Reclamation : Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a descendant's search for her family's lasting legacy

Title:

Author:

White, Gayle Jessup, 1957- author.

Summary:

Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her father’s family, that they were direct descendants of Thomas Jefferson—lore she firmly believed, though others did not. For four decades the acclaimed journalist and genealogy enthusiast researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all. After she was named a Jefferson Studies Fellow, Jessup White discovered her family lore was correct. Poring through photos and documents and pursuing DNA evidence, she learned that not only was she a descendant of Jefferson on his father’s side; she was also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Peter Hemings, Sally Hemings’s brother. In Reclamation she chronicles her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, and offers a compelling portrait of what it means to be a black woman in America, to pursue the American dream, to reconcile the legacy of racism, and to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor -- Amazon.com.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

xix, 266 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), genealogical tables ; 24 cm

Genre:

Biographies.

Personal Subject:

White, Gayle Jessup, 1957-

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

Hemings, Sally.

Subject Term:

African American families -- Genealogy.

Racially mixed people -- Biography.

African American women -- Biography.

Publisher:

Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9780063028654

Publication Information:

New York : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2021]

Call Number:

973.4 WHITE

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003555003	Adult Nonfiction	973.4 WHITE	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

A Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings' family explores America's racial reckoning through the prism of her ancestors--both the enslaver and the enslaved.

Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her father's family, that they were direct descendants of Thomas Jefferson--lore she firmly believed, though others did not. For four decades the acclaimed journalist and genealogy enthusiast researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all.

After she was named a Jefferson Studies Fellow, Jessup White discovered her family lore was correct. Poring through photos and documents and pursuing DNA evidence, she learned that not only was she a descendant of Jefferson on his father's side; she was also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Peter Hemings, Sally Hemings's brother.

In Reclamation she chronicles her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, and offers a compelling portrait of what it means to be a black woman in America, to pursue the American dream, to reconcile the legacy of racism, and to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

White, a former journalist who now works in public relations at Monticello, debuts with a vivid account of her search for proof that she is related to Thomas Jefferson and two of the families he enslaved, the Hemingses and the Hubbards. Mixing memoir and history, White describes growing up "Negro rich" in Washington, D.C., in the 1960s, her parents' tumultuous marriage, and her first brush with racism during a trip to Las Vegas at age 13. She learned from her older sister--who had heard it from a great aunt--that the family was somehow related to Thomas Jefferson, and was inspired to investigate the connection by Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello, which detailed the relationship between Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings, who was also his wife's half-sister, and the TV series Roots. She recreated her family's genealogy by scouring the few historical records available, meeting with distant relatives and Jefferson scholars, and, with the help of DNA evidence, she eventually determined that she is a direct descendant of Sally Hemings's brother, Peter, and the great-granddaughter of Moncure Robinson Taylor, Jefferson's great-great grandson. Noting that the lives of Monticello's enslaved families were ignored in the plantation's exhibitions until recently, White issues a powerful call for reconsidering Jefferson's legacy and centering the Black experience in American history. This spirited memoir charts a hopeful path for a more honest reckoning with the legacy of slavery. (Nov.)

Library Journal Review

In this family history, White describes being a 13-year-old Black girl growing up in Washington, DC, when she learned the legend handed down by her great aunt--that the family was descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings--which White would spend much of her later life trying to prove. The Hemings lineage became clearer in later years, and as an adult White began to research her roots while also pursuing a career in journalism and enduring a rocky first marriage. White writes that the first time she toured Monticello and announced, "I'm a descendant," she was met with uncomfortable stares. But she kept mapping the family tree with the help of a Monticello genealogist, met many other Jefferson and Hemings descendants (both Black-presenting and white-presenting; some helpful, some not), and eventually struck gold with DNA evidence and historic documents that proved that she was indeed a direct descendant of Jefferson and of Peter Hemings (Sally's brother). White is now the community engagement officer at Monticello, fulfilling a lifelong goal to help tell the stories of all of her ancestors there. VERDICT A brisk read that uncovers another side of the Jefferson-Hemings family tree; for readers of genealogy and the history of American slavery.--Kate Stewart, Arizona State Museum

Family Tree Illustrations	p. xi
Prologue	p. xv
Part 1
1 Eastland Gardens	p. 3
2 Deanwood	p. 13
3 Las Vegas: A Turning Point	p. 21
4 Washington, DC: The Jefferson Question	p. 26
5 Howard University	p. 50
6 Roots	p. 59
7 Chicago	p. 66
8 Georgia	p. 72
9 Wedding of the Year	p. 80
10 A Prayer and a Poem	p. 87
11 An Ode to the Jessups	p. 92
12 Marriage	p. 97
13 Death Always Comes in Threes	p. 105
Part 2
14 Richmond	p. 119
15 The Dome Room	p. 124
16 Eva Taylor-Mysterious as Ever	p. 129
17 Paternity Test	p. 138
18 RIP, Chocolate City	p. 144
19 "A Slave Girl Named Sally"	p. 148
20 The Plot Thickens	p. 157
21 The Randolphs	p. 164
22 Cousins	p. 169
23 DNA Does Not Lie	p. 180
24 What's in a Name?	p. 187
25 The Robinsons	p. 194
Part 3
26 Whitewashing History	p. 205
27 A Coffee Shop Chat	p. 209
28 My Ancestors' Footsteps	p. 214
29 Velma & Ruth	p. 223
30 Charlottesville	p. 227
31 Sally Hemings Robinson	p. 233
32 Homecoming	p. 243
Epilogue	p. 255
Acknowledgments	p. 259

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Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents