Strom Thurmond's family confirms paternity claim

CNN Washington Bureau ^ | 12-16-2003 | David Mattingly

[shadowman99]

Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in June at age 100. His illegitimate daughter's story was published Sunday by the Washington Post.

Essie Mae Washington-Williams, now 78 and a retired school teacher in Los Angeles, publicly revealed her relationship to the former segregationist after a lifetime of silence.

[shadowman99]

No, it's not from the Onion.

It's from CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/15/thurmond..paternity/index.html

[ppaul]

[steplock]

Is this story released to bring "sympathetic voting" to the dnc? "See - they're like us!"

Or --- will they try to blame conservatives for trying to "dis" such a fine democrat ku-klux-klan'er ?

[al baby]

First off
1illegitimate daughter's Theres no such thing just 1illegitimate parents

[over3Owithabrain]

Now we know why Ol' Strom was for segregation. He wanted to keep his black baby's mother from his white one.

[MineralMan]

Hmm...he was 22 and she was 16. Nasty business, that, in my opinion. The boss's kid fooling with the household help. What an old, tired story.

To Strom's credit, however, he took financial responsibility for his get. To his detriment, he should have kept his pants buttoned or zipped.

Were this a modern story, lots of freepers would be screaming bloody murder over this 22 year old and 16 year old.

Race is beside the point.

[misterrob]

Then again, different time and place. People actually got married at the age of 17 or 18 70 years ago.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I am repeating what I heard today on Good Day Live.

Sheyl Lee Ralph said that she had read that Strom Thurmond raped the maid.

I am not saying that it is true, just that the woman read it somewhere and reported it.

[MineralMan]

"Then again, different time and place. People actually got married at the age of 17 or 18 70 years ago.
"

Still do now. Lots of 17-18 year old girls get married every year. But, I don't think Strom was thinking about marrying this girl, do you? It's still a shameful thing for him to have done, IMO.

[MineralMan]

"Then again, different time and place. People actually got married at the age of 17 or 18 70 years ago.
"

Still do now. Lots of 17-18 year old girls get married every year. But, I don't think Strom was thinking about marrying this girl, do you? It's still a shameful thing for him to have done, IMO.

[You Dirty Rats]

In 1928, my grandfather (28) married my grandmother (16). They had my father one year later.

You trying to make trouble, boy?

Now, if my daughter's boyfriend (both 16) want to get married, the answer is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

On a series note, whatever else can be said about Strom Thurmond, he's got to be one of the more interesting Americans who ever lived.

[MineralMan]

"Sheyl Lee Ralph said that she had read that Strom Thurmond raped the maid. "

Where I come from, a 22-year-old man having sex with a 16-year-old girl is guilty of statutory rape, anyhow. I don't suppose Strom was in love with this girl. I doubt he was planning to ask for her hand in marriage.

It's a common enough story, I suppose. A sad one, though. Strom should have been ashamed of himself.

[deport]

Apparently Strom has supported her over the years.....

Thurmond's Son to Meet Mixed-Race Sister


By AMY GEIER EDGAR
Associated Press Writer

Published December 16, 2003, 1:45 PM EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Strom Thurmond Jr. says he is ready to meet his mixed-race half sister, whose relationship to the family was kept secret by his father for nearly eight decades.

Essie Mae Washington-Williams, a 78-year-old retiree living in Los Angeles, says former U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond Sr., a onetime segregationist, fathered her when he was 22 and living in his parents' home in Edgefield. Her mother, Carrie Butler, 16 at the time, worked as a maid in the Thurmonds' home.

"We have no reason to believe Ms. Williams was not telling the truth," Strom Thurmond Jr., the U.S. attorney for South Carolina, told The (Columbia) State for a story in Tuesday's editions. "Everyone has a right to know their heritage."

Thurmond Jr. said he was looking forward to meeting the retired schoolteacher and establishing a relationship, but plans to do that in private.

"As far as emotions or how I feel, I feel good, because that's a feeling you get from doing the right thing," Thurmond Jr. said.

