Guide to the Thomas D. Best Research Collection MC 111

Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library

Title: Thomas D. Best Research Collection

Identifier/Call Number: MC 111

Physical Description: 1.5 Linear Feet 2 archival boxes and 1 archival folder

Date (inclusive): 1955 to 2022

Abstract: Contained are the research notes, diagrams, and papers of genealogist and historian Dr. Thomas D. Best. Materials focus on, and substantiate, the Hall family line of Best's genealogy, in particular, the presence of his great-great grandmother Eliza Jefferson Hall, who he claims is Harriet Hemings, daughter of the enslaved Sally Hemings and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.

Language of Material: English .

Thomas David Best was born on October 8, 1943, in Sacramento, California. He graduated from Highlands High School in 1961, soon after starting the civil engineering program at Sacramento State College (SSC). After one year, Best transferred to American River Junior College (ARJC). Upon finishing an associate's degree at ARJC in 1964, he returned to SSC, graduating in 1967 with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. After his time at SSC, Best went to work as a bridge engineer and then industrial engineer for the California Department of Transportation. In 1975, he graduated with a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and, in 1979, graduated with a doctorate in industrial engineering. In 1980, Best joined the Business School at Sacramento State University as an Associate Professor of Management. He was then promoted to Professor of Operations Management in 1986 and taught production management and inventory control before retiring in 1999.

While in school, Best played four years of collegiate baseball – two at ARJC and two at SSC. By 1969, he was playing fast pitch softball in the Northern California Open Division League. In 1972, his team – Sargent's Sport Shop – finished fourth in the Open Division Fast Pitch National Tournament. Best retired from fast-pitch in 1986 but, by 1993, had transitioned into slow pitch softball, playing on the number one, nationally-ranked Old A's Miken Sports tournament team which, over his eight-years with the squad, won 25 national tournaments. In 2006, Best was inducted into the Senior Softball National Hall of Fame.

While in retirement, genealogy became one of Best's driving interests. A study of the line of John Thomas Hall (1808-1884), Best's great-great grandfather, revealed a marriage to Eliza Jefferson (1801-1871), who Best claims is also Harriet Hemings, the daughter of President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and the enslaved Sally Hemings (1773-circa 1852). Other genealogical research has ranged from the sourcing of traditional paper materials to the utilization of genetic testing. Eliza Jefferson Hall, who died on June 29, 1871, is buried in Sacramento's Old City Cemetery. Also revealed are Best's familial connections to Donner Party survivors Lewis and Philippine Keseberg.

[Identification of item], Thomas D. Best Research Collection, MC 111, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

The research collection is made up almost entirely of paper and divided into five separate series. