Thomas Jefferson
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Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

President Thomas Jefferson
Born in Shadwell Plantation, Albemarle County, Colony and Dominion of Virginiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1 Jan 1772 in Charles City, Charles, Virginia Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 83 in Monticello, Albemarle County, Virginia, United Statesmap
Profile last modified | Created 15 Nov 2008
This page has been accessed 130,709 times.
The Presidential Seal.
Thomas Jefferson was the President of the United States.
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Preceded by
2nd President
John Adams




Preceded by
1st Vice President

John Adams




Preceded by
Acting Secretary

John Jay




Preceded by
1st Governor

Patrick Henry
Thomas Jefferson
3rd President
of the United States
Presidential Seal
1801—1809

2nd Vice President
of the United States
Vice-Presidential Seal
1797—1801

1st United States
Secretary of State
State Dept
1790—1793

2nd Governor
of Virginia
Virginia
1779—1781
Succeeded by
4th President
James Madison




Succeeded by
3rd Vice President

Aaron Burr




Succeeded by
2nd Secretary

Edmund Randolph




Succeeded by
3rd Governor

William Fleming
At a dinner to honor Nobel Prize recipients of the Western Hemisphere, U.S. President John F. Kennedy said, “I want to tell you how welcome you are to the White House. I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. (29 Apr 1962)[1]

Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Thomas Jefferson is Notable.
1776 Project
President Thomas Jefferson was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the most influential of the United States' Founding Fathers. His portrait graces the US two-dollar bill and nickel.

As a political philosopher, Jefferson was a man of enlightenment and knew many intellectual leaders in Britain and France.

Jefferson supported states' rights, limited federal government power, and separation of church and state.

He believed that every American was entitled to an education adequate enough to give a person the skills and abilities needed to vote. Beyond that, he believed, should be determined on a person-by-person basis. Not everyone is suited to a college education.

Jefferson served as the wartime Governor of Virginia (1779–1781), first United States Secretary of State (1789–1793) and second Vice President (1797–1801).

Jefferson was a man who wore many hats including horticulturist, statesman, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia.

Jefferson died on the Fourth of July, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. He died a few hours before John Adams. There are stories that while Adams lay dying, he spoke of Thomas, unaware that Jefferson had already passed away.

Thomas Jefferson's alma mater was the College of William and Mary.

Thomas Jefferson in his own words

From the pen of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."

--Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."

--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.

DNA

Because of the controversies that have arisen in regard to Jefferson's possible relationship with the slave Sally Hemings, which dates back to blatant accusations during his lifetime,[2] several scientific teams have attempted to validate common DNA among descendants. The uncertainty of the paternity of these children is still a subject of discussion and research. For that reason, his relationship with them is listed as Uncertain on WikiTree.

Wikipedia site for more information here.[1]

Jefferson's Y-DNA is of the type found in Haplogroup T (formerly K2) and is considered fairly rare according to the same article. You may read more about Haplogroup T here.[2]

More DNA information for Thomas Jefferson and other famous people is available on the Wikipedia link here.[3]

Thomas Jefferson's oldest known ancestors can be accessed by using the WikiTree.Widget.

Legacy

Twenty-six U.S. states have named counties in President Jefferson's honor: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

See also: Monticello Plantation, Albemarle, Virginia

Sources

  1. The American Presidency Project, URL: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8623. Accessed 19 Mar 2018 by Patricia Prickett Hickin.
  2. The Connecticut Courant. Vol XXXVII. Number 1965. Hartford, Connecticut. Monday, 20 Sep 1802. fp.
  • Burke's Presidential Families of the United States of America / [Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Editor]. - 2nd Ed. London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1981. Print.
  • Dabney Neff McLean. The English Ancestry of Thomas Jefferson. Clearfield; 1 January 1996. ISBN 978-0-8063-4608-3.
  • Call, Michel L. 2006. The royal ancestry bible: a 3,400 pedigree chart compilation (plus index and appendix) containing royal ancestors of 300 colonial American families who are themselves ancestors of 70 million Americans: condensed edition with Mormon pioneer supplement. Salt Lake City, Utah: M.L. Call - Descent of Four Presidents from Emperor Charlemagne
  • Roberts, Gary Boyd, Christopher Challender Child, and Julie Helen Otto. 1989. Ancestors of American presidents. Santa Clarita, Calif: C. Boyer. pp. 6-8, 139-141
  • Godfrey Memorial Library, comp.
  • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1999; Godfrey Memorial Library, American Genealogical-Biographical Index, Middletown, CT, USA: Godfrey Memorial Library
  • Portrait & Bio. Album of Mahaska Co. IA (1887)
  • Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 23 September 2019), memorial page for Thomas Jefferson (13 Apr 1743–4 Jul 1826), Find A Grave: Memorial #544, citing Monticello National Park Grounds, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.
  • Albemarle County in Virginia...; 1901 See pp. 235-38 for a history of the Jefferson family in Albemarle County VA.