Williams had long been rumored to be Thurmond's child, though she previously denied it. She has come forward now at the urging of her children, said Frank K. Wheaton, Williams' attorney in California.

"She waited until after his passing because she had such a profound love and respect for her father and so did he for her. ... They both shared a mutual respect that raised the bar of integrity, as we generally know it," Wheaton said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

He said Williams was not seeking money and did not want to challenge Thurmond's will. Thurmond died in June at age 100.

"This case was never about money, much to the surprise of many. Essie Mae Washington-Williams merely wanted validation, acknowledgment, so that she could bring finality and closure to her life. She wanted this for her children and their children and their children," Wheaton said.

The family doesn't know much about Williams, Thurmond Jr. said.

"I had a conversation with my dad about it about 10 years ago. I asked about this, and he didn't tell me whether she was or whether she wasn't (his daughter)," he said. "I did not ask again."

Thurmond Jr. and other family members didn't return several phone calls from The Associated Press.

On Monday, Thurmond's family released a statement acknowledging Williams' claims.

"As J. Strom Thurmond has passed away and cannot speak for himself, the Thurmond family acknowledges Ms. Essie Mae Washington-Williams' claim to her heritage. We hope this acknowledgment will bring closure for Ms. Williams," the family's lawyer, J. Mark Taylor, said.

Williams said Thurmond privately acknowledged her as his daughter and had provided financial support since 1941. She said she waited to go public because she didn't want to embarrass herself or hurt Thurmond's career. The Washington Post first reported her claims Saturday.

"There was an agreement between the parties that she would never discuss the fact that Senator Thurmond was her father," said her South Carolina lawyer, Glenn Walters.

In seven decades of politics, Thurmond gained fame and infamy as an arch-segregationist, but he later came to support a holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Williams, who was raised by an aunt, told the Post she first met Thurmond around 1941, when she was 16, and Thurmond called her a "very lovely daughter."

She told the newspaper she received money at least once a year in sessions arranged by Thurmond's Senate staff. Wheaton said the total over the years was "very substantial" but less than $1 million.

Williams was to discuss her story at a news conference Wednesday in Columbia, but one of her sons, Dr. Ronald Williams of Onalaska, Wash., told The State he will tell her it would be better to meet privately with the Thurmond family than talk to the media.

[org.whodat]

Then again, different time and place. People actually got married at the age of 17 or 18 70 years ago.

WRONG, 70 years ago people got married at the age of 12 and up. My mother got married at the age of 13.

[MineralMan]

"On a series note, whatever else can be said about Strom Thurmond, he's got to be one of the more interesting Americans who ever lived."

You're sure right about that. I'll be looking forward to reading a good long biography of the man. He bridges the gap from the old South of the early 20th century to today. His story is the story of that region.

I'm not condemning him, really. He just did what a heckuva lot of fairly well-to-do white boys did back then. It was wrong, of course, but it was pretty darned common.

As I said, he at least had the huevos to support his child over the years. And his family, bless their hearts, have simply acknowleged this woman. She doesn't seem interested in grabbing anything from this.

What would be really great would be his regular family inviting this woman and her daughter for dinner some evening. Doubtful, but a great gesture.

[cyborg]

All things considering, I think all sides are carrying themselves in an exemplary manner before the media. Don't you? Maybe he feels sorry for her that she never had a father. I don't care how much he supported her, no one wants sloppy seconds. There's no substitute for daddy, and I'm glad her brother and other siblings are recognizing her.

[Catspaw]

I doubt if Strom could've married the mother of Mrs. Williams, given the laws at the time.

[MineralMan]

"Strom was a famous swordsman, renowned for his sexual stamina. "

So I understand. It was still the wrong thing to do. Think of the outrage we see here when some 20-something schoolteacher has sex with a 16-year-old student. And this is really kind of worse. Consider that Thurmond was the son of someone who hired this girl as a maid or whatever.

Could she have said no? I doubt it, given the time and the place. Again, a sad story, ameliorated a bit by Thurmond's willingness to provide some financial support.