| Episodes |
Jefferson's Meaningful Mulatto Names [AGR 196-201]
Raquel Santos
with comment by Brandon Barton
[1] Annette Gordon-Reed uses the children's names to prove that Jefferson and Sally's affair was valuable to him. She proposes this as the main question rather than asking whether Jefferson is the actual father, which foreshadows the outcome of the DNA results. She claims that all of the Hemings children are named after significant people in Jefferson's life. As she stated at Monticello in her speech (video), Gordon-Reed wanted to go further in depth and explore the research that was already available. In her analysis of the origin of their names, Gordon-Reed takes the information Fawn Brodie has given the public and investigates it in greater depth. Her connections are somewhat implausible, however. As a whole, Gordon-Reed's argument works to some extent but is a bit unconvincing. Gordon-Reed primarily supports her claims by reminding her audience that Jefferson has named all of his white children and grandchildren after meaningful people in his life. For instance, his children are named after his sisters and mother.
[2] Gordon-Reed looks at Beverley first. Brodie suggests that Beverley Hemings was named after a character in one of Jefferson's favorite plays, School for Scandal. But Gordon-Reed thinks this option as far too improbable. Perhaps the author takes this example in order to make her argument seem more believable and ramp up her audience a bit. She, then, reveals that Beverley is a Jefferson-Randolph family name, which is much more believable than Brodie's interpretation of the name. The possibility that Jefferson named his mulatto child after a star in a play that he liked is very far-fetched. It is a notion that could never be proven.
[3] The name Beverley may have also come from a man that Jefferson's father, Peter Jefferson, knew and often told childhood stories about to Jefferson. Peter went on an expedition through Virginia with a William Beverley to mark the Fairfax Line. Although Jefferson's father told him stories about the Fairfax expedition, claiming this as a source for the name seems unlikely because Jefferson was only four years old. This commissioner could not have made that great of an impression on Jefferson. And Gordon-Reed never suggests the reason why Jefferson would have chosen this commissioner's name out of all of the others. She blatantly names the other commissioners, not hiding the fact that there were several names to choose from. There is no proof as to why Jefferson would have chosen the name "Beverley" out of the rest. In addition, Gordon-Reed also argues that Jefferson simply knew many other people named Beverley. But this is the weakest reasoning for proving the father's identity. Even when compared to the other evidence, it is by far the least relevant argument. Jefferson knew a wide variety of people because of his presidency. It may have just been a coincidence that he happened to be familiar with many "Beverleys."
[4] Next is Harriet. The name Harriet, Sally's first daughter, has been traced in the Randolph family. It was the name of a sister and niece of Jefferson's son-in-law, Thomas Mann Randolph. The family source for this daughter of Sally's is further supported by the fact that the name is often mentioned in family letters, that the sister occasionally visited and that she later became of part of Jefferson's life when he appointed her husband to be "United States consul to Sanlucar" (199). In fact, this sister once went to Monticello for the sole purpose of giving birth. Gordon-Reed states, "she was the only one of many family members who occasionally visited" (199). This evidence is much more reliable than the previous evidence for Beverley's name. (see comment by Brandon Barton)
[5] Madison Hemings is said to be named after James Madison, one of Jefferson's closest friends. Of all of the children, Gordon-Reed says less about Madison than the rest of the four children because this source for the name comes from Madison himself in his biographical newspaper story. There is the proof that he was named by Dolley Madison. This is the only instance when the child's name is directly substantiated.
[6] Last, Eston Hemings, on the other hand, could have been named after a place or a person. Eston was "the name of a birthplace of William Randolph, his maternal ancestor in Yorkshire, England" (199). He also could have been named after Jefferson's favorite cousin, Thomas Eston Randolph. However, Gordon-Reed states, herself, that she has no evidence of the latter theory, therefore it is difficult to rely on such unsubstantiated proclamations.
[7] Gordon-Reed's analysis of the children's names suggest that it is also more likely that Jefferson chose the names of the Hemings children than Sally. This supports the general view of the relationship. Gordon-Reed suggests that the names show that Jefferson had complete control over his mistress, for if Sally were choosing the names, it is most likely that her children would have been named after the Wayles, since the "Wayles connection was of importance to Hemings's nuclear family" (200). Since the children are not named after the Wayleses, that suggests that Sally did not name the children.
[8] In conclusion, Gordon-Reed mentions the possibility of Peter or Samuel Carr as the possible father of the Hemings children because all of the people the Hemings children were named after played a significant role in the Carr's lives as well. She, then, however, immediately states: "That either one or both of these men would save the names of particular members of the Randolph family and of another important Virginian to whom they were close for the sons they were having with their black slave mistress and give their white sons names that do not immediately identify them as being part of a first family of Virginia would seem quite strange" (200). Gordon-Reed is trying to discredit the notion that either of the Carrs is the father and give the implication that Jefferson is the one involved.
[9] The connections Annette Gordon-Reed makes with the names of these children often involves much in-depth investigating. Some of her arguments and conjectures are probable, but there is no way of ever proving that they are relevant to the names. This may arouse in her audience some doubt, because she is not only attempting to prove that Jefferson was the father of the Hemingses, but, also, that he cared for his mulatto children and put thought into their names.
Comment
But not totally reliable by any stretch of the imagination. Although Raquel makes an interesting point regarding one of Jefferson's relatives being named Harriet, I believe there are too many unknowns to consider to make this a valid claim. For example, 1) Gordon-Reed clearly states that Harriet was a very popular name, a name that Sally herself could have enjoyed and bestowed upon her daughter. In addition, 2) there is no mention of any interaction between this Harriet and Sally Hemings. And 3) it's possible that Harriet was nice to Sally, and this is the reason that Sally liked that name. Although Gordon-Reed makes an interesting point, I believe there are too many unknowns to draw any sort of conclusion, too many unknowns for Raquel even to suggest validity.
