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The Founding Fathers left behind extensive writings, but new discoveries continue to deepen historians’ understanding of America’s most influential figures.

Advances in archaeology, DNA analysis and archival research have uncovered forgotten documents, artifacts and other evidence from the nation’s earliest years.

Over the past century, discoveries have offered fresh insight into America’s founders, changing how historians understand their lives and legacies, as detailed below.

According to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (TJF), Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, fathered at least six children with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman at Monticello.

Though it was rumored during his lifetime that Jefferson fathered children with one of the enslaved women, it wasn’t until a landmark 1998 DNA study that historians found scientific evidence that appears to support the claim.

Hemings was brought to Paris from 1787 to 1789 to work as a servant and maid for Jefferson’s household.

“While in Paris, where enslaved people could petition for their freedom, she negotiated with Jefferson to return to enslavement at Monticello in exchange for ‘extraordinary privileges’ for herself and freedom for her unborn children,” the TJF states on its website.

“Decades later, Jefferson freed all of Sally Hemings’s children … [he] did not grant freedom to any other enslaved family unit.”

After reviewing documentary, scientific, statistical and oral history evidence, the Foundation concluded that Jefferson most likely fathered Hemings’ children, a position now widely accepted by mainstream historians.

Not all historians agree with that assessment, however.

After reviewing historical evidence, the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society concluded that Hemings “was only a minor figure in Thomas Jefferson’s life and that it is very unlikely he fathered any of her children,” according to the TJF website.

“This committee also suggested in its report, issued in April 2001 and revised in 2011, that Jefferson’s younger brother Randolph (1755-1815) was more likely the father of at least some of Sally Hemings’s children,” the website adds.

After reviewing historical evidence, the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society concluded that Hemings “was only a minor figure in Thomas Jefferson’s life and that it is very unlikely he fathered any of her children,” according to the TJF website.

In 1999, archaeologists at Mount Vernon uncovered the remains of George Washington’s long-lost whiskey distillery — revealing that the first president operated what had become the largest commercial distillery in the US by the time he died in 1799.

Historians had long known that Washington operated a distillery through surviving records, but the archaeological excavation revealed the scale and sophistication of the operation.

The facility was “one of the largest, highest producing operations in the area,” Mount Vernon’s website says.

“The evidence also highlights the fact that this distillery was operating at an industrial scale, compared to the one or two still farmer-distillers common in the 18th and early 19th centuries,” the site adds.

During the excavation, archaeologists uncovered stone foundations, teacups, drinking glasses and evidence of the distillery’s copper stills and boilers, which helped researchers reconstruct how the massive operation functioned.

“Research suggests that George Washington was one of the most innovative and enterprising farmers in America’s history,” Mount Vernon’s website says.

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