Artist, businesswoman, and mother of four, Julia Westerinen did not learn of her connection to Monticello and her African American ancestry until the 1970s. After genetic testing in 1998 established a link between her family line and Jefferson’s, she went on the Oprah Winfrey show and met Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, brother of... Read more »
Artist, businesswoman, and mother of four, Julia Westerinen did not learn of her connection to Monticello and her African American ancestry until the 1970s. After genetic testing in 1998 established a link between her family line and Jefferson’s, she went on the Oprah Winfrey show and met Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, brother of... Read more »
Artist, businesswoman, and mother of four, Julia Westerinen did not learn of her connection to Monticello and her African American ancestry until the 1970s. After genetic testing in 1998 established a link between her family line and Jefferson’s, she went on the Oprah Winfrey show and met Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, brother of... Read more »
Artist, businesswoman, and mother of four, Julia Westerinen did not learn of her connection to Monticello and her African American ancestry until the 1970s. After genetic testing in 1998 established a link between her family line and Jefferson’s, she went on the Oprah Winfrey show and met Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, brother of... Read more »
One of the most revealing sources about the Hemings family and life at Monticello is a newspaper publication of the recollections of Madison Hemings in 1873. In it he referred many times to his father, Thomas Jefferson, and he passed this family history on to his children. His descendant Shay Banks-Young remarked, “A lot of us wouldn’t even have... Read more »
From at least the 1790s, there were enslaved people at Monticello who were white enough to pass for white. Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings‘s grandchildren chose different paths for making their way in the world. Some crossed the color line to escape the racial prejudice that blighted their dreams for their families. Others, like Madison Hemings, continued to identify... Read more »
From at least the 1790s, there were enslaved people at Monticello who were white enough to pass for white. Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings‘s grandchildren chose different paths for making their way in the world. Some crossed the color line to escape the racial prejudice that blighted their dreams for their families. Others, like Madison Hemings, continued to identify... Read more »
