I don't think Dr. Forsythe's intent was to rejoin the old controversy of
paternity but to address the scandal in the context of the times --
leaving aside whatever modern methods like DNA prove or don't prove, the
scandal is a very interesting window into the past.
David Kiracofe
On Thu, 28 Mar 2002 13:59:21 -0500 "Charles L. Dibble (BLS 1338.733)" wrote:
> Here we go again ...
> As I wrote earlier today:
> I would suggest that Item 2 [Sally Hemmings] be omitted since
> the question
> posed makes an assumption that is the subject of sharp disagreement
> ... and
> which has been discussed rather thoroughly on this list and
> elsewhere
> already. I foresee
> that pursuing this question would turn a discussion of the "actual
> relationship" and not on "misleading the public".
> I find no satisfaction in being proven right.
>
> ============================================================================
> =
> Charles L. Dibble
> Post Office Drawer 1240
> Columbia, South Carolina 29202-1240
> email: [log in to unmask]
> ============================================================================
> =
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Harold S. Forsythe
> Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 12:42
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: "high crimes and misdemeanors"
>
> Mr. Dixon,
>
> This may be going over old ground, but it bears remembering that
> Thomas Jefferson owned Sally Hemmings' body. By law, he also
> owned all issue from her body.
> What "direct evidence" would survive such a real, but now quite
> anachronistic property relationship? Marriage certificate? Civil suit
> for child support? Rape charges? Challenge to the filing of
> Thomas Jefferson's will, in the interest of his offspring?
> The recent DNA analysis proports to demonstrate that at least
> one of Sally Hemmings' sons carried a chromosome carried by
> males of the Jefferson lineage. Much has been made of the
> number of such males living at the time of Hemmings pregnancies,
> but no one has ever answered a question I posed on this list some
> time ago: did Jefferson run such a household at Monticello, that
> his male relatives could drop by at will and impregnate the woman
> who seems to have been his closest servant/associate, who was
> also half-sister to his late wife?
>
> Harold S. Forsythe
>
> Date sent: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 12:26:16 -0500 (EST)
> From: "Richard E. Dixon" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: "high crimes and misdemeanors"
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Send reply to: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia
> history
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > In a message dated 3/28/02 11:20:05 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> > [log in to unmask] writes:
> >
> > << Jefferson never
> > really went public in his denials, so is that any more misleading than
> > any other presidential philanderer >>
> >
> > My goodness, Jefferson did not publish a full page denial of the third
> > party hearsay that plagued him about Sally Hemings. Would that have
> made a
> > difference in the predisposition of many academics unaffected by the
> > absence of any direct evidence?
> > _____________________________________________________________________
> > Richard E. Dixon Attorney at Law 4122 Leonard Drive Fairfax, VA 22030
> > 703-691-0770 fax 703-691-0978
> > ______________________________________________________________________
>
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David Kiracofe
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