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Thurmond's family 'acknowledges' black woman's claim as daughter

Left, a recent photo of Essie Mae Washington-Williams, and Strom Thurmond in 2000.

COLUMBIA -- The late Sen. Strom Thurmond's family on Monday said it "acknowledges" a California woman's claim that she is the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of the one-time segregationist.

"As J. Strom Thurmond has passed away and cannot speak for himself, the Thurmond family acknowledges Ms. Essie Mae Washington-Williams' claim to her heritage. We hope this acknowledgment will bring closure for Ms. Williams," the family's lawyer, J. Mark Taylor, said in a brief statement.

Contacted at his office, Taylor confirmed he was speaking for the Thurmond family but refused to give details or answer any questions, including whether the family was in fact verifying the claims of Williams, a 78-year-old retired teacher who lives in Los Angeles.

Thurmond's widow, Nancy, said she was not taking calls from the media. Messages left for U.S. Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. and Thurmond's other children were not immediately returned.

Glenn Walters of Orangeburg, a South Carolina attorney for Williams, said he believes the statement acknowledges Thurmond's paternity, though he hasn't discussed the question with the Thurmond family.

"We are happy that this matter has been resolved. Mrs. Essie Mae Washington-Williams can now take a place in history as a daughter of U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond," Walters said. Thurmond died in June at age 100.

Williams was to discuss her story at a news conference Wednesday in Columbia. Calls to her home Monday were not immediately answered.

Williams was grateful the Thurmond family acknowledged her claim, said her California attorney Frank K. Wheaton. "Ms. Williams shed a sigh of relief. She said, 'I'm happy and a very much surprised,"' Wheaton said Monday.

He said Williams may not release all her alleged evidence supporting the claim Wednesday because of Monday's announcement. "There may be no need," he said.

Attorneys for the two parties are discussing what information to make available, Wheaton said. "I'm certain we can come to a resolution that will benefit our country in terms of tracking our ancestry," he said.

Longtime Thurmond family friend Bettis Rainsford said it may not be so clearcut. He thinks the family is acknowledging Williams made a claim, but not acknowledging it is true.

However, Rainsford said he was not speaking for the family.

"I don't doubt it but unless there's something to confirm it ..." Rainsford said, trailing off.

"Is she or isn't she? I don't know. Maybe she's got some proof, but if she doesn't have more than she's shown thus far, I wouldn't count it as gospel," he said. "And I certainly took the statement that was made by the family to mean that they are acknowledging that she's made a claim, and they just want this to be over with."

Wheaton had said Saturday that his client was coming forward to claim that the nation's longest-serving senator was her father.

Williams had long been rumored to be Thurmond's child, though she previously denied it. She came forward now at the urging and encouragement of her children, Wheaton said.

Williams told The Washington Post that Thurmond privately acknowledged her as his daughter and had provided financial support since 1941. She said she waited to go public because she didn't want to embarrass herself or hurt Thurmond's career. The Post first reported her claims on its Web site Saturday.

"There was an agreement between the parties that she would never discuss the fact that Senator Thurmond was her father," Walters said. He said Williams was not seeking money and did not want to challenge Thurmond's will.

In seven decades of politics, Thurmond gained fame and infamy as an arch-segregationist, but he later came to support a holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Williams claims Thurmond fathered her when he was 22 and living in his parents' home in Edgefield. Her mother, Carrie Butler, 16, had been working as a maid in the Thurmonds' home.

Raised by an aunt, Williams told the Post she first met Thurmond around 1941, when she was 16, and Thurmond called her a "very lovely daughter."

She told the newspaper she received money at least once a year in sessions arranged by Thurmond's Senate staff. Wheaton said the total over the years was "very substantial" but less than $1 million.