We can agree with all but number 6  which is not proved; that is the DNA test on one of the alleged descendants of Sally Hemings did not match TJ's DNA but this does not prove that TJ did not father all of Sally's children, it may prove that somewhere along the way someone else was the father or mother of a child and it broke the TJ DNA line but that teh family did not know this; these things happen over time and in many families.  

For 8 it is ALL the pregnancies we know of.

On Sat, Oct 11, 2008 at 11:01 AM, <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Let us see if we can agree on some basic facts--what can we say about Sally
> Hemings that no one is likely to dispute.
>
> 1.  She was a slave.
> 2.  She belonged to Thomas Jefferson
> 3.  She had several children
> 4.  She was the half sister of Jefferson's wife
> 5.  She accompanied Jefferson to France
> 6.  She had children by more than one man
> 7.  The father of one of her children was descended from Thomas Jefferson's
> paternal grandfather--that is to say, we can narrow the list of possible
> fathers for this child to Thomas Jefferson, his paternal uncles, and his
> paternal cousins
> 8.  Most (all?) of Heming's pregnancies correspond with times when
> Jefferson was at Monticello
> 9.  During the years when Hemings was having children, Jefferson was rarely
> at Monticello
>
> Can we agree that we know these things with reasonable certitude?
>
> All best,
> Kevin
> Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
> Department of History
> James Madison University
>
> ______________________________________
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>

______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html


Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
     and Public Policy
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York   12208-3494

518-445-3386 
[log in to unmask]

______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html