News Letter to Dan Jordan, President - Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, Inc. Date: April 7, 2000 From: General John Q. Taylor King, Sr. Dear Dan: Thank you very much for the copy of your letter of February 7, 2000 to Trena and Byron Woodson. I appreciate your point of view expressed in that letter. I received copies of one or two of their letters written to you. However, not having copies of all of their letters, I can only make assumptions relative to all of the contents. I received the excellent report released by the Foundation and read it with great care.  I can understand the rationale serving as the basis of conclusions reached. I have received a few calls from the media relative to the Foundation's conclusions. The main questions asked pertained to my attitude regarding the Report and the conclusions reached.  All asked if I was angry or insulted. My answer was "NO!" I stated that I could not concur with the suggestion that Thomas Woodson was not the son of Thomas Jefferson nor was he the son of Sally Hemings. The above state suggestion is a complete contradiction of my Woodson Family's Oral History and Tradition! I have implicit faith and confidence in the Woodson Family History which permeates the several Woodson Family "LINES." It must be remembered that these "LINES" have had and have maintained the same Oral History through many, many years without an opportunity for collusion. This Oral History has been passed from generation to generation with almost nothing having been added! I take great pleasure in stating that I have respect for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation and its work. Also, that I have great respect and admiration for you, its President, and great respect and admiration for two of its capable historians, Diane Swann-Wright and Cinder Stanton! They are two of my favorite historians. (My favorite historian is Dr. John Hope Franklin, a fraternity brother and a very dear friend for many years). One should remember that Dianne and Cinder, as outstanding historians, seek the truth. In seeking the truth certain things must be considered and some things cannot be considered. Documentation is of utmost importance! I realize that Oral History may lack certain documentation. However, I insist that Oral History cannot be discounted! Fortunately, Dianne and Cinder do not discount, completely, our Oral History, for which I am grateful! The Woodson Family Oral History has been in my family, "THE WILLIAM LINE," through the years. My great grandfather, William Woodson, son of Thomas and Jemima, was told by his father, Thomas Woodson, that Thomas Jefferson was his father and Sally Hemings was his mother. My grandfather, Benjamin Frank Woodson, born on the Woodson Farm in 1844, was the oldest child of William Woodson and Jane Elizabeth Clay Woodson. Benjamin Frank Woodson knew personally his grandfather, Thomas Woodson, and was told by him that Thomas Jefferson was his father and Sally Hemings was his mother. My grandfather died long before I was born. However, I knew personally three of his sisters, Minerva, Lucy and Sada. Aunt Minerva lived with my grandmother, the wife of Benjamin Frank Woodson. She taught my mother, her sister Minnie, and her three brothers. Aunt Minerva taught my sister and me. She told both of us, continuously, that we were descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings! Also, Aunt Lucy and her husband, Dr. Jesse Edward Noorland, and Aunt Sada and her husband, Chaplain (Major) William T. Anderson, visited my grandmother in Memphis at least once a years, so I had an opportunity to know them. They told my sister and me about our Woodson Family History. Dr. Moorland was long-time Trustee of Howard University and was a moving force with the YMCA. Chaplain Anderson, and Ordained Elder in the AME Church and who held and earned M.D. Degree, was Chaplain with the Tenth US Cavalry (A Buffalo Soldier). My sister and I were thrilled when these wonderful family members visited us in Memphis. Both Aunt Lucy and Aunt Sada knew Thomas Woodson and were told by him that he was the son of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Finally, Thomas and Jemima had a daughter, Sarah Jane Woodson, who was an outstanding person. She was an 1856 graduate of Oberlin College and became a teacher. In 1868, after teaching at Wilberforce University, she married Reverend Jordan Winston Early, and AME Minister. They had an effective ministry in Tennessee and especially in Nashville. They made many friends in Nashville and shared the Woodson Family Oral History with some of them. When my mother was a student at Fisk University she met some of Mrs. Early's friends and they discussed with her frequently what Mrs. Early had related to them about the Woodson Family History. My grandparents knew Reverend and Mrs. Early, as did my mother.  I have been advised about the result of the last DNA Test. Naturally, I am very disappointed and must give further thought to this when the result is published. However, I maintain that my family's Oral History cannot be discounted! Please forgive this much too long letter. I'm sure that I have not included anything which you, Dianne, and Cinder did not know. I hope that this has sharpened for you my faith and confidence in the Woodson Family Oral History.   Very Sincerely yours, General John Q. Taylor King, Sr.   cc: Mr. Robert C. Golden, Dr. Dianne Swann-Wright

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