Hello Everyone,

I am surprised that the new study didn't get much press coverage, compared to
the early DNA study.  Below I have pasted in three articles I found through
Yahoo.

I was hoping that there would be DNA analysis, which there doesn't appear to
be, but I could be wrong. The press coverage doesn't mention any and I
couldn't find a website for the Commission, which is never referred to by
name.  Also having given birth to three children, one very early and one very
late, suggesting that Randolph Jefferson's presence during the probable time
of conception raises questions in my mind that's for sure.  However, since he
only lived 20 miles away, I would imagine he visited quite often actually.
Remember these folks at that time regularly would travel five or more miles
to church every Sunday.

I am particularly interested in the comment that the members of the
Commission were Thomas Jefferson "ADMIRERS", in light of some of the comments
on this list on the lack of objectivity in the earlier DNA study.  I myself
can make no assessment as I long ago realized that objectivity is in the eye
of the beholder and, my college Western Civilization history teacher's maxim
"History is what man thinks it is".

Too bad (not really) that Thomas Jeferson's detractors at the time didn't go
so far as to bring a court case against him, with testimony from people who
witnessed him or Randolph "naked in bed" with Sally ...as was the case with
one of my 17th century ancestors in Accomac Co,VA, a very recent widow (Rhoda
Fassit) who lived openly with another man (John Cropper), who was at the time
much married to the daughter (Sarah Bowman) of one of the justices (Edward
Bowman).  The adulterous couple were basically run out of the county and fled
"with all moveable goods and cattle" (according to the leader of the "cattle
drive", also deposed) to Somerset Co MD, and lived openly together, had
children together (court records also indicate each had a child by different
partners at the same time).  Cropper died, widow Sarah sued Rhoda because the
illegitimate descendants got the better deal in his will.  Soon after Rhoda
married Sarah's attorney in the suit over the will.  (See what you can find
out when you have ancestors where the records aren't burned.)

Anyway,  I always think of Rhoda and John Cropper, and servants testifying
that they'd seen them "naked in bed" several times, when this issue of Sally
Hemming's partner(s) comes up.  I hate to say this out loud, but such
testimony might not even help, given the fact that one set of her descendants
claim "uncle Randolph" as the father and another claims Thomas Jefferson --
maybe she actually was "passed around" for lack of a better word, a thought
which is very uncomfortable, or had successive relationships with the two
men.  In an earlier post it was suggested, this Commission study could
provide information on the relations between slaves and their owners (and
their owners peers).

Best Regards,
Janet (Baugh) Hunter -- formerly at [log in to unmask]

**************
WJLA
Friday April 13 09:25 AM EDT

Scholars Say Jefferson Didn't Father Children With Slave
A commission of scholars Thursday disputed claims that Thomas Jefferson
fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings, and said the evidence points
instead to Jefferson's younger brother.

The findings resulted from a yearlong study commissioned by a group of
Jefferson admirers convinced that the third president's reputation is being
besmirched. They contradict a January 2000 report by scholars at Jefferson's
home, Monticello, that scientific and historical evidence shows the president
likely fathered one and possibly all of Hemings' children.

The report comes more than two years after DNA test results showed that
Hemings' youngest son, Eston Hemings, was fathered by a Jefferson male.

"The circumstantial case that Eston Hemings was fathered by the President's
younger brother is many times stronger than the case against the President
himself," said a summary of the 450-page report.

With one dissenter on the 13-member commission, the scholars bolster their
case for the brother, Randolph Jefferson, by noting that:

a slave's memoirs assert that Randolph Jefferson often spent time playing the
fiddle and dancing with the slaves when he visited Monticello

Jefferson had invited Randolph - who lived about 20 miles away - to visit
Monticello shortly before Hemings became pregnant with Eston.

Descendants of Eston Hemings passed down the story that Eston was fathered by
"Thomas Jefferson's uncle." While both of Jefferson's paternal uncles had
died before Eston was conceived, the report points out that Jefferson's
daughter Martha, who ran Monticello, generally referred to Randolph as "Uncle
Randolph."

Sally's childbearing years probably corresponded to the years in which
Randolph was a widower."Scholars often disagree, and their scholars and our
scholars disagree," said Daniel P. Jordan, president of the Thomas Jefferson
Foundation, which owns and manages Monticello. "People have argued about this
for 200 years, and there is no end in sight."

The commission included Jefferson scholars at such universities as Harvard,
Yale, Stanford, Brown and the University of Virginia. They challenged several
points made by Monticello researchers.

"The biggest surprise to me was how weak the case really was," said
commission chairman, Robert F. Turner, a professor with the University of
Virginia's Center for National Security Law.

"It's an interpretation," said Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor at the New
York Law School who was not a commission member but whose book, "Thomas
Jefferson and Sally Hemings: an American Controversy," makes a case for the
relationship. "People will just have to read the Monticello report and my
book and this and reach their own conclusions."

The scholars said there is no record of Hemings or her children, other than
Madison Hemings, ever alleging that Jefferson was the father. Madison made
the claim in an 1873 newspaper interview in Ohio.

The report acknowledged Monticello's claim that Jefferson was home when
Hemings' children were conceived, but notes that is also when he had
visitors, including Randolph and other relatives.

