Thomas Jefferson

Due to the name of this blog, I have been asked many times where the information is about Thomas Jefferson’s family tree.

This blog’s name was not chosen for that purpose, instead it suggests the “Tree of Liberty” which he frequently spoke of. Given that I do not want to disappoint any visitor to this site I thought I would gather some information and links that might quench your thirst for knowledge.

Below I have listed and linked to as much credible information as is available on Google.

Thomas Jefferson

Monticello

Jefferson Memorial

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826)

Family Tree: The Family Tree of Thomas Jefferson
Descendants, Ancestors and DNA Genealogy of the Third US President

Like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) is a legendary figure in American history. Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and founded the University of Virginia. Due to ancestral DNA testing he has also become famous for his family tree.

Thomas Jefferson Genealogy Legitimate Descendants

In 1772, Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton. The couple had six children, but only two survived to adulthood. Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph (1772-1836) and Maria Jefferson Eppes (1778-1804) are the ancestors of Jefferson’s legitimate direct descendants. These descendants form the Monticello Association, a group of over 700 Jefferson descendants who maintain the family cemetery at Jefferson’s former estate. Surnames found among Jefferson’s descendants in these lines include:

Randolph
Eppes
Bankhead
Preston
Shine
Bancroft
Hubard
Coolidge

Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings and DNA

Since 1802, it had been rumored that Jefferson fathered illegitimate children with , a slave who may have also been his wife’s half-sister. In 1998, Y-DNA testing showed that the descendants of Eston Hemings, one of Sally Hemings’ children, shared the same genetic marker as men in the Jefferson family.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation believes that Thomas Jefferson was probably the father of Sally Heming’s children. The Monticello Association does not accept Thomas Jefferson as the father, believing that another male Jefferson fathered Heming’s children.

Although DNA testing has shown a link between at least one of Sally Hemings’ children and the Jefferson line, DNA results cannot conclusively prove which Jefferson fathered Eston Hemings. Both sides continue to make cases for and against Thomas Jefferson paternity using oral history and supporting documents.