Years ago, on C-SPAN’s “Booknotes,” the superb historian Stephen Ambrose, who wrote “Band of Brothers” and “Undaunted Courage” about Lewis and Clark, was asked about Thomas Jefferson and he said that with his research he was able to determine that it was Jefferson’s brother who had the sexual relationship with Sally and not Thomas. He added that it was a political rumor spread at the time by one of his opponents. I can’t remember if he said DNA tests were done or not but he said that Jefferson believed that history would one day prove that he was faithful to his wife and did not have the liaison. According to Ambrose, Jefferson was actually too much of a gentleman to point out that it was his brother who had done it and not him.
That’s why I used the word “rumored”. DNA tests of Hemming’s descendants did seem to confirm that either Thomas or his brother were ancestors, but which one is impossible to confirm. It was a disgruntled muck raker who had worked for Jefferson, James Callender, who turned on him and put the rumors about his relationship and supposed fathering of several children with Sally out into print. It probably didn’t hurt him much in the south. Masters fathering children with slave women was fairly commonplace. Sally herself was the daughter of Jefferson’s father in law. But to the Federalists up in the northeast it was considered juicy.
Read Undaunted Courage...loved it. It should be a must read for Middle school/HS students.
His brother was known to hang out with blacks and I recently just read about Jefferson and the death of his wife. His daughter stated that he was inconsolable for weeks. I seriously doubt that he had that affair. If he did, however, then it seriously lowers him in my estimation. I wonder why I always hear about Jefferson’s supposed affair, but I rarely hear about Hamilton’s. Hamilton has always irked me, however, so reading about his affair(s) didn’t shock me.