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11 Controversial Stories About First Families in the White House

6. Thomas Jefferson and His Wife’s Half-Sister

A Founding Father, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemings is no secret. However, few people know that Sally Hemings and the late Martha Jefferson shared a father, making the two women half-sisters. Sally Hemings had six of Jefferson’s children, four of whom grew to adulthood and were freed by their father. Jefferson never granted Sally her freedom though, but he did take her with him whenever he traveled. Martha Randolph Jefferson, his daughter, granted Sally her freedom after Thomas passed away.

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