Jefferson and Hemmings were in love. The rape story is bunk.
I can see why history gets so screwed up, instead of looking for the “truth” they look for arguments to bolster each “side”...
More interest in Jefferson’s sex life than in Obama’s claim to citizenship..................smh
More crap trying to link Jefferson’s behavior to the Rapist In Chief Clintoooooon
ML/NJ
It is well worth the time to read the historical report published by Monticello on their research into the possible relationship between Mr. Jefferson and Sally Hemmings.
Additionally, last year they found Sally Hemmings’ quarters when they were restoring an area of the house that had been turned in to a men’s bathroom early in the 20th century. They are now in the processor of restoring it.
Most of what I read is history (I am currently reading a biography of Louis XIV). People who read or study or write history will sometimes come to a point where no one knows for certain if something happened or not. I read a book that alleged that Napoleon was poisoned to death on St. Helena. Maybe he was. But maybe wasn’t. Sometimes, the end of the road is just a “maybe”. The Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemmings story is just such a “maybe”. It is wrong IMO to stretch a “maybe” into a “known fact”.
There was nothing wrong with jeffererson that would stop him from being a father ...he had several with his white wife...
so he could have been the father of Sally’s children...at least some of them...
it would be interesting to see if the descendants are his children...
another DNA test with direct white descendants would be necessary for this to work...
since Jefferson and sally had an ongoing sexual relationship there is little to prove that he was not the father...
It’s to me sort of curious that there has been no specific discussion of chromosomes. Do any male descendants of Sally Hemmings have the Jefferson Y chromosome, or are we strictly talking X chromosome here, since the Carr nephews keep coming up? Or, is it an X chromosome attributable to Randolph Jefferson? Innuendoes don’t prove a thing. Proof of paternity is a scientific endeavor, is it not, or are we dealing yet again with political science?
I remember this story making headlines during the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. The Mainstreams were willing, even then, to take down a founding father to make Clinton not look so bad.
1873 - Memoirs of Madison Hemming
It was on the basis of this newspaper interview of one of Sally Hemming’s sons that archaeologists at Montecello found her bedroom last year.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/cron/1873march.html
What if is was mutual? You know, like Bill and Monica.
Founding Father ping?
To add to the intrigue — I’ve read that Sally Hemings was actually Martha Jefferson’s HALF SISTER. (Jefferson’s late wife.) Jefferson had inherited Hemings (along with many other slaves) from his father-in-law upon his wife’s death.
I don’t know how you could disprove that Jefferson fathered Eston unless you had Eston’s remains to test.
You could only prove that at some point the supposed line of descent was incorrect, falsely ascribed paternity for example.
Nothing personal here I assume you’re going with what the source gave you.
BUT
The article caption could have used the conclusion made in the source which was: Questionable DNA Sources Were Used To Prove Claim Thomas Jefferson Sally Hemmings Hanky Panky.
Instead that headline left that open for endless speculation particularly by casual readers.
as much misinformation that I see today being taken as the truth I tend to take what ever historians say about history with a grain of salt if it is salacious in nature. rumors are just what they are not historical fact and every historian has there pet theory that a lot of times is based on what intrigues them not fact.
My personnel belief is that Sally hemming’s was actually Thomas Jefferson’s wife’s half sister and that because of that in private she was treated as a family member because she was family.
Thomas Jefferson’s political enemies picked up on the fact that she was being treated by Jefferson better then a mere slave and tried to use a whisper campaign to discredit him as being an adulterer and a mixer of the races.
history can be real ugly when dealing with the politics of the history because the truth is that we just can’t be sure of what the relationship of sally hemming’s and the Jefferson family was.
Ambrose also said that Thomas did not respond to the lie because he was a gentleman and would not out his relative in any way. And, that Thomas figured that at some point history would out the truth.
The 1998 Nature story was FAKE NEWS™.
These allegations were addressed by Jefferson during his life time. Unfortunately for Jefferson he had to be away from his beloved Monticello for years at a time in the service of his country. During this time away from his large estate he allowed his brother and uncle to manage his affairs there.
It was well known by his contemporaries that his brother was having sex with more than one of Thomas Jeffersons slaves. Thomas Jefferson admonished his brother on more than one occasion. Thomas rebuked Randolph in writing for this nastiness.
It is most unfortunate that today the reputation of perhaps one of the very greatest Americans to have ever lived would have his reputation sullied by irresponsible do gooders.
Yes, there is DNA from Jefferson’s family in Sally Hemmings but it is not from Thomas, it is from Randolph.