DNA evidence links Thomas Jefferson to Sally Hemings

A decade-long DNA investigation has provided compelling evidence regarding the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman in his household. Researchers utilized a reddish-blond hair discovered in a Bible belonging to Jefferson at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2011, along with other confirmed hair samples from the Smithsonian collection.

By comparing reconstructed DNA fragments with the genetic material of descendants from multiple lineages—including Jefferson’s wife Martha, his brother Randolph, and Hemings’ sons Eston and Madison—scientists determined there is a 99.96% chance that Jefferson fathered at least one of Hemings’ children. The findings are detailed in the book ‘History by a Hair: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings & Solving a 200-Year-Old Mystery’ by Richard Kurin, and in a preprint paper published on bioRXiv.

While the relationship has long been rumored, this genetic analysis offers the most definitive scientific link to date between the former U.S. president and Hemings’ descendants.