*many* departures from history

>> I guess DNA doesn't count for anything anymore.

It counts for a great deal. But despite the text at the end of the movie, DNA does NOT prove that Jefferson and Hemings had children together.

In fact, DNA has proven that the majority of claims from Hemings descendants have no genetic basis. Moreover, ONLY the direct male descendants of Eston Hemings have genetic reasons for assuming that SOME Jefferson was Eston's father.

Unfortunately for the Y-DNA studies conducted so far, Thomas Jefferson had no sons. Researchers must focus on the direct male lineage of Field Jefferson, his paternal uncle. Comparisons of the Y-DNA markers of the male descendants of Field Jefferson and Eston Hemings show a statistically likely "match." However, at this point there is absolutely no genetic proof that Thomas Jefferson was the particular Jefferson who fathered Eston. In fact, an estimated 25 Jefferson males living in Virginia at that time theoretically could have fathered Eston -- and some of them were believed to have spent time at the Jefferson plantation.

Various parties (including scholars and scientists) have published their reasons for believing that Thomas Jefferson fathered Eston Hemings but it should not be assumed that DNA gave them a final affirmative answer. At this point one thing is certain: matching Y-DNA haplotypes ONLY prove that some Jefferson male carrying the same markers as Field Jefferson passed them on to Eston Hemings. Yes, that counts for something. But it doesn't prove that Thomas Jefferson was the father. And we all know that it was not unheard of at the time for a male relative of a Virginia plantation owner to enjoy the companionship of a female slave while visiting an estate.

A common blunder of novice genealogical researchers is wanting to believe that because some bit of evidence ALLOWS for the POSSIBILITY of some desired relationship (such as to a famous ancestor), they too easily make that final conclusion. Y-DNA holds the same temptation at times. But POSSIBILITY and PROOF are not the same thing.

I greatly enjoyed the movie. But great liberty was taken with the facts of history. And even the text appearing at the end of the movie is meant to enhance the entertainment value by emphasizing the "Wow!" factor of the story. Deep down I WANT the forbidden romance to be a true story. But at this point I can't be certain and DNA evidence only served to discredit the family stories of the non-Eston-Hemings descendants.

I don't understand why people refuse to believe that Thomas Jefferson could have had a common law relationship or even just a sexual relationship with a black slave, that produced children. What's so hard to believe about that? It kills me that some even go as far as to overlook information that otherwise, if not for the subject being Thomas Jefferson, would be a clear sign of paternity. If you read any historical resource on the subject of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, none of them deny the fact that Sally Hemings and her children received special privileges compared to other Monticello slaves. If you actually consider this special treatment and use your commonsense to read between the lines, you shouldn't need a paternity test.

First of all, they were born and raised in the main house. Some researcher have even found information that lead them to believe that Sally Hemings was even allowed to have a nanny, another slave to help look after the babies. Slaves didn't have nannies. Also, in Tj's slave records, all of the slaves born on Monticello had the mother and father listed, except Sally's children, who had no father listed. The kids were raised in the main house, doing light housework until they turned 14. After which, they were trained in the skill of carpentry, while Harriet was trained to be a seamstress and a lady's maid. Also, the boys were trained to play instruments such as cello and piano, which would have easily allowed them to support themselves and thrive amongst free society, even amongst white society, without having to resort to hard labor or demeaning themselves by begging, like most slaves would have been forced to do in order to survive and not starve. This says that Thomas Jefferson's plan was to free each of them at some point and he was preparing them for a future without slavery. Also, take in count what we know about their freedom. We know that Harriet and Beverly were both able to just leave Monticello at their own free will. Researchers have also found information that points to TJ even giving Harriet a sum of money and having her escorted out of Virginia. As a slave owner, TJ, wouldn't have allowed Harriet and Beverly to just walk away from the plantation without good reason. All other escaped slaves were chased down and hunted like animals, then dragged back. however, Beverly and Harriet just walked away. Thomas Jefferson had over a hundred slaves and in his life time, he only freed Sally's brother, James, who was freed under contract; another slave that purchased his own freedom and two of Sally's children. The other 2 were freed in TJ's will, which says a lot. TJ was bankrupted at the end of his life. He didn't even have enough money to leave his white daughter or to preserve his own legacy but he still made the extra sacrifice of freeing Sally's two remaining children. Monticello was full of white slaves (mulottos and octoroons). He inherited some from his wife's family (which is where Sally and the rest of the Hemings were from) and he also had relatives that impregnated many of the slave women but neither of those slaves, nor their children received such special treatment or even their freedom. All of them were eventually sold off after TJ died.

The only reason Sally wasn't freed in the will is because Sally had long since been "given time". Which was basically an unofficial way of freeing a slave, without actually emancipating them. Had he fully emancipated her, she would have had to leave Monticello and the state of Virginia within a year of her receiving her emancipation. What other reason would Sally have returned back to the U.S and live as a slave, when she could have easily remained in Europe and lived as a free woman? What was her incentive to return with Jefferson? Also, why did Jefferson want her to return so badly, with him? It's not like he was poor and needed her labor. At that point he would have had over a hundred and twenty different slaves. He could have easily spared one, instead of bribing her to return with him to the states as virtually a free woman but also giving her rights to stay in Virginia with him. What was so special about Sally that he would even go through the trouble?





I woke up this way...