“I will certainly agree with that but David Barton’s claim that Jefferson did not father Sally Hemmings’ children is not reasonable.”
Yeah it is. There were what, more than 20 Jefferson males living in the vicinity of Monticello and of the proper age to impregnate Sally Hemmings, if I recall the details correctly. Jefferson’s nephews Peter and Sam Carr liked to fraternize with the Monticello slaves and are the most likely suspects for having fathered Heming’s children. Jefferson’s daughter thought that was the case and said so to her children Ellen Coolidge and Thos Randolph.
The only thing the DNA reveals to us is that some Jefferson male was responsible, but not which one. And as a side note I think Barton’s histories are ridiculous. Barbara Tuchman taught us that someone doesn’t need a degree in history to be a first rate historian. But David Barton is no Barbara Tuchman.
“The DNA testing found no genetic link between the Hemings and Carr descendants, refuting Jefferson's grandchildren"s assertion that his Carr nephews fathered Sally Hemings" children.†“The results of the study established that an individual carrying the male Jefferson Y chromosome fathered Eston Hemings (born 1808), the last known child born to Sally Hemings. There were approximately 25 adult male Jeffersons who carried this chromosome living in Virginia at that time, and a few of them are known to have visited Monticello. The study’s authors, however, said “the simplest and most probable†conclusion was that Thomas Jefferson had fathered Eston Hemings.†“Thomas Jefferson was at Monticello at the likely conception times of Sally Hemings" six known children. There are no records suggesting that she was elsewhere at these times, or records of any births at times that would exclude Jefferson paternity.†Occam’s razor must be applied. https://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-brief-account