I believe that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings’s children. While the DNA evidence doesn’t prove this (it proves that the descendants of her son Eston were fathered by a Jefferson male) and the circumstantial evidence doesn’t prove it (the manumission of Sally and her children in spite of the money they would bring into a desperately indebted estate, the testimony of Madison Hemings, etc.), the two combined based with what else is known of the man would definitely show, to me, that best evidence is TJ & SH (who was said to closely resemble his dead wife, whom he was passionately devoted to) were long term lovers and had five or more children.
Big deal. So what? While it’s definitely something I would mention if I were writing a biography of Jefferson (if only because it was brought up by his political opponents [and Jefferson never denied it]) I wouldn’t dwell on it. It just happens to be how the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, the ambassador to France, the third president, the founder of U-VA, the scientist/architect/Renaissance Man of such fascinating intellect and amazing contradictions got his sexual jollies for the last thirty-five years of his life, no big whoop.
However, I’m amazed at how adamant and passionate Jefferson defenders become when Sally is mentioned. On another message board I sometimes post to even Ph.D.s insist (giving no convincing evidence) that Jefferson would not have fathered children with a slave, that he was 65 years old when her last child was born (never mind that fellow Virginian John Tyler had 3 children after that age and Jefferson was known to be in remarkably good health and vibrant even as an octogenarian), that it is political propaganda (not if it’s true), that it’s not in character with what is known of him (yeah… it’s much more believable that the passionate lover of Martha Jefferson, Maria Cosway, Angelica Schuyler, etc., was celibate for the last 35 years of his life, and hardly any middle aged man would be attracted to a teenager who worships him as a god and looks like the beloved dead wife who made him swear he’d never remarry), etc.
What’s the big deal? In any book on Jefferson or Heming you’ll find on Amazon.com you’ll find dozens if not hundreds of defenses and denials of the affair in spite of
1-the mountain of evidence it occurred
2-the fact it doesn’t matter in the least in terms of his donations and influence on the country
Does anybody understand why this affair is still burning red hot 225 years after it started?
PS- For those who haven’t read The Daily Show book AMERICA, the foreward by Jefferson is inspired (especially when he asks if it’s true that Halle Berry is available again).