We do not know if Sally Hemings was kind, patient, literate, a good mother, industrious, honest, or any of the other personality and character traits that define a person. Those who begin with the proposition that she was the mother of Thomas Jefferson’s children and the half-sister to Jefferson’s wife find it necessary to suppose these traits. So, we have a spate of novels, plays, and Jefferson historical works that present us with an imagined person. There is speculation on the patient Hemings at Monticello waiting for Jefferson to return, and when he does, he is excited by the visage of his long dead wife. She is said to be fluent in French, mistress of Monticello, or in the case of one movie, a stop on the Underground Railroad. I commented in a previous post that she was a “semi-fictional character.” David Kiracofe observed that since we don't “know” Sally Hemings, this description of her (which he apparently agrees with) was “ill mannered.” Odd. Richard E. Dixon Editor, Jefferson Notes Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society 4122 Leonard Drive Fairfax, Va 22030 703-691-0770 fax 703-691-0978 > [Original Message] > From: David Kiracofe <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Date: 5/16/2008 7:23:33 PM > Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Language > > I think what is upsetting here for some folks is that while Sally Hemings may loom larger in the imagination -- even to the point of being "semi-fictional" as you say -- than the hard historical record warrants, there was, in fact, such a living person: she lived as a slave at Monticello, a woman, and apparently had a number of children, she was a mother. We know little about her beyond that that everyone on the list could agree on, but I for one consider it uncharitable and ill-mannered to describe someone who I don't know with such perjorative and even cruel terminology. > > David Kiracofe > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html