Eston (Hemmings) Jefferson (1808 - 1856)

Born 21 May 1808 in Tufton, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 3 Jan 1856 at age 47 in Madison, Dane, Wisconsin, United States

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Biography

Eston (Hemmings) Jefferson is a part of US Black heritage.

Eston was born into slavery at Monticello, the youngest son of Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson, as evidenced in a 1998 DNA test that showed a descendant of Eston matched the Jefferson male line.^[1]

Jefferson freed Eston and his older brother Madison in his will, as they had not come of age at his death.^[2]

Abt 1852 Eston and his wife and 3 children moved to Madison Wisconsin where they changed their surname to Jefferson and entered the white community, their descendants identifying as white.^[2]

A 1998 DNA study found that a male descendant of Eston Hemmings Jefferson matched the rare Y-chromosome of the Jefferson male line. Most historians took this result as affirming other historical evidence related to the paternity issue, and have acknowledged that the president and Sally Hemmings had a 38-year relationship in which he fathered her six children of record. While some historians disagree, most Jeffersonian scholarship has changed to incorporate this.

Sources

1. ↑ See this well-sourced Wikipedia article for a discussion of the evidence
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Monticello. org

• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #10606815 (accessed 28 May 2023)
  Memorial page for Eston Hemings Jefferson (21 May 1808-3 Jan 1856), citing Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, USA (plot: Section 3, Lot 018, Grave 3); Maintained by Diane Midkiff (contributor 12450322).
• Year: 1850; Census Place: Chillicothe, Ross, Ohio; Roll: M432_725; Page: 40A; Image: 87

Acknowledgements

Profile created by Leslie Ridley 16 Jan 2014