally's children, in which Madison alleged that Jefferson was his father. Also, the 1870 census (of course not made public until much later) shows that the census taker wrote next to Madison Hemings' name "This man is the son of Thomas Jefferson" (obviously having been told that by Madison).

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Besides the DNA article, there was Fawn Brodie's book about Jefferson, and much earlier, an 1873 newspaper article in Ohio based on information from Madison Hemings, one of Sally's children, in which Madison alleged that Jefferson was his father.

There are records of the rumor going back to 1802. In 1811, a school headmaster who visited Jefferson wrote in his diary that day, "The story of black Sal is no farce—That he cohabits with her and has a number of children by her is a sacred truth—and the worst of it is he keeps the same children slaves—an unnatural crime which is very common in these parts."