Don,

I appreciate what you are saying, but will point out that the "DNA 
convergence" due to the difference in surnames would not apply here inasmuch 
as the surname Hemings came from the mother, not from a formal marriage and 
with surname taken from the spouse. In reality, lots of things can make for 
a different surname, including the choice of the individual to change their 
surname for whatever reasons, and/or the modern method of hyphenating two 
names as a surname for children. So DNA studies that veer from their total 
scientific look at the matches, falls prey to fallacy by taking any note 
whatsoever of the surname.

Just as an example, if anyone (and someone probably is), descended from John 
Paul Jones, he/she may have the Jones last name, or he/she may have the Paul 
last name depending on whether they were born in Scotland or in America 
after he changed his name to hide his piratical background. This is but an 
instance that comes to mind.

As I said, I don't depend too much on the scientific DNA "proof". As I said 
once before on the list (to a catcall of boos), what decided the issue for 
me, after I heard it supposed, was that Jefferson was a Virginia male. To 
me, that said it all. (and hubby, a native born Virginia agrees with me on 
that point).

Lots of things in history are never "proven" beyond someone's sayso. We 
accept such facts at face value. There is the weighty argument over who 
"discovered" America, which brings into the argument what we mean by 
"discovery", and when the definition is that someone found the land, 
declared it for their monarch, and published knowledge of it to the European 
world, that leave Columbus as the only person who "discovered" America. Yet, 
he was neither the first non-American to visit the American continent, nor 
was he the first European to visit or dwell on the continent. So, whether or 
not you want to believe that Columbus "discovered" America depend on what 
you choose to believe rather than specific facts.

It is all an interesting discussion, and proves the point once again that 
history is far from a "dead" subject. I would love to propose to students on 
my website that they explore this issue and form a opinion, but as we both 
know, sex is a strict taboo in education, and I'm not going to jeopardize 
teachers making use of the site over such an issue. But I sure would like 
to!

Anne

Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org 

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