I  have been requested by the authors of, "Anatomy of A Scandal, Thomas
Jefferson and the Sally Story", available from Amazon and elsewhere, to
forward the following comments:  
Herb Barger
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Becky [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 6:28 PM
To: Herbert Barger
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] The Wayles/Hemings miscegenation "rumor"
 
Mr. Weinceck is correct in naming those four "sources" of the
Sally-half-sister rumor. A rumor ("Oxford Shorter") is "Hearsay not
based on definite knowledge. An unverified or unconfirmed statement or
report." 
(1) The 1802 letter of Thomas Gibbons was written as he arrived "home"
for the winter. Mr. Gibbons, an ardent Federalist for several years, had
been named as one of the "midnight judges" and was stopped by the new
Jefferson administration from taking that office. The infamous letter
was written following  his travel between Elizabeth, New Jersey,
Philadelphia, Frederick, Maryland and Staunton, Virginia and thence to
Savannah. He wrote ugly descriptions of Sally's children and as an
attorney-added, "I have no doubt, tho' I never saw any one of them."
This is rumor. (His angry feelings toward Thomas Jefferson continued for
many years-when his son was considering joining the army during the war
of 1812, he suggested his son should instead "go to Monticello and hold
the piss-pot for Sally.") 
(2)  The May 31, 1805 publication of a letter regarding Thomas Jefferson
written by "Thomas Turner" (apparently a pseudonym) of Virginia to that
Boston newspaper brought forth multiple responses from the press in
Richmond over the ensuing summer. A letter to the "Richmond Virginia
Gazette and Advertiser" claimed responsiblity for the letter to the
Boston editor. This October 1805 letter was signed as "T. Turner,
Wheatland., Jefferson County" and again expresses no personal knowledge
of the charges, saying they occurred before his birth. Young Thomas
Turner of Wheatland, Jefferson County was about 12 at the  time. This is
rumor or an outright lie.
(3)  Isaac Jefferson gave his oral reminiscences to Charles Campbell of
Petersburg in 1847. Isaac is quoted in clear terms describing many
people at Monticello where he lived as a boy and young man. However, he
made an exception to his usual forthright language:, saying "Folks said"
when he spoke of "old Mr. Wayles." (Isaac had not been a Wayles family
slave and he was born about the same time John Wayles died.) This is
rumor and Isaac made that distinction.
(4)  Madison Hemings interview of 1873 cannot describe any knowledge of
John Wayles and only a small recollection of his grandmother, Betty
Hemings. His story qualifies as hearsay.
In answering Fawn Brodie, Virginius Dabney accepted the Madison Hemings
charge that John Wayles was his grandfather. But Dabney also claimed
that Callender travelled to Albermarle County and that is only based on
what Callender wrote in his newspaper. This was not even rumor but an
unsupported statement most likely invented for rhetorical flourish. 
The Sally-half-sister concept is rumor and we found nothing more
substantive confirming  what Mr. Weincek has cited as these four
"sources."
Best, 
Becky and Jim McMurry 

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