Connye Moore-Richardson

Thomas (Hemings) Woodson was born in 1790 at Shadwell, Virginia. And for over one hundred and seventy years and nine generations, the unbroken oral history and tradition has been that he is the son of Thomas Jefferson and his slave, who was half sister to his wife.

In 1802, James Thomson Callender, a reporter for the Richmond Recorder, began to write about the much whispered about liaison between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. Of that he said, "It is well known that Jefferson has kept a slave concubine whose name is Sally with whom he has several children and that the oldest of them is Tom, age ten or twelve, who looks striking like Jefferson." He referred to this boy as "President Tom."

During that period of time, it is said that because Thomas Jefferson was running for president, the oldest child of Sally Hemings, Tom, was sent from Monticello to a neighboring Woodson plantation in order the quiet the rumors which would hurt Jefferson's bid for the presidency.

The whereabouts of the boy, Tom, from 1802 through 1817 remain elusive. But, in 1819, 1820 and 1821, he is found on the Greenbrier County, Virginia Property Records. At this time, he is calling himself Thomas Woodson and is married to Jemima Price Woodson. They have eight children.

In 1821, Thomas moved his family to Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. While there, three more children were born to them between 1822 and 1825. Thomas and his wife, Jemima, now have a total of eleven children. While in Chillicothe, he co-founded the first African Methodist Episcopal Church west of the Allegheny Mountains as a result of the discrimination that was practiced in the White Methodist Church. Thus began his community activism towards the betterment of his fellow man.

In 1829, he relocates his family of thirteen to Berlin Crossroads, Jackson County, Ohio, a mulatto settlement that he co-founded. While in Berlin, he purchased many pieces of property, was a farmer, carpenter, musician, horse and cattle breeder and a conductor and operator of the Underground Railroad. His home was used as a "safe house" for the runaway slaves headed for Canada. He also was an agent for and contributor to the Palladium of Liberty, a black newspaper published in Columbus, Ohio during the mid 1800's. By 1860, Thomas was regarded as one the wealthiest men in Jackson County.

Approximately in 1835, his brothers Madison and Eston Hemings moved to Chillicothe, Ohio. Madison eventually moved to Pike County, Ohio and later died in Ross County, Ohio. Eston Hemings left Chillicothe and moved to Wisconsin in the 1852, passing into the white world, and died about 1856.

All six of the Woodson boys were active in the Underground Railroad. Thomas Woodson's sons, Reverend Thomas Woodson, Jr. and Reverend John Woodson, died at early ages from beatings
that they had sustained from bounty hunters because they refused to betray the slaves that were in hiding. The daughters and son-in-laws of Thomas Woodson were also participants in the Underground Railroad.

Thomas Woodson placed a high value on education and all of his children received an early education. His youngest daughters, Hannah and Sarah Jane received their degrees from Oberlin College, Ohio and became teachers. His sons became ministers, farmers, shoemakers and educators.

Jemima Price Woodson died in 1868 and Thomas Woodson died in 1875. In the 1880's, the grandchildren of Thomas and Jemima Woodson began to move away from Jackson County and live in other counties of Ohio or migrate to other states. They took with them what they had been told about the life and origins of Thomas Woodson. That information was only spoken about among the family until the early 1900's when they began to freely speak about it to those outside of the family. As a result, there have been many articles written about the legacy of Woodson family for over six decades.

It was the descendants of Thomas Woodson, alone, who kept the story of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson alive. And, due to the many articles written about the Woodson family throughout the 20th century, it was the Woodson family that author Fawn Brodie contacted in the 1970's when she began to write her book: Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History.

In the mid 1970's, the Woodson family began to trace and document the life and journey of Thomas Woodson. From that research, approximately, sixteen hundred descendants have been located and recorded. The Woodson Family Association was organized in 1984 and family reunions are held every two years in cities such as Pittsburgh, Columbus, Minneapolis, and Washington, D. C.

The accomplishments of the Woodson family members are wide and diverse. Their contributions in service to our country ranges from the military, educational institutions, lawyers, doctors, dentists, ministers, small business owners, city, state and national government positions, entertainment industry, and commerce.

We are proud to have been the standard bearers for the descendants of Sally Hemings and the Hemings family at large. After 200 years and the disconnect of many Hemingses, we, the descendants, have been reunited. The legacy of Elizabeth "Betty" Hemings and her children and the contributions that they made to the sustenance of Monticello and the maintenance of Thomas Jefferson, lives on.

The historical circumstances of the Hemings family is not unique in America. There are thousands upon thousands who are the descendants of the enslaved and of the slave owners who are able to tell similar stories. I am very pleased that as a result of the very public attention that has been given to the Hemings family since 1998, other families have been inspired to research, learn, and connect with those who have come before them.

I am an eighth generation Hemings/Woodson descendant who was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, and raised in Washington, D. C. I am a graduate of Howard University with a degree in Zoology. I was primarily, a mother and housewife, but continued my education at UCLA. When it did not interfere with my family, I performed as a dancer in the entertainment industry and continue to do so today. In preserving the legacy begun by my mother, I am deeply involved in the Woodson Family Association, am presently President of the association and am Chair of the family Research Committee.

As my mother passed on to me the family's oral history and family values, I have passed it on to my three daughters: Kelly Lynn, who works for UBS Financial and is a graduate of Hampton University; Kimberly Marie, who is a second year resident in anesthesiology and a graduate of Howard University and the American University College of Medicine; and Karen Elizabeth, who is a graduate of Howard University, Howard University School of Law, the London School of Economics, and presently the Policy Director at campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa for Senator Barack Obama.