Eston Hemings
Encyclopedia
Eston Hemings Jefferson was born a slave at Monticello
, the youngest son of Sally Hemings
, a mixed-race slave. Most historians believe that his father was Thomas Jefferson
, the United States president. Evidence from a 1998 DNA
test showed that Eston's descendants matched those of the male Jefferson line, and there is historical evidence supporting Jefferson being the father. Many historians believe that Jefferson had a 38-year relationship with Sally Hemings and fathered her six children, four of whom survived to adulthood.
Jefferson freed Eston and his older brother Madison Hemings
in his will, as they had not yet come of age at his death. They each married and lived with their families and mother Sally in Charlottesville, Virginia
until her death in 1835. Both brothers and their young families moved to Chillicothe, Ohio
to live in a free state
. Eston Hemings earned a living as a musician and entertainer. In 1852 he moved with his wife and three children to Madison, Wisconsin
, where they changed their surname to Jefferson and entered the white community. Their sons both served in the Union Army, and the older one, John Wayles Jefferson
, achieved the rank of colonel as a white officer.
Both their son Beverly and daughter Anna married into the white community, and their descendants have identified as white. Their descendant Julie Jefferson Westerinen, with two Jefferson descendants from the Hemings' and Wayles' sides of the family, respectively, received the 2010 Search for Common Ground award for racial healing within the larger family. They have created the "Monticello Community" to recognize descendants of all who lived and worked at Monticello.
's 1873 memoir, a few entries in Thomas Jefferson's farm book, a handful of contemporary newspaper accounts, various census and land/tax records, and the family history of his descendants.
Eston was born as the youngest son of Sally Hemings. She was one of the six mixed-race children of Betty Hemings
and John Wayles
(Jefferson's father-in-law), and thus she and her siblings were half-siblings to Jefferson's wife Martha Wayles. As the historians Philip D. Morgan
and Joshua D. Rothman have written, there were numerous interracial relationships in the Wayles-Hemings-Jefferson families, Albemarle County and Virginia, often with multiple generations repeating the pattern. The large Hemings family was at the top of the slave hierarchy at Monticello, with its members working as domestic servants, chefs, craftsmen and artisans. Sally Hemings had light duties, and Eston and his siblings "were permitted to stay about the 'great house', and only required to do such light work as going on errands." Like their older brother Beverley, at age 14 Madison and Eston each began their training in carpentry, under tutelage of their uncle John Hemings
, the master carpenter and woodworker at Monticello. All three brothers learned to play the fiddle (Jefferson played the violin.)
Madison were manumitted at the age of 21 in 1826, in accordance with President Jefferson’s will. (Eston was "given his time" and freed before he reached 21.) Additionally, Jefferson had ensured that the brothers had permission from the legislature to stay in Virginia after being freed, unlike most freed slaves. In his 1873 memoir, Madison
stated that this was due to an agreement made between Jefferson and Sally Hemings prior to their return to the United States
from France
in 1789. After Jefferson's death, Sally Hemings was "given her time", and went to live with her free sons in Charlottesville. In the 1830 census, the census taker in Charlottesville classified all three Hemings as white, showing how others perceived them by appearance because of their overwhelming European ancestry. Sally was of three-quarters white ancestry. Her children were seven-eighths white and legally white under the Virginia law of the time. It was not until 1924 that Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act, classifying anyone as black who had any known African ancestry under the "one drop rule".
. In 1830, Eston Hemings purchased property and built a house on Main Street, where his mother lived with him until her death in 1835.
, and Ann (Nancy) West, a mixed-race free woman of color. Ann (Nancy) was the daughter of Priscilla, a former slave, and Thomas West, her white master, who left his children Nancy and James West property in his will. Prohibited by law from marrying, Isaacs and West maintained separate households and businesses for years (she was a successful baker.) They had seven children together, and later in their lives shared a household.
Eston and Julia Ann Hemings had three children: John Wayles Jefferson
(1835–1892), Anne Wayles Jefferson (1836–1866), and Beverly Frederick Jefferson (1838–1908). The first two were born in Charlottesville. About 1837 Hemings moved with his family to Chillicothe
, a town in southwest Ohio with a thriving community, with free blacks and numerous white abolitionists, which had stations linked to the Underground Railroad
. There Hemings became a professional musician, playing the violin and leading a successful dance band. In a 1902 newspaper article, an observer wrote that while Hemings lived in Ohio in the 1840s, it was widely rumored that he and his brother Madison were the sons of Thomas Jefferson. Several neighbors had traveled together to Washington, DC, where they saw a statue of Jefferson and commented on how Hemings resembled him. The correspondent also recollected: “Eston Hemings, being a master of the violin, and an accomplished "caller" of dances, always officiated at the "swell" entertainments of Chillicothe.”
Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 increased pressure on the black communities in Ohio. In towns along the Underground Railroad
, slave catchers invaded the communities, sometimes capturing and enslaving free people as well as fugitive slaves. In 1852 the Hemingses decided to move their family further north for security, and migrated to Madison, Wisconsin
. There they changed their surname to Jefferson, and they lived as part of the European-American (white) community.
Their eldest son John Wayles Jefferson
served as a white officer in the regular United States Army
during the American Civil War
; he was promoted to colonel. John W. Jefferson led the Wisconsin 8th Infantry
. He was wounded twice in battle. After the war, he published articles about his experiences. Before the war, John Jefferson ran the American House hotel in Madison, which was taken over by his younger brother Beverly. Afterward John became wealthy as a cotton broker in Memphis, Tennessee
and left a considerable estate at his death in 1892.
Both Anna and Beverly Jefferson married white partners, and their descendants have identified as white. Beverly Jefferson was also a Civil War veteran, although he had short service. He moved from the American House to run the Capitol House hotels, as well as founding the first omnibus line in the Wisconsin capital. His wife Anna Smith was from Pennsylvania. Beverly Jefferson was a popular figure among politicians in the capital. Beverly's sons gained educations and entered professions: one became a doctor in Chicago, another an attorney, another worked in railroad management.
The Eston Hemings Jefferson family is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison.
.
Prominent former skeptics of the Hemings-Jefferson relationship were convinced, including the historian Joseph Ellis
, and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which runs Monticello. The latter has incorporated new training for its guides, supported new research, and developed exhibits at the site that show Jefferson as the father of Sally Hemings' children. The National Genealogical Society
has also concurred in this conclusion. The field of Jeffersonian scholarship has generally changed to accept these findings, and new work has incorporated them, such as Andrew Burstein's Jefferson's Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello (2005). More recent works, such as books by Gordon Wood
and Jack Rakove also reflect the new consensus, and prominent historians such as Philip D. Morgan
and Edmund Morgan
have commented on Jefferson's paternity.
. They identify as European American, African American and European American, respectively, and Works is a member of the Monticello Association
.
They received the international "Search for Common Ground" award for "their work to bridge the divide within their family and heal the legacy of slavery." They have been featured on NPR
and in other interviews across the country. In the last several years, since meeting, they have become active in talking about race and related issues in public forums. In addition to organizing reunions between the two sides of the Jefferson family, they have created a new organization, the "Monticello Community", to bring together the descendants of all who lived and worked at Monticello.
Ms. Westerinen said she had gained a lot from the DNA news. "Our family is like a sample family that was deeply divided and then came together," she said. "So think of what an example we can set for America."
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
, the youngest son of Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings
Sarah "Sally" Hemings was a mixed-race slave owned by President Thomas Jefferson through inheritance from his wife. She was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson by their father John Wayles...
, a mixed-race slave. Most historians believe that his father was Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, the United States president. Evidence from a 1998 DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
test showed that Eston's descendants matched those of the male Jefferson line, and there is historical evidence supporting Jefferson being the father. Many historians believe that Jefferson had a 38-year relationship with Sally Hemings and fathered her six children, four of whom survived to adulthood.
Jefferson freed Eston and his older brother Madison Hemings
Madison Hemings
Madison Hemings, born James Madison Hemings , was born into slavery as the son of the mixed-race slave Sally Hemings; he was freed after the death of his master Thomas Jefferson. Based on historical evidence, most historians believe that Jefferson, United States president, was his father...
in his will, as they had not yet come of age at his death. They each married and lived with their families and mother Sally in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
until her death in 1835. Both brothers and their young families moved to Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
to live in a free state
Free state
Free state may refer to:* Free state , a loosely defined term used by various states at different times and places to describe themselves...
. Eston Hemings earned a living as a musician and entertainer. In 1852 he moved with his wife and three children to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, where they changed their surname to Jefferson and entered the white community. Their sons both served in the Union Army, and the older one, John Wayles Jefferson
John Wayles Jefferson
John Wayles Jefferson, born John Wayles Hemings , was the son of a former slave who served as a colonel in the Union Army and was a businessman, becoming a wealthy cotton broker in Memphis, Tennessee...
, achieved the rank of colonel as a white officer.
Both their son Beverly and daughter Anna married into the white community, and their descendants have identified as white. Their descendant Julie Jefferson Westerinen, with two Jefferson descendants from the Hemings' and Wayles' sides of the family, respectively, received the 2010 Search for Common Ground award for racial healing within the larger family. They have created the "Monticello Community" to recognize descendants of all who lived and worked at Monticello.
Early life
What is known of Eston's life is derived from his brother MadisonMadison Hemings
Madison Hemings, born James Madison Hemings , was born into slavery as the son of the mixed-race slave Sally Hemings; he was freed after the death of his master Thomas Jefferson. Based on historical evidence, most historians believe that Jefferson, United States president, was his father...
's 1873 memoir, a few entries in Thomas Jefferson's farm book, a handful of contemporary newspaper accounts, various census and land/tax records, and the family history of his descendants.
Eston was born as the youngest son of Sally Hemings. She was one of the six mixed-race children of Betty Hemings
Betty Hemings
Elizabeth "Betty" Hemings was an American enslaved woman of mixed race, who in 1761 became the concubine of the planter John Wayles of Virginia. He had become a widower for the third time. He had six children with her over a 12-year period...
and John Wayles
John Wayles
John Wayles was a planter, slave trader and lawyer in the Virginia Colony. He is historically best known as the father-in-law of Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States....
(Jefferson's father-in-law), and thus she and her siblings were half-siblings to Jefferson's wife Martha Wayles. As the historians Philip D. Morgan
Philip D. Morgan
Philip D. Morgan is a British-American historian. He has specialized in Early Modern colonial British America, and slavery in the Americas...
and Joshua D. Rothman have written, there were numerous interracial relationships in the Wayles-Hemings-Jefferson families, Albemarle County and Virginia, often with multiple generations repeating the pattern. The large Hemings family was at the top of the slave hierarchy at Monticello, with its members working as domestic servants, chefs, craftsmen and artisans. Sally Hemings had light duties, and Eston and his siblings "were permitted to stay about the 'great house', and only required to do such light work as going on errands." Like their older brother Beverley, at age 14 Madison and Eston each began their training in carpentry, under tutelage of their uncle John Hemings
John Hemings
John Hemings was born into slavery at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello as part of the large mixed-race Hemings family...
, the master carpenter and woodworker at Monticello. All three brothers learned to play the fiddle (Jefferson played the violin.)
Madison were manumitted at the age of 21 in 1826, in accordance with President Jefferson’s will. (Eston was "given his time" and freed before he reached 21.) Additionally, Jefferson had ensured that the brothers had permission from the legislature to stay in Virginia after being freed, unlike most freed slaves. In his 1873 memoir, Madison
Madison Hemings
Madison Hemings, born James Madison Hemings , was born into slavery as the son of the mixed-race slave Sally Hemings; he was freed after the death of his master Thomas Jefferson. Based on historical evidence, most historians believe that Jefferson, United States president, was his father...
stated that this was due to an agreement made between Jefferson and Sally Hemings prior to their return to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1789. After Jefferson's death, Sally Hemings was "given her time", and went to live with her free sons in Charlottesville. In the 1830 census, the census taker in Charlottesville classified all three Hemings as white, showing how others perceived them by appearance because of their overwhelming European ancestry. Sally was of three-quarters white ancestry. Her children were seven-eighths white and legally white under the Virginia law of the time. It was not until 1924 that Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act, classifying anyone as black who had any known African ancestry under the "one drop rule".
Post-slavery life
Upon gaining freedom, Hemings initially pursued a career in woodworking and carpentry in Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
. In 1830, Eston Hemings purchased property and built a house on Main Street, where his mother lived with him until her death in 1835.
Marriage and family
In 1832, Eston married a free woman of mixed race, Julia Ann Isaacs (1814–1889). She was the daughter of the successful Jewish merchant David Isaacs from GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Ann (Nancy) West, a mixed-race free woman of color. Ann (Nancy) was the daughter of Priscilla, a former slave, and Thomas West, her white master, who left his children Nancy and James West property in his will. Prohibited by law from marrying, Isaacs and West maintained separate households and businesses for years (she was a successful baker.) They had seven children together, and later in their lives shared a household.
Eston and Julia Ann Hemings had three children: John Wayles Jefferson
John Wayles Jefferson
John Wayles Jefferson, born John Wayles Hemings , was the son of a former slave who served as a colonel in the Union Army and was a businessman, becoming a wealthy cotton broker in Memphis, Tennessee...
(1835–1892), Anne Wayles Jefferson (1836–1866), and Beverly Frederick Jefferson (1838–1908). The first two were born in Charlottesville. About 1837 Hemings moved with his family to Chillicothe
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
, a town in southwest Ohio with a thriving community, with free blacks and numerous white abolitionists, which had stations linked to the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. There Hemings became a professional musician, playing the violin and leading a successful dance band. In a 1902 newspaper article, an observer wrote that while Hemings lived in Ohio in the 1840s, it was widely rumored that he and his brother Madison were the sons of Thomas Jefferson. Several neighbors had traveled together to Washington, DC, where they saw a statue of Jefferson and commented on how Hemings resembled him. The correspondent also recollected: “Eston Hemings, being a master of the violin, and an accomplished "caller" of dances, always officiated at the "swell" entertainments of Chillicothe.”
Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 increased pressure on the black communities in Ohio. In towns along the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, slave catchers invaded the communities, sometimes capturing and enslaving free people as well as fugitive slaves. In 1852 the Hemingses decided to move their family further north for security, and migrated to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. There they changed their surname to Jefferson, and they lived as part of the European-American (white) community.
Their eldest son John Wayles Jefferson
John Wayles Jefferson
John Wayles Jefferson, born John Wayles Hemings , was the son of a former slave who served as a colonel in the Union Army and was a businessman, becoming a wealthy cotton broker in Memphis, Tennessee...
served as a white officer in the regular United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
; he was promoted to colonel. John W. Jefferson led the Wisconsin 8th Infantry
8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 8th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 8th Wisconsin's mascot was Old Abe, a bald eagle that accompanied the regiment into battle.-Service:...
. He was wounded twice in battle. After the war, he published articles about his experiences. Before the war, John Jefferson ran the American House hotel in Madison, which was taken over by his younger brother Beverly. Afterward John became wealthy as a cotton broker in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and left a considerable estate at his death in 1892.
Both Anna and Beverly Jefferson married white partners, and their descendants have identified as white. Beverly Jefferson was also a Civil War veteran, although he had short service. He moved from the American House to run the Capitol House hotels, as well as founding the first omnibus line in the Wisconsin capital. His wife Anna Smith was from Pennsylvania. Beverly Jefferson was a popular figure among politicians in the capital. Beverly's sons gained educations and entered professions: one became a doctor in Chicago, another an attorney, another worked in railroad management.
The Eston Hemings Jefferson family is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison.
Descendants
In the 1970s, Jean Jefferson, unaware of her connection to the Hemings family, read Fawn Brodie's biography, Jefferson: An Intimate Portrait. She recognized Eston Hemings Jefferson's name in the book from family stories and contact Brodie. The historian helped Jefferson start putting the pieces of the family history back together. They discovered that in the 1940s, her father and his brothers had decided against continued telling of the Hemings-Jefferson story to their children, out of fear the younger people would be discriminated against. The family's new knowledge of their history enabled DNA researchers in 1998 to locate Jean's cousin John Weeks Jefferson, a male descendant of Eston Hemings Jefferson, for testing. His Y-chromosome matched that of the Thomas Jefferson male line.DNA testing and changes in historians' opinions
In 1998 DNA testing of the Y-chromosome, John Weeks Jefferson, a descendant of Eston Hemings who identifies as white, was shown to be a match to the Jefferson male line, and thus a direct descendant. The Carrs, historically offered by the Jefferson family as paternity candidates, were shown to have no connection to the Hemings descendant. This result together with the weight of documented historic evidence, has led most historians to conclude that Jefferson was the father of Eston and all of Hemings' children. As Dr. Eugene Foster noted in his team's Nature article about the DNA testing, historical evidence included Thomas Jefferson’s recorded presence at Monticello at the conception of each of Hemings’ known children, based on a timeline developed by Dumas MaloneDumas Malone
Dumas Malone was an American historian, biographer, and editor noted for his six-volume biography on Thomas Jefferson, for which he received the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for history...
.
Prominent former skeptics of the Hemings-Jefferson relationship were convinced, including the historian Joseph Ellis
Joseph Ellis
Joseph John Ellis is a Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College who has written histories on the founding generation of American presidents. His book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2001.-Background and teaching:He received his B.A...
, and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which runs Monticello. The latter has incorporated new training for its guides, supported new research, and developed exhibits at the site that show Jefferson as the father of Sally Hemings' children. The National Genealogical Society
National Genealogical Society
The National Genealogical Society is a genealogical interest group founded in 1903 in Washington, D.C.. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia....
has also concurred in this conclusion. The field of Jeffersonian scholarship has generally changed to accept these findings, and new work has incorporated them, such as Andrew Burstein's Jefferson's Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello (2005). More recent works, such as books by Gordon Wood
Gordon Wood
Gordon Wood may refer to:* Gordon S. Wood , American historian* Gordon Wood , high school football coach in Texas* Gordon Wood , Australian...
and Jack Rakove also reflect the new consensus, and prominent historians such as Philip D. Morgan
Philip D. Morgan
Philip D. Morgan is a British-American historian. He has specialized in Early Modern colonial British America, and slavery in the Americas...
and Edmund Morgan
Edmund Morgan
Edmund Sears Morgan , an eminent authority on early American history, is Emeritus Professor of History at Yale University, where he taught from 1955 to 1986.-Life:...
have commented on Jefferson's paternity.
Critics
There has been no genetic connection established between the Jefferson male line and any of Sally Hemings' children other than Eston and DNA evidence related to Eston does not specifically indicate Thomas Jefferson. Carr paternity is not ruled out for Hemings' children other than Eston. Critics of the paternity conclusion point out that other men, such as Jefferson's younger brother Randolph, could have fathered one or more of Sally Hemings' children. Genealogists have noted there were at least 25 adult male Jeffersons in Virginia, eight of whom lived within 20 miles of Monticello.The Monticello Community
In 2010 Eston's descendant Julie Jefferson Westerinen (whose brother's DNA matched the Jefferson line), and her cousin Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, were honored together with their half-cousin David Works, a descendant of Martha Wayles Skelton JeffersonMartha Wayles Skelton Jefferson
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, born Martha Wayles was the wife of Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. It was her second marriage, as her first husband had died young...
. They identify as European American, African American and European American, respectively, and Works is a member of the Monticello Association
Monticello Association
Founded in 1913, the Monticello Association is a non-profit organization of the lineal descendants of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of the United States. Jefferson was the designer, builder, owner and principal resident of Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. Historically the Association has...
.
They received the international "Search for Common Ground" award for "their work to bridge the divide within their family and heal the legacy of slavery." They have been featured on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
and in other interviews across the country. In the last several years, since meeting, they have become active in talking about race and related issues in public forums. In addition to organizing reunions between the two sides of the Jefferson family, they have created a new organization, the "Monticello Community", to bring together the descendants of all who lived and worked at Monticello.
Ms. Westerinen said she had gained a lot from the DNA news. "Our family is like a sample family that was deeply divided and then came together," she said. "So think of what an example we can set for America."
Further reading
- Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2008
- Stanton, Lucia. Free Some Day: The African-American Families of Monticello, Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 2000.
External links
- "Sally Hemings Children: Eston Hemings", Photos of Eston Hemings' descendants, Monticello
- Judge Sibley, "Beautiful Octoroon: Miss Anna Heming", originally in Scioto Gazette, 7 Aug 1902; Jefferson's Blood, PBS Frontline
- Getting Word: Oral History Project, Monticello
- Passing: Renouncing the Past, Monticello Website
- "Thomas Jefferson (descendants in Wisconsin)", Wisconsin Historical Society
- François Furstenberg, "Jefferson's Other Family: His concubine was also his wife's half-sister", review of Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello, Slate, 23 September 2008