DNA recovered from Thomas Jefferson’s hair has provided the strongest genetic evidence yet that the third U.S. president fathered children with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman at Monticello. Researchers compared Jefferson’s recovered genetic material with living descendants of Hemings and found patterns that fit direct descent from Jefferson better than alternative theories involving his close male relatives.
The study examined rootless hair preserved in museum collections, including samples held at Monticello. Researchers used several checks to determine whether the hair belonged to Jefferson. The DNA had to come from a male, match Jefferson’s maternal family line, fit the known Jefferson male line, and show that separate hair samples came from the same person.
Three Monticello hair samples met those tests. Historical records also supported their origin. The packets were linked to Nicholas P. Trist, Jefferson’s grandson-in-law and a co-executor of his estate, who was said to have clipped the hair after Jefferson died in 1826.
DNA from Thomas Jefferson’s hair strengthens paternity evidence
Researchers then compared Jefferson’s DNA with samples from living descendants of his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and descendants of Sally Hemings through her sons Madison and Eston. The team looked for stretches of DNA passed down from a shared ancestor.
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The results showed Jefferson-linked DNA in both Hemings family lines. One Madison Hemings descendant carried the largest amount identified in the study, while an Eston Hemings descendant also carried more Jefferson DNA than researchers would normally expect at that generational distance.
The researchers tested three possible fathers for Madison and Eston: Thomas Jefferson, his brother Randolph Jefferson, or one of Randolph’s sons. Computer simulations were used to compare how much Jefferson DNA should remain in living descendants under each family scenario.
Descendant DNA tests compare Jefferson with other family scenarios
For Madison Hemings’ descendants, the evidence strongly favored Thomas Jefferson. Under equal starting assumptions, the study calculated a greater than 99.7% probability for the Thomas Jefferson scenario. Evidence from Eston Hemings’ descendants also favored Jefferson, though the statistical gap over Randolph Jefferson was smaller.
When researchers assumed Madison and Eston had the same father, the model found direct Jefferson paternity thousands of times more likely than paternity by Randolph Jefferson. When different fathers were allowed, the analysis still placed the probability that Jefferson fathered at least one of the two sons at about 99.96%.
Earlier DNA work in 1998 linked Eston Hemings’ male line to the Jefferson family but could not identify Thomas Jefferson himself. The new study goes further by using DNA recovered directly from Thomas Jefferson’s hair, allowing researchers to compare the former president with descendants rather than relying only on relatives.
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