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Discover if You're a Thomas Jefferson Descendent

The Jefferson-Hemmings DNA study, published in 1998, was one of the catalysts of what later became the field of Genetic Genealogy.

Did Thomas Jefferson father a child with his slave Sally Hemmings?

While DNA cannot prove that Sally Hemmings' child was Thomas' son, Y-DNA did prove that the child's father was "a Jefferson." FamilyTreeDNA has the Y-DNA signature of the Jefferson line:

Jefferson Markers

A simple Y-DNA test can determine whether you match the Jefferson Y-DNA signature and whether you are closely or distantly related.

You can test your Y-DNA to determine whether it matches the Jefferson or any other Y-DNA signature.

DNA testing can show:

  • if two people are related
  • your suggested geographic origins
  • if you match the Jefferson DNA
  • your deep paternal ancestral origins

Which Test to Take

Y-DNA Tests (Paternal Line Test) - Click here to learn more and order. 

Genetic males can test their Y-DNA to determine the origin of their paternal line. Note that the Y-DNA test strictly checks the paternal line, with no influence from any females along that line. Females do not receive Y-DNA, and therefore females cannot be tested for the paternal line. If you are a female and would like to know about your paternal line, you would need to have a brother or a male relative from that line tested.

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