Did Thomas Jefferson have an affair with one of his slaves?

zbeckabee

That continues to be up for debate. Scroll down for: The Sally Hemings controversy For more details on this topic, see Sally Hemings and Jefferson DNA Data. (More info available on each of those cross links) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson#The_Sally_Hemings_controversy In addition...(same link) The allegation that Jefferson fathered children with Hemings first gained widespread public attention in 1802, when journalist James T. Callender, wrote in a Richmond newspaper, "... [Jefferson] keeps and for many years has kept, as his concubine, one of his slaves. Her name is Sally." Jefferson never responded publicly about this issue but is said to have denied it in his private correspondence. Dec 16 06, 8:59 AM

star_gazer

There is very strong DNA evidence that he did. http://christianparty.net/tjreuters.htm [Edited content - McG] Dec 16 06, 4:52 PM

skysmom65

Sally Hemings is a controversial figure in the history of U.S. president Thomas Jefferson. Hemings was a slave on Jefferson's estate in Virginia, serving as a household servant and as an attendant to Jefferson's daughters Martha and Mary. In 1802 a political rival of Jefferson claimed in a Virginia newspaper that the president kept as a concubine a slave named Sally. Such personal attacks were not uncommon in politics at the time, but the rumor of a Jefferson-Hemings relationship persisted for nearly two centuries. In 1998, the British journal Nature published the results of DNA tests on descendants of Jefferson and Hemings; the Nature report showed that Jefferson or one of his close relatives was highly likely to be the father of Hemings's last son, Eston, and suggested that Jefferson was the "probable" father. However, DNA tests are unable to prove his paternity with 100% certainty, and scholars continue to disagree on whether Jefferson fathered Eston or any of Hemings' children. According to Monticello records, Sally Hemings had four children who survived to maturity: Beverly (b. 1798), Harriet (b. 1801), Madison (b. 1805), and Eston (b. 1808). Two other children, born in 1795 and 1799, died in infancy... After Jefferson's death, Hemings was freed by Jefferson's daughter Martha and lived with her sons until her death in 1835. http://www.answers.com/topic/sally-hemings Good links: http://www.angelfire.com/va/TJTruth/ http://www.angelfire.com/oh/chillicothe/formerslaves.html http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/whm/bio/heming_s.htm http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/hemings-jefferson_contro.html Dec 17 06, 8:19 AM