Thurmond's biracial daughter earned her spot on monument. With little fanfare, Essie Mae Washington Williams, accompanied by her daughter, returned three months ago to her roots in Edgefield County. According to a front-page article in the weekly Edgefield Advertiser ... she visited the grave of her late father, U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, and paid calls on relatives and friends of both her parents. Last week, her name was added to that of the four other Thurmond children on the senator's monument on the State House grounds in Columbia. What also should be recorded for posterity is what a remarkable woman...