Yes Susan, I am very familiar with the NGS Special Quarterly. It was
conceived, researched and written by noted genealogists WHEN THEY ARE IN THEIR
OWN FIELD of expertese. Nothing in the Jefferson-Hemings DNA Study required
their expertese and that is one of the things that angered the professional
genealogists. No where in the entire study were their services
required.....they could add nothing of importance to the study. There was
nothing wrong with the genealogy of those 19 DNA donors. The NGS Quarterly did
not address that at all......their attack was upon the 13 prominent scholars
and their scholarly Scholars Commission Report. One year of concentrated
independent research by this blue ribbon panel of full professors (read the
report from a link on www.angelfire.com/va/TJTruth or www.tjheritage.org), led
them to  conclude that some Monticello Report research was biased and one
sided.  To counter balance this NGS Quarterly article please read Cyndi
Burton's latest publication, "Jefferson Vindicated, Fallacies, Omissions and
Contradictions In the Hemings Genealogical Search."

The author is a noted Charlottesville genealogist and the book had an
excellent foreword written by James A. Bear, Jr., Past Director of Monticello.
Ordering instructions can be found on the above web pages. Just a quick blurb
from the book that directly relates to the National Genealogical Society that
may bring the reader up to date: "Adding more confusion to this matter is
Jefferson-Hemings, A Special Issue of the National Genealogical Society
Quarterly. As professional genealogists know, all has not been well at the
National Genealogical Society (NGS) in the recent past, and virttually the
entire leadership has been REPLACED since the special issue was released in
2001." Author Burton states, "as someone who has spent much of her life
researching Jefferson and other families from this area (Charlottesville), of
Virginia, nothing genealogical has struck me as being more bizarre than this
"special issue." If anyone desires to see how author Burton exposes the
"special NGS issue" it is a must read.

Susan's concluding last sentence about the NGS standard genealogical analysis
combined with DNA evidence, can be used  with respect to the Jefferson-Hemings
question.  IF required (and it was not in this particular study), the
genealogical findings of the Jefferson family were NOT presented by Dr. Eugene
Foster to Nature Journal. I gave the information to him, CAUTIONED him, that
Nature MUST be aware of it and yet he only gave it to them AFTER the original
article when I and other observant questioners requested a retraction of the
FALSE headline from Nature Journal. Finally in a later issue (January 7,
1999), Dr. Foster admitted that DNA did not find that it was Thomas and that
Herbert Barger had given him "family genealogy" which he did not include. Dr.
Foster's plan was to prove or disprove the Carr brothers implication in this
long running myth. In the absence of a Carr brothers match to anyone, Nature
concluded, in the absence of my family information, that it defaulted to
Thomas, himself. But how could have a "professional genealogist" could have
prevented this assumption. I made several recommendations but Dr. Foster was
the "man in charge" and he never mentioned having a need for a professional
genealogist and even if he had I would have seen no need for one. .

Herb Barger
Jefferson Family Historian

-----Original Message-----
From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Susan Molye
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 2:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Are Martha Jefferson and Sally Hemings Half-Sisters?


Before this discussion disappears, I would like to recommend a
special issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume
89, No. 3 (September 2001).  The title of the issue is
"Jefferson-Hemings."  In this issue nationally known and highly
regarded genealogists analyzed the evidence from a genealogical
perspective and examined whether the "Scholars Commission" Report
satisfies the standards for genealogical proof.  If Mr. Barger isn't
familiar with these articles, he should read them.  Anyone interested
in pursuing the topic by reading the articles Mr. Barger referred to
in his message of 23 March 2006 should also take the trouble to find
this issue of the NGSQ and read it.  It should be available at many
libraries that have genealogy rooms, and it is also available for
purchase directly from the National Genealogical Society at
<http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/BookStore/ShowProduct.cfm?PRODID=206>.

No matter what our level of genealogical education and experience, I
hope we all aspire to use good genealogical methods as we do our
research.  The NGSQ special issue that I have mentioned shows how
standard genealogical analysis, combined with DNA evidence, can be
used with respect to the Jefferson-Hemings question.

Susan M.

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