In time for the Hemings and Woodson reunion at Monticello:
>> For Immediate Release Contact: Dr. Douglas Day
>> Date: July 1, 2003 (434) 296-1492
>>
>> "A President in the Family": Albemarle Charlottesville Historical
>> Society, African American Genealogy Group Host Talk, Book Signing by
>> Hemings Descendant
>>
>> The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and the local
>> African American Genealogy Group will co-host an upcoming speaking
>> engagement and book signing by Byron W. Woodson, author of A
>> President in the Family: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, and Thomas
>> Woodson on Friday, July 11 at PVCC.
>>
>> Woodson's book was chosen for inclusion as an American Library
>> Association Booklist Editor's Choice for 2001, and was placed on the
>> ALA's Top 10 African American Nonfiction (Adult) list for 2002.
>> Their reviewer said of the book: "Woodson conveys the pain, pride,
>> and persistence of a remarkable family that faced nearly 200 years of
>> denial of their descent from the first-born son of Thomas Jefferson
>> and his slave Sally Hemings. An important contribution to the honest
>> presentation of American history."
>
>> Byron W. Woodson, born in Germany on Dec. 31, 1947, is the
>> great-great-great-grandchild of the progenitor of the Woodson family,
>> Thomas Corbin Woodson, born at Shadwell, Virginia in December 1789.
>
>> According to Woodson family oral and researched history, Thomas was
>> the first-born child of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, conceived
>> in Paris while Jefferson was serving as Minister to France and Sally
>> was a caretaker for his youngest daughter. (The affair was
>> dramatized in the controversial 1995 Merchant Ivory film, Jefferson
>> in Paris.) Thomas Woodson was born at Monticello and shortly after
>> was sent to live with a white Woodson family in Albemarle County.
>
>> DNA testing taken in the year 2001 by Dr. Eugene Foster appeared to
>> have disproved that Woodson was a son of Jefferson. However, Woodson
>> family members steadfastly deny the accuracy of the DNA findings and
>> claim that their extensive sources are more reliable.
>
>> The Woodson Sourcebook compiled by Byron's mother Minnie Shumate
>> Woodson is akin to an oversized family bible.
>
>> "Wherever one falls in the on-going debate about Jefferson's
>> relationship with Sally Hemings, an objective reader must acknowledge
>> that A President in the Family is masterfully written, and a
>> thoroughly compelling story," says Albemarle Charlottesville
>> Historical Society director Dr. Douglas Day. "The Woodson family's
>> history is inextricably entwined with that of the Jeffersons."
>
> Woodson will give a talk and autograph copies of his book on Friday,
> July 11, 2003, at 7 p.m. at the Earl V. Dickerson Building at Piedmont
> Virginia Community College. For further information, contact Julian
> Burke of the African American Genealogy Group at 434-589-4895
>
> The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society works to nurture and
> promote an awareness and appreciation of the history of
> Charlottesville and Albemarle County through exhibits, walking tours,
> publications, and other programs. The Society is located in the
> McIntire Building at 200 Second Street NE in downtown
> Charlottesville. The Society's Exhibit Hall and Library are open to
> the public Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday
> from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. For information about Society programs,
> please call Dr. Douglas Day, Executive Director, at (434) 296-1492.
>
>
> -- END --
--
--
Dr. Douglas Day
Executive Director
Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society
The McIntire Building
200 Second Street, NE
Charlottesville, Va. 22902-5245
434.296.1492
fax 434.296-4576
<albemarlehistory.org>
<charlottesvillehistory.org>
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