African American Seeks to Prove A Genetic Link to James Madison

Kearse is not the first African American to claim genetic ties to a founding father. Descendants of Sally Hemings, one of Thomas Jefferson's slaves, met with resistance from the Jefferson family when they tried to verify their relation to the former president.

Ann Thornton, a former president of the National Society of Madison Family Descendants, would not comment on the veracity of Kearse's claim, but said her family would cooperate with the search. "We want to help her in any way we can," said Thornton, a descendant of two of Madison's brothers. "We wish her well."

Michael C. Quinn, president of the Montpelier Foundation, did not endorse or reject Kearse's story. "At this point, we welcome all information that comes out of this conference," he said. "We want to learn more."

True or not, the fact that Madison -- who is synonymous with individual liberty perhaps more than any other founder -- was a slave owner all his life is something those assessing his character have had trouble reconciling. Even in the context of his time, Madison was not among the best of slave owners, researchers said.

"Here you have Madison, who is this great constitutional thinker, who comes up with the ideals of citizenship we know about and enjoy today, but in his plantation life and his home life, he's actually a typical slave owner," said Matthew Reeves, director of archaeology at the foundation. "Oral history talks about Madison being a good owner, but most oral history comes back with that. What you see with Madison is, when it comes down to the end, his slaves are all sold, which is the worst fate for a slave.

"Once you sell a group of slaves, you don't know what's going to happen to them. That's in some ways the litmus test. If you wanted to be a really good slave owner, you'd free your slaves like Washington did" after he died.

Jackson, speaking to attendees Saturday about how genetic research is conducted, noted that if Kearse's claim proves correct, it would mean Madison's only living direct descendants are African American.

Regardless of the DNA results, Kearse said she feels a connection to Coreen. Near the end of a long day of touring the estate, she arrived at the ruins of an unattached kitchen near the mansion where she said Coreen worked as a cook. She recalled seeing a groove during a previous visit that was worn into the ground by the continuous movement of slaves between the kitchen and the mansion. For a while, she stared quietly at the brick outline of the small structure, now filled in with weeds.

"I feel like she's here," she said.