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Smithsonian DNA Evidence Links Jefferson to Hemings Children

By Drooid · Sep 19, 2026, 4:27 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

The U.S. Smithsonian Institution presented DNA evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings’s children.
Researchers sequenced Jefferson’s genome from a few strands of his hair.
They compared Jefferson’s DNA with samples from 13 living Hemings and Jefferson family descendants.
Richard Kurin led the 15-year multidisciplinary investigation.
Kurin called the match a capstone yet noted the Smithsonian holds no official position.

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Story summary

The U.S. Smithsonian Institution presented DNA evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered Sally Hemings’s children.
Researchers sequenced Jefferson’s genome from a few strands of his hair.
They compared Jefferson’s DNA with samples from 13 living Hemings and Jefferson family descendants.
Richard Kurin led the 15-year multidisciplinary investigation.
Kurin called the match a capstone yet noted the Smithsonian holds no official position.