IN jULY 2003, a front-page story appeared in
the New York Times headlined “A Family Get-Together of His-
toric Proportions: Monticello Greets Kin of Jefferson's Slave. ”
The story recounted the first reunion of the descendants of Sally
Hemings ever to take place on the historic grounds of the Jef-
ferson plantation. The newsworthiness of the event rested on the
fact that its location granted legitimacy to long-standing claims
that the third president of the United States had indeed fathered
children with Hemings—a claim that was scientifically validated
in 1998 when DNA evidence was published linking Jefferson
to one of Hemings's sons and indicating that he might have
fathered as many as five other Hemings children. The story
featured a photo of scores of descendants of all hues and de-
scriptions clustered in a circle holding hands. Despite this sem-
blance of reconciliation and harmony, this most quintessentially
American of family arguments persists. Indeed, more than a pri-
vate family dispute, at issue, finally—literally and figuratively—is
how American history will color its origins. Fully aware of the
stakes, the Monticello Association, which administers the Jeffer-
son cemetery and represents descendants of Thomas Jefferson
and his wife, Martha, has disputed the DNA findings. Another
organization, the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society—also made
up of Jefferson descendants—authorized its own panel, which

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