Sally Hemings, a young child and a slave, became part of an inheritance of Martha Wayles Jefferson, wife of Thomas. Sally served Jefferson's household at Monticello for almost 52 years. During that time, and after, rumors persisted that Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson were romantically involved. Sally may have borne his children. Oral history, historic letters, Jefferson's records, and 20th-century DNA tests may have proved them right.