----- Original Message Follows ----- > I'm confused! How could mitochondrial DNA prove anything > about Jefferson's descendants when he could not pass on > any mtDNA! At least it is my understanding that that > kind of DNA is passed only through the female line. While > Jefferson would have gotten mtDNA from his mother, he > could not have passed it to his children, male or female. > So if he had a child with Sally Hemmings, the mtDNA that > he/she got, and passed on (only if female), was Sally's > alone, and would prove only that it was (or could have > been) her descendant. Also, I'm pretty sure that the > articles I read said that they tested Jefferson's male > relatives. They tested Jeffersons male DNA becasue any children that he had with Sally Hemmings would have Thomas Jeffersons DNA because Thomas was the father of the children. His DNA would be in the sperm that would fertalize the egg of Sally Hemmings not any other man Sally Hemmings may have been with. It does not matter how many past husbands a women has the Dna in the Sperm will determine who the father will be. If its Thomas Jeffersons then the child will have the male DNA traits from Jeffersons line and the female traits are passed on from Sally Hemmings mothers side to her girls if I understand it right.