In an earlier message Jonathan Taylor wrote:

> I was wondering if anyone has been successful at approaching descendants
> of their ancestor's "last slave owner" for additional (non-public)
> information.  If so, what is the best way to approach them?  What are
> the no-no's, etc?  I'm also curious how people who descend from
> someone's hypothesized "last slave owner" have responded in the past.

I have posted a number of wills and documents mentioning slaves on
afrigeneas to help descendants of slaves find their ancestors. If
anyone were to ask me about the owners (my relatives), I would be
happy to share whatever I have.

A descendant of a slave owned by a brother of one of my ancestors did
correspond with me for a while, and we were delighted to share further
information from both sides.

Someone else disparaged the white descendants of Thomas Jefferson who
are skeptical of claims that Sally Hemings's descendants are also
Thomas's. Let's not start up that argument again. Just note that the
DNA evidence DOES NOT prove that Sally's descendants are Thomas's, but
merely proves that some male Jefferson fathered at least one but not
all of Sally's children.

Let's be scientifically accurate. Read the entire Jefferson/Hemings
article, not just the headline. Don't attribute mean motives to people
who don't share a low standard of proof.

Kathleen Much
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