Dear Mr. Barger,
You are correct that _Mr. Jefferson's Women_ devotes one 27-page chapter
to the matter of Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings. That chapter
is also supported by slightly more than 9 pages of endnotes and another page
in Appendix B listing Sally Hemings's children and their birth and (when
known) death dates.
Although other historians have contended that the relationship began in
Paris with the birth of a child often identified as Tom, I never found that
view persuasive. And I believe the implications of the Woodson-family DNA
testing concurs with other evidence to suggest that the relationship began
at Monticello after Jefferson retired from Washington's cabinet, and that
"Thomas Jefferson fathered six children born to his slave Sally Hemings
between 1795 and 1808." (p. 115)
(NB: "six" and "1795" reflect my view that the relationship did
_not_ start in Paris.)
My lengthy endnote on pp. 248-249 explains that I, too, have been
following the ongoing arguments since the publication in 1974 both of
Douglass Adair's "The Jefferson Scandals" and Fawn Brodie's _Intimate
History_. My endnote also refers readers to the vast literature about this
subject—including the works by Eyler Robert Coates and Cynthia H. Burton
recommended on the website of your Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society.
And that note ends with this statement: "In the extensive and contentious
literature about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, nearly every conclusion
expressed in this chapter has probably been disputed by someone somewhere
and especially by my late friend V. Dabney. So be it. I remain committed to
learning what the primary source evidence can reliably tell us about
history."
*
I very much appreciate Professor Hardwick's perceptive remarks. In that
spirit, I wish to recognize the extraordinary courage and integrity of Dr.
Daniel P. Jordan in his leadership at Monticello. I met Dan when he was at
VCU and back then we served together for more than a decade on the Review
Board that passed judgment on nominations to the National Register of
Historic Places. Dan Jordan is an exemplary historian, citizen, executive,
and human being. I have no idea what he may think of Mr. Jefferson's Women.
I do know that the clarity, intellectual integrity and candor of his
oft-published comments about the importance of honest research at museums
and historic sites exemplify the Jeffersonian ideals so many of us admire –
and that Monticello and the world have benefitted from Dan
Jordan's stewardship.
--
Jon Kukla
www.JonKukla.com <http://www.jonkukla.com/>
On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 6:35 PM, Herbert Barger <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dr Jon Kukla,
>
> Thank you for the Wm. Warner article on his death. Just as Mr. Warner
> loved and wrote of his beautiful Chesapeake Bay I also have a favorite
> topic of which I have spent ten years researching, writing about and
> informing the public that various agendas hinder the public's knowledge
> of the truth of the Jefferson-Hemings controversy.
>
> You have participated in this controversy by assigning twenty-seven
> pages (Chap. 6, Sally Hemings), out of your book, "Mr. Jefferson's
> Women." Your second paragraph is dedicated to Callender's Campaign Lies
> article of September 1802 in which he charges Jefferson with fathering
> Thomas Woodson. Several fictional film and TV productions have come out
> in the last few years which stress this "long love involvement."
>
> One would think that you, a distinguished historian and author of note,
> would do some serious "nuts and bolts" research to "back up" your
> conclusions mentioned on pages 115, 125, 137, 141 and elsewhere.
> Speaking of James Callender and the long standing claims he made, you
> state, "Nevertheless, the available evidence now suggests that Callender
> was essentially correct about Jefferson's relationship with Sally
> Hemings. Thomas Jefferson fathered six children born to his slave Sally
> Hemings between 1795 and 1808."
>
> Now Dr. Kukla, isn't it time for you to remind your readers and in your
> book signings and TV appearances that this is totally INCORRECT? If you
> truly know the DNA findings you know that the DNA test completely
> ELEMINATED Tom Woodson from the test.....there was NO match between
> Jefferson/Woodson, thus you should have concluded that Callender was a
> "liar" NOT that he was essentially correct as you conclude.
>
> Let us address further your statement that Thomas Jefferson fathered six
> of Sally's children. Where did you gather this information from? Even
> the Monticello Studies where you are reported to have spent some time
> gathering facts for your book, would NEVER conclude this. The Monticello
> Study was a biased and muddled study and one which I have called upon
> Dr. Dan Jordan to form a new study group for correction and study ALL
> appropriate research. That study was careful to not "flat out" state the
> charges you made on page 115. They only state that the best evidence
> available suggests the strong likelihood that Thomas Jefferson and Sally
> Hemings had a relationship over time that led to the birth of one, and
> perhaps all, of the known children of Sally Hemings. Of course the bias
> is showing here like a beacon, from a study that was Chaired by an oral
> slave family researcher, the Minority Report was hid from the public and
> by reading carefully we find that ONLY ONE Hemings was DNA tested. Dr.
> Jordan knows of another son of Madison Hemings whose DNA would add
> greatly to our research but he refuses to encourage the Hemings to
> gather the valuable science.
>
> On page 125 you make a statement, "Callender and others were probably
> wrong about "Tom", and wrong, too, about the timing of Sally Heming's
> relationship with Jefferson." Is this not in direct contrast to the page
> 115 charges? You and no one else have been able to explain the almost
> six years of NO births after returning from France by Sally when her
> first recorded child, Harriet I, was born on Oct 5, 1795.
>
> Of course you add some other equally bewildering and inaccurate
> insinuations such as: "Sally Hemings was Thomas Jefferson's perfect
> remedy for wholesome sexual release"......REALLY?? "Jefferson's children
> by Sally Hemings---." (page 137)."We know nothing about the emotional
> character of the relationship between the master of Monticello and his
> "concubine." (Pg. 141).
>
> Please read the several other posts which give more details on this
> study. May we have your comments on the above?
>
> Herb Barger
> Jefferson Family Historian
>
> ==============================
> William W. Warner, Chesapeake Bay Author, Dies at 88
> Source: NYT (4-30-08)
>
> William W. Warner, a former administrator at the Smithsonian Institution
> and
> the author of "Beautiful Swimmers," a study of crabs and watermen in the
> Chesapeake Bay, which won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction in 1977,
> died on
> April 18 at his home in Washington. He was 88.
>
> The cause was complications of Alzheimer's disease, said his daughter
> Alexandra Nash.
>
> A weekend sailor and lifelong nature enthusiast, Mr. Warner spent
> endless
> hours on what he called the "benign and beautiful" waters of the
> Chesapeake
> Bay, which teemed with Atlantic blue crabs and supported 9,000 full-time
> watermen when he wrote "Beautiful Swimmers," a blend of history, ecology
> and
> anthropology.
> Despite its somewhat rarefied subject, the book captivated critics and
> readers.
>
> ===========
>
> A wonderful book!
> --
> Jon Kukla
> www.JonKukla.com <http://www.jonkukla.com/>
>
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