The National Genealogical Society Quarterly devoted the whole of its
September 2001 issue (volume 89, number 3) to the question whether Thomas
Jefferson may have been the father of some or all of Sally Hemings's
children.

A distinguished genealogist, Helen F. M. Leary, who began with no
preconceptions, investigated the evidence employing the rigorous documentary
standards of professional genealogy; another distinguished genealogist,
Thomas W. Jones, evaluated the recent publications concerning this
controversy; historian Joshua D. Rothman, who has written on mixed-race
famlies in Jeffersonian Virginia, evaluated the same recent publications;
and historian Gary B. Mills, who also does genealogy, compiled "A Selective
Bibliography of Efforts to Genealogically Document Children of Master-Slave
Relationships."

Most historians have probably not seen this special issue of the NGS
Quarterly and may not appreciate the high scholarly standards that the
quarterly's editors demand of contributors; but no person interested in the
controversy, the evidence, and how the evidence has been interpreted should
neglect this important collection of essays and its accompanying
bibliography.

The National Genealogical Society's web site is http://www.ngsgenealogy.org

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
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