To David Kiracofe: You may believe in bridges to no where one way or
another; but historical evidence should not be ignored. If you have not
already read this:
Martha Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson's wife and mother of his children, died
in 1782. Sally Hemings had her first child Harriet in 1795. The following
evidence is persuasive, convincing and leads to the opinion that Thomas
Jefferson was NOT the father of any of Sally Heming's children. I got my
information from the books THE JEFFERSON-HEMINGS MYTH, AN AMERICAN TRAVESTY,
published 2001 by the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society; and the book
JEFFERSON VINDICATED by Cynthia H. Burton, copyright and publication 2005,
Library of Congress control #2005902894. I recommend reading these books.
They present chronology charts; DNA test results; observations of witnesses,
families, and contemporaries at Monticello.
1) Sally lived at Monticello from childhood through many child bearing
years, and didn't become pregnant until Sally was 22 years old, 13 years
after Martha died.
2) Only Sally's last child's, Eston's, lineage has been tested in 1998 for
DNA and shows he descended from Sally and A male Jefferson, not necessarily
Thomas. Eston Heming's DNA was tested from John Weeks Jefferson, whose
family had always claimed lineage from "a Jefferson uncle", meaning
Randolph. Because Thomas Jefferson had no sons they must use the male Y
chromosome from the DNA of his brother, nephews, male cousins, or another
male carrying the Jefferson Y chromosome. They can't trace this DNA lineage
through generations of females.
3) Sally's son Madison's descendants, who were located after much effort,
have refused to be DNA tested. We don't know that a Jefferson fathered any
other of Sally's children.
4) The rumor that Sally was Thomas Jefferson's wife Martha's half sister is
just that, a rumor. Sally is said to have been a light mulatto and pretty.
The various myths disagree with Martha Jefferson's father's business
dealings, ports, etc., and there is no DNA evidence that she is a blood
relative to Martha.
5) Even if we want to make the BIASED ASSUMPTION that more than Eston of
Sally's children was fathered by a Jefferson, it is again MOST UNLIKELY that
Thomas was the Jefferson that fathered them.
6) Thomas Jefferson arrived in Paris 1784, as the U.S. Ambassador to France,
and was accompanied by his oldest daughter Martha who was 12 years old, and
James Hemings. 1787, three years later, Jefferson's other daughter Mary
accompanied by Sally Hemings arrived in Paris. Thomas Jefferson and his
family returned from Paris December 1789. Sally's first child Harriet was
born on October 5, 1795 when Thomas Jefferson was 52 years old; he was 65
years old when Eston, Sally's last child, was born. In those days life
expectancy was much shorter and people aged earlier, and had the ailments
that may arrive with age. Thomas Jefferson had severe arthritis for many
long years, and other ailments that appear with aging.
7) Thomas Jefferson's younger brother Randolph Jefferson had become widowed
between the years of 1796 and 1807. Randolph was born on October 1, 1755. He
would have been between 41 and 52 years of age when his first wife died.
Thomas Jefferson was born April 13, 1743 and was 12 ½ years older than
Randolph. Eston, Sally's last child, was born on May 21, 1808, when Randolph
was about 52 ½ years old and Thomas was 65. When Jefferson retired to
Monticello in 1809 after completing his second term as President, Sally quit
having children. Randolph was remarried 1808 or early 1809, and after this
Sally had no more children. Randolph's oldest son, Thomas, married on
October 3, 1808 and after this Sally had no more children. President
Jefferson died July 4, 1826, when he was 83 years old.
8) Randolph's residence and farm was 20 miles away from Monticello. Randolph
had 5 sons, 4 of child bearing age in their early 20's when Eston, Sally's
last child, was conceived. Randolph and his sons visited Monticello, and one
or more of his sons periodically lived at Monticello. In the book JEFFERSON
AT MONTICELLO by J. A. Bear, Jr., he reports that the slave Isaac reported
that Randall was a simple man that used to come out among black people and
play the fiddle and dance half the night. There are written historical
statements from interviews with Thomas Jefferson and others expressing
Randolph's sometime lack of intelligence, character and personal discipline.
9) There were other male Jefferson relatives that visited Monticello. From a
map it appears the Carrs lived less than 5 miles from Monticello. President
Jefferson's sister Lucy Jefferson Lewis and her family, and Martha Jefferson
Randolph and her family lived almost adjacent to Monticello.