"Whatever one thinks of Jefferson's character, there can be little doubt that
he was deeply concerned about his reputation," the report said. "Yet we are
asked to believe that Jefferson would have entrusted his reputation to the
discretion of a 15- or 16-year-old child," which was Sally's age when the
relationship is said to have started.

"If he did that, he was essentially a child-molesting rapist, and that is far
from what we know of him," Turner said.

A dissenting report by Paul Rahe, a professor of history at the University of
Tulsa, said Thomas Jefferson is the more likely father of Hemings' children.


"It is impossible to be certain which Jefferson fathered Eston Hemings," Rahe
wrote. "Randolph Jefferson's known patterns of behavior make him a likely
suspect, but Thomas Jefferson is known to have been present and, in
Randolph's case, his presence is only a likelihood."

*******************

Thursday April 12 2:00 PM ET
Panel Disputes Jefferson's Paternity

By MARIA SANMINIATELLI, Associated Press Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A commission of scholars Thursday disputed claims that
Thomas Jefferson fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings, and said the
evidence points instead to Jefferson's younger brother.

The findings resulted from a yearlong study commissioned by a group of
Jefferson admirers convinced that the third president's reputation is being
besmirched.

The report comes more than two years after DNA tests showed that Hemings'
youngest son, Eston Hemings, was fathered by a Jefferson male.

``The circumstantial case that Eston Hemings was fathered by the president's
younger brother is many times stronger than the case against the president
himself,'' the commission said in a summary of its 450-page report.

With one dissenter on the 13-member commission, the scholars bolster their
case for the brother, Randolph Jefferson, by noting that:

- A slave's memoirs assert that Randolph Jefferson often spent time playing
the fiddle and dancing with the slaves when he visited Monticello, Thomas
Jefferson's home.

- Thomas Jefferson had invited Randolph - who lived about 20 miles away - to
visit Monticello shortly before Hemings became pregnant with Eston.

- Descendants of Eston Hemings passed down the story that Eston was fathered
by ``Thomas Jefferson's uncle.'' Both of Jefferson's paternal uncles had died
before Eston was conceived, but the report points out that Jefferson's
daughter Martha referred to Randolph as ``Uncle Randolph.''

-Sally's childbearing years probably corresponded to the years in which
Randolph was a widower.

The findings contradict a January 2000 report by scholars at Monticello that
scientific and historical evidence shows the president probably fathered one
and possibly all of Hemings' children.

The new commission included Jefferson scholars at such universities as
Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, and Virginia.

``The biggest surprise to me was how weak the case really was,'' said
commission chairman Robert F. Turner, a University of Virginia professor.

Annette Gordon-Reed, a professor at the New York Law School who was not a
commission member but whose book, ``Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: an
American Controversy,'' makes a case for the relationship, said of the new
findings: ``It's an interpretation. People will just have to read the
Monticello report and my book and this and reach their own conclusions.''

The scholars said there is no record of Hemings or her children, other than
Madison Hemings, ever alleging that Jefferson was the father. Madison made
the claim in an 1873 newspaper interview in Ohio.

The report acknowledged Monticello's claim that Jefferson was home when
Hemings' children were conceived, but noted that that is also when he had
visitors, including Randolph.

``Whatever one thinks of Jefferson's character, there can be little doubt
that he was deeply concerned about his reputation,'' the report said. ``Yet
we are asked to believe that Jefferson would have entrusted his reputation to
the discretion of a 15- or 16-year-old child'' - Hemings' age when the
relationship is said to have started.

``If he did that, he was essentially a child-molesting rapist, and that is
far from what we know of him,'' Turner said.

A dissenting report by Paul Rahe, a professor of history at the University of
Tulsa, said Thomas Jefferson is the more likely father of Hemings' children.

``Randolph Jefferson's known patterns of behavior make him a likely suspect,
but Thomas Jefferson is known to have been present and, in Randolph's case,
his presence is only a likelihood,'' Rahe wrote.

*****************

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Panel Says Jefferson Didn't Father Slave's Children, AP Reports


Richmond, Virginia, April 12 <A
HREF="aol://4344:30.bloombrg.389091.602536905">(Bloomberg)</A> -- A
commission of scholars disputes claims that Thomas Jefferson fathered
children with slave Sally Hemings, saying the evidence points instead to
Jefferson's younger brother, the Associated Press reported.

The findings, part of yearlong study by a group of Jefferson admirers, come
more than two years after DNA tests showed that Hemings' youngest son, Eston,
was fathered by a Jefferson male, AP said. An earlier study by a different
group of scholars found that Jefferson fathered one and possibly all of
Hemings' children.

The 13-member commission, with the exception of one member, asserts that
Randolph Jefferson was more likely the father. The report cites a slave
memoirs showing that Randolph socialized with slaves at Jefferson's
Monticello plantation and evidence that he visited shortly before Hemings
became pregnant, AP said.

Descendents of Eston passed down a story that he was fathered by ``Thomas
Jefferson's uncle,'' AP said. Although both of Jefferson's paternal uncles
had died before Eston was conceived, the report points out that Jefferson's
daughter Martha referred to Randolph as ``Uncle Randolph.''

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