Jefferson-Hemings Controversy - Monticello Community

Monticello Community

In 2010, Shay Banks-Young and Julia Jefferson Westerinen (descended from Sally Hemings' sons Madison and Eston, respectively; they identify as African American and white), and David Works (brother of John H. Works, Jr., and descended from Martha Wayles), were honored with the international "Search for Common Ground" award for "their work to bridge the divide within their family and heal the legacy of slavery." The three have spoken about race and their extended family in numerous appearances across the country. After organizing a reunion at Monticello in 2003 of both sides of the Jefferson family, they organized "The Monticello Community," for descendants of all who lived and worked there during Jefferson's lifetime. In July 2007, the 3-day Monticello Community Gathering brought together descendants of many people who had worked at the plantation, with educational sessions, tours of Monticello and Charlottesville, and other activities. It was organized by descendants of both sides of Jefferson's family, as well as of others who had worked there.

Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, had grown up with a family tradition of descent from Jefferson. David Works had originally resisted the new DNA evidence, but after he read the commissioned reports, he became convinced of Jefferson's paternity and voted in favor of admitting the Hemings' descendants to the Monticello Association.

Julia Jefferson Westerinen is descended from Eston Hemings Jefferson. After Hemings moved his family to Madison, Wisconsin in 1852, they took the surname Jefferson and entered the white community. His descendants married and identified as white from then on. In the 1940s, Julia's father and his brothers changed the family oral tradition and told their children they were descended from an uncle of Jefferson, as they were trying to protect them from racial discrimination. In the 1970s, a cousin, Jean Jefferson, read Fawn Brodie's biography of Jefferson and recognized Eston Hemings' name from family stories. She contacted Brodie and learned the truth about their descent. This enabled tracking down the family to gain a descendant for DNA testing. Julia's brother, John Weeks Jefferson, was the Eston Hemings' descendant tested; his DNA matched that of the Jefferson male line.