According to some reports, Thomas Jefferson fathered several children with one of his slaves, a woman named Sally Hemings who served as chambermaid, seamstress, and nursemaid to Jefferson's children. Although Jefferson's family strongly denied the accuracy of such rumors, several of Jefferson's close friends believed them to be true. After years of conjecture, a DNA test was finally conducted in 1998, comparing DNA samples from male-line descendents of Field Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's uncle) and Eston Hemings (one of Sally Hemings' children). The results proved that an individual carrying the male Jefferson Y chromosome had indeed fathered Eston Hemings. Although there were approximately 25 individuals living in Virginia at the time of Eston's birth who carried this chromosome, the study's authors concluded that the "simplest and most probable" conclusion was that Thomas Jefferson was in fact the father of Eston Hemings. Jefferson eventually freed all of Sally Hemings' children, a kindness which he did not extend to any of the other slave families living on his estate. In 1852, Eston Hemings changed his name to Eston Hemings Jefferson.