About JeffersonDNA.org

JeffersonDNA.org is an independent evidence-review project dedicated to examining the Jefferson–Hemings paternity question through historical documentation, genealogical records, and modern genetic analysis. The project was created in connection with a petition filed in Nashville, Tennessee, seeking court authorization to obtain DNA samples from the grave of John Randolph Jefferson (1816–1845), the last surviving son of Randolph Jefferson, who was the younger brother of Thomas Jefferson.

The effort is led by John Hamilton Works Jr., a seventh-generation acknowledged lineal descendant of Thomas Jefferson and past President of The Monticello Association, working with a multidisciplinary team of biochemists, geneticists, and genetic-genealogy advisors.

In 1998, a DNA study published in Nature demonstrated that a male from the Jefferson paternal line fathered Eston Hemings. However, that study relied on a limited set of Y-STR markers and did not include DNA from Randolph Jefferson’s line. Because Thomas and Randolph were brothers who shared an identical Y-chromosome signature, the specific question of which Jefferson male fathered Eston Hemings remained scientifically unresolved under the technology available at that time. Scientific critiques published in Nature in January 1999 emphasized that the data could not distinguish among Jefferson males and that additional sampling would be required.

Modern genetic methods have advanced substantially since 1998. Autosomal DNA analysis — which examines the non-sex chromosomes inherited from all ancestors — was not available for genealogical or forensic use at that time. Comparisons among distant descendants can also be vulnerable to false positive matches in distant autosomal comparisons when small DNA segments are interpreted without strict statistical thresholds. The 2026 study seeks to address these limitations using advanced Y-SNP testing and Next-Generation Sequencing, combined with careful analytical standards to reduce interpretive ambiguity.

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology is collaborating on the genetic analysis of material obtained pursuant to court approval. In its sequencing of Ludwig van Beethoven’s genome from authenticated early 19th-century hair samples, the Institute identified an “extra-pair paternity event” when Beethoven’s Y-chromosome did not match documented paternal relatives. That work illustrates how modern genomic methods can clarify — and sometimes challenge — assumptions about paternal lineage from the same historical period in which Thomas and Randolph Jefferson lived.

Archaeological procedures associated with the petition are being conducted in consultation with New South Associates, a professional cultural resources management firm specializing in cemetery investigations and forensic excavation. The proposed work would involve carefully accessing the burial site to obtain a small DNA sample, without removing the remains from the grave. No full exhumation is planned. After sampling, the grave would be restored to its original condition in accordance with established archaeological standards and all applicable legal and preservation requirements.

JeffersonDNA.org does not assert conclusions in advance. Its purpose is to present the evidence transparently, explain the scientific and historical methods involved, and document how responsible forensic genetics can inform complex historical questions.