Article: FROM MONTICELLO TO MINNESOTA: The Woodsons, whose lore connects them with Thomas Jefferson, are gathering to celebrate family.

Byline: David Hawley

Jun. 30--For nearly two centuries, generations of black children listened with rapt attention while their parents told them an old family story about being descendants of a president who owned slaves. Their distant grandfather, they were told, was the eldest son of Thomas Jefferson and his mulatto servant, Sally Hemings. She had six other children for whom records exist at Jefferson's Monticello plantation in Virginia. But the family story says her eldest -- named Thomas after his father -- was sent away when his existence threatened to become a public scandal in 1802. Though eventually freed, his connection to Monticello was ...

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