There seems to be controversy only about a few of the claims I advanced.  So let's see if we can sort them out.

4.  She was the half sister of Jefferson's wife

Herb replied:  "NO PROOF, See book, Anatomy of a Scandal"

OK--this one deserves some conversation then.  What is the evidentiary basis for the claim, commonly advanced, that SH was the half sister to Jefferson's wife?

5.  She accompanied Jefferson to France 

Herb replied:  "FALSE, she came later with TJ's youngest daughter in place of a much older maid who was pregnant."

Let's revise my sentence here then to read "Sally Hemings was in France with Thomas Jefferson."  Can people agree with that?  Exactly how SH got to France is, to my understanding of the controversy, pretty much unimportant.  But the fact that she WAS in France with TJ matters, as some historians draw inferences from that.  Can we agree that SH and TJ were in France together?

6.  She had children by more than one man 

Herb replied:  "UNKNOWN but suspected."

Not so.  We know this with a fair bit of certainty.  We know that one of Sally Hemings' children was NOT conceieved by someone who was either TJ or one of his paternal relatives.  And likewise, we also know that one of her children WAS conceived by someone who was either TJ or one his paternal relatives.  Taken together, these two facts mean that we can say with certainty that two of the men who we believe to have been children of SH were conceieved by different fathers--one of whom was a Jefferson, and one of whom was not.  Thus, we can conclude with some confidence that SH 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.

Herb replied:  "PARTLY TRUE, you left out his younger brother, Randolph"

Um--Herb?  Are you seriously suggesting that Randolph Jefferson was not descended from Thomas Jefferson's paternal grandfather?  You are right that I should have included, in the second part of the sentence, "and Jefferson's brother."  But once again, the main point is that we know that one of the fathers of one of SH's children was either Jefferson or a close male relative.  

9.  During the years when Hemings was having children, Jefferson was rarely at Monticello 

Herb replied:  "FALSE, see your above question and my reply."

What above question?  And what reply?  Can you clarify, please?  

This last one matters, since it is the basis for the circumstantial argument that TJ was the father--the inference from the pattern of SH's pregnancies and of TJ's movements, which some historians (AGR, among others) have drawn to argue for TJ's paternity.

All best,
Kevin
Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
Department of History
James Madison University

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