10) In archives is a letter dated August 12, 1807 where Thomas Jefferson
writes to his brother Randolph that Randolph's twin sister was then visiting
Monticello and that he and his family were invited to visit, and also that
Randolph was expected to deliver grass seed to Monticello. This was slightly
more than 9 months before Eston's birth. Randolph and his family likely
visited at that time.
11) There is a journal of Thomas Jefferson's letters; and when Jefferson was
at home, at his insistence his daughter Martha J. Randolph, her husband and
their children (they had 12 children, one 13-14 years old around the time
Sally became pregnant with Eston) lived at Monticello for the duration of
his visit. Sometimes they arrived before he did. Also while Thomas was at
Monticello, at times his sister and cousins visited.
12) Family letters express the great affection and respect the Jefferson
family had for each other; and of Thomas Jefferson's impeccable behavior
regarding visibility of his living quarters and policies that servants were
to be in his quarters only in his absence.
13) The whereabouts of the slaves was not at all times known. There were
times when Sally helped out at estates neighboring Monticello.
14) Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton in 1772. She was a
widower. They had 6 children. Only 3 lived beyond infancy, 2 beyond
childhood. Martha Wayles Jefferson died in 1782. Their daughter Martha
(Patsy) married Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. in 1790 and they had 12 children,
and all survived childhood except 2 that died in infancy. They lived almost
adjacent to Monticello. Martha Randolph lived until she was 64 years old.
Their second surviving child, Mary (Maria, Polley), married John Wayles
Eppes. They had 3 children and only one survived beyond age 3. Mary died
giving birth when she was 26 years old. They lived about 60 miles from
Monticello. President Jefferson's sister Lucy Jefferson Lewis and her
husband and children lived near Monticello.
15) When Martha Wayles Jefferson's father died, they inherited his estate
and slaves, and debts of what would now be over a million dollars that was
paid for the slaves and secured by the slaves. President Jefferson died
leaving considerable financial debts. Attorney Richard E. Dixon, author,
page 160 "The Case Against Thomas Jefferson: A Trial Analysis of the
Evidence on Paternity" THE JEFFERSON-HEMINGS MYTH "Jefferson's financial
situation would have prevented his freeing his slaves under Virginia law. It
may also be that he would have let more or all go but for the legal claim of
his creditors." And laws made it difficult for ex-slaves to survive. After
being freed Sally's brother James became an alcoholic and committed suicide.
Page 185 In a published article Madison, one of Sally's brothers, speaks of
Jefferson "He was hardly ever known to get angry. He was uniformly kind to
all about him being kind to all at all times." Jefferson's writings about
human rights transcend his own circumstances and time.
I emphatically question the motives of people who have an agenda to publish
BIASED AND MISINFORMING opinions and conclusions [and to the extent that
they ignore most pertinent scientific evidence and historic evidence, LIES]
about the very person who probably did the most, in his day, to end slavery.
And he was the most instrumental in establishing democracy in the United
States. Thomas Jefferson wrote numerous articles, including his first draft
of the Declaration of Independence (exhibits are available), where he states
that slavery is "a cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most
sacred rights of life and liberty" and that slavery is "an assemblage of
horrors". They made him delete his opinions about slavery from his draft of
the Declaration of Independence. He wrote in several articles that he
thought miscegenation, bearing multi racial children, was degrading to all
races involved. This was written at a time when slavery was legal and he
held senior government offices. Within Monticello the slaves probably led a
comfortable life; but when he died he was badly in debt. He freed Sally and
some other of the more senior slaves. The remaining slaves were considered
part of the assets used as collateral for his inherited debts. And when
slaves were freed there was an abundance of laws to prevent their gainful
employment, and they had to leave Virginia.
If he were having an affair with Sally why didn't she become pregnant before
she was 22 years old, or during the 13 years after Thomas's wife died? That
President Jefferson was the father of even one of her children is possible,
but I think extremely unlikely. Some might be of the opinion that the
difference is only academic; that what big difference would there be if
Thomas and Sally, two consenting adults, had a sexual relationship? I think
it would have been much out of character for the brilliant, most principled,
most important and dashing man, who was close with his and Martha's
children, to have a sexual relationship with a family slave Sally; for whom
he held enough personal regard to have her help raise his children. I think
there would be many accomplished, Caucasian, not slave women, who would be
desirous of Thomas Jefferson's attentions. From Sally's point of view I
think the statements from scholarly spin masters who (twist, manipulate, and
ignore an overabundance of evidence to the contrary) conclude that Thomas
Jefferson was or was most likely the father of Eston and or Sally's other
children is degrading to Sally, as well as to President Jefferson, as well
as to United States history.
And some of the "scholars" that conclude in writing and lectures that he was
the father of Eston and or more of her children are those that own and work
for Monticello and are professors at the University of Virginia, both
institutions that were founded by Thomas Jefferson. They have a fundamental
responsibility not to lie and deface their founder Thomas Jefferson. They
have changed the name from The Monticello Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Foundation to The Monticello Thomas Jefferson Foundation. With its present
administration, I think the Monticello Corporation has no reason to continue
as a public facility representing Thomas Jefferson, its founder, or United
States history. Academia would be better off without those that misstate,
deceive, lie, and prosecute their institutions' founder, instead of
presenting the available information and wherever it may lead. They should
be removed from their positions of responsibility. I conclude that because
Thomas Jefferson was an extraordinarily brilliant, principled, judicious and
discerning person, and because of much additional evidence which supports my
conclusion, it is extremely unlikely that President Jefferson would have had
a sexual relationship with, and or impregnated Sally Hemings. As multiple
public records show, and as these scholars would have known, there were many
other male Jeffersons, some adolescent or in their early 20's, frequently at
Monticello when Thomas Jefferson was there, and particularly during the time
when Sally became pregnant with Eston, who could have been the father of
Eston. And as to the rest of her children, there may have been several
different fathers, as reported was so with Sally's mother.
(Ms.)Adrian Zolkover
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Kiracofe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 6:23 AM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Annette Gordon-Reed praised by Edmund Morgan
Kevin Hardwick wrote (in response to remarks by Herb Barger):
>"What Kukla says, in essence, is that in his view, the evidence suggests
>(but does not prove) that Jefferson had a sexual relationship with Hemings.
>Kukla's view is more or less the same as mine, and I would submit that of
>most reasonable people who have examined the evidence.
I doubt we will ever know for certain whether Jefferson and Hemings had a
sexual relationship. But the circumstantial evidence suggests that there
was one. It is just circumstantial evidence--it is suggestive, but not
definitive. But then, that is what I take Kukla to be saying when he writes
"the available evidence now suggests." We don't know for sure, but the
extant evidence in favor of Jefferson's paternity of (some of) Heming's
children is sufficiently persuasive to allow a reasonable, if tentative
conclusion that Jefferson did in fact have sex with Hemings."
What Kevin is pointing out is exactly what academic historians are trained
to do: to take evidence, analyze it -- ask reasonable questions of it -- and
then build an interpretation based on that analysis. This is intended to
move us in the direction of a better understanding of the past. But Mr.
Barger rejects the reasonableness of the question that Jon Kukla (and
others -- including myself in that number) has asked. Indeed, Mr. Barger's
depiction of the issue of a possible Jefferson paternity as somehow libelous
or part of a conspiracy to destroy Jefferson makes is difficult to make
reasonable inquiries Mr. Barger's questions however set the bar too high --
in the direction of ascertaining Truth. But the evidence is so murky -- so
many contradictory accounts, so many axes ground from callender onward, so
many layers of familial protections, such uncertain science now -- as to
preclude ever actually finding that Truth. No doubt this is the most vexing
problem for the self-appointed protectors of Jefferson's reputation: it
cannot be proved conclusively either way -- as much as Mr. Barger and others
have whittled away at the evidence in favor of paternity, I still have seen
no compelling evidence that demonstrates _conclusively_ that Jefferson did
not father children by Sally Hemings.
Which gets us to stalemate here: academic historians accept that there are
some questions the answers to which are at best just "suggested" by the
available evidence, and other historians looking at the same evidence might
come up with reasonable intepretations of their own. This is our
professional obligation.
David Kiracofe
David Kiracofe
History
Tidewater Community College
Chesapeake Campus
1428 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, Virginia 23322
757-822-5136
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