Memories: 4
Enter a personal reminiscence or story.
The statement that the Thomas Jefferson Historical Foundation considers the matter "settled history" is meaningless. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation can only speak for themselves. Both the historical evidence and the DNA evidence do not prove that Jefferson fathered ANY Hemmings children. It's certainly not proof at the level required by genealogists to settle the question of paternity.
posted 28 May 2023 by Paul Schmehl   [thank Paul]
The Hemings relationship (supported by historical evidence in addition to DNA evidence) is now considered a "settled historical matter" (as of June, 2018) by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and "[b]oth the United States National Park Service and the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs note in their online biographies that Jefferson's paternity of Hemings' children has been widely accepted" Wikipedia.
posted 14 Apr 2019 by William Keener   [thank William]
There is no scientific proof that Thomas Jefferson sired any children with Sally Hemings. DNA evidence proves that at least 25 male relatives of the Jefferson family could have been the father and fact patterns suggest that Thomas Jefferson's brother, Randolph Jefferson, was the likely father of at least some of the children whose births stopped the same year of Randolph Jefferson's second marriage in 1808. Records show that Randolph was nearby or at Monticello when the children were conceived. "a committee commissioned by the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society, after reviewing essentially the same material, reached different conclusions, namely that Sally Hemings was only a minor figure in Thomas Jefferson's life and that it is very unlikely he fathered any of her children. This committee also suggested in its report, issued in April 2001 and revised in 2011, that Jefferson's younger brother Randolph (1755-1815) was more likely the father of at least some of Sally Hemings's children". (The Thomas Jefferson Foundation). Of course, the obvious is possible but stating the relationships and including them on Wikitree or Ancestry.com is simply unfounded and not based in fact. It is a corruption of Wikitree and all information contain within it.
posted 16 Feb 2018 by Gregory Miller   [thank Gregory]
John F. Kennedy is reported to have stated, while addressing Nobel Prize winners in 1962, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."


posted 21 Nov 2008 by Danielle (Krupar) Darling
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Comments: 43

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Hello Profile Managers!

We are featuring this profile in the Connection Finder this week. Between now and Wednesday is a good time to take a look at the sources and biography to see if there are updates and improvements that need made, especially those that will bring it up to WikiTree Style Guide standards. We know it's short notice, so don't fret too much. Just do what you can.

Thanks!

Abby

posted by Abby (Brown) Glann
As a member of the US Black Heritage Project, I have added a link to the plantation owned by Thomas Jefferson on this profile with categories using the standards of the US Black Heritage Exchange Program. This helps us connect enslaved ancestors to their descendants. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information.
posted by Gina (Pocock) Jarvi
I remember when I was told that I was related to both sides. Despite the committees and genealogist stories via paper trail, DNA always works. I found ancestors who were not my ancestors via paper trail. I found the supposed fathers who had a different surname. We should get individuals who are alive and say who they are to get DNA tests to validate the relationships --- the most validated way.
Instead of referring to Sally Hemings as "the slave Sally Hemings" it might be better to refer to her as "a woman he enslaved, Sally Hemings,". The current wording doesn't afford her the dignity she deserves as a human. She was more than just someone's property.
posted by Nic (Odom) Baker
Thank you for your suggestion, we have asked the US Black Heritage project to review the wording.
posted by Robin Lee
Hi Nic, I apologize for taking so long to reply. The US Black Heritage Project uses both historical and politically correct terminology as appropriate to each situation and as suggested by descendants of slaves. You can see our reasoning here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:US_Black_Heritage:_Preferred_Terminology

The current larger issue on this profile is to accurately honor the relationship of Sally Hemings. It is at the top of the to-do list for US Black Heritage, however, we are waiting for a knowledgable researcher to come forward who can do proper justice to the issue. We don't want to throw information on any of these profiles that isn't accurate or well thought out. Above all, we seek to honor our enslaved ancestors lives which we believe is best done through excellent profiles and connected family. Thanks, Emma MacBeath~~US Black Heritage Project Leader

Eston Hemings Sally's son changed his racial identity to white and his surname to Jefferson after moving from Ohio to Wisconsin in 1852. Newspaper accounts in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1887 and 1902 recalled that Eston resembled Thomas Jefferson.

DNA Y does confirm he is a Jefferson..

posted by Betty Jo Bunker
He was 33 years old when he secluded himself in a rented room for 17 days to write the Declaration of Independence. He could have made a big deal and insisted on recognition for it, but he chose not to. Even after he was elected, a majority of the citizens did not know he had been the author. This knowledge did not actually even become well known until years after he passed away. He felt it was not "for" all Americans, it was "by" all Americans. He felt like just the messenger. He is quoted "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of priniciple, stand like a rock."

Meltzer, Brad, Heroes for my son, pgs 90-91, Harper Collins Publishing

posted by Lisa (Kelsey) Murphy
In the House of Representatives, in the 77th Congress, second session, the vote of Colonel Matthew Lyon, son-in-law of Governor Thomas Chittenden of Vermont, cast the deciding vote that elected Thomas Jefferson as president in 1801
posted by Scott Lee