16 FAMILY TREE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019“FOR HERE WE ARE NOT AFRAID to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to
tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”Founding Father Thomas Jefferson included this mission statement for the under-
construction University of Virginia in an 1820 letter to historian William Roscoe. Like many
modern researchers, Jeff erson had his own truths that were emotionally diffi cult to “follow”:
DNA evidence strongly suggests he fathered children via Sally Hemings, one of his slaves.
Read true stories from genealogists who uncovered their own hard truths on page 54.BU
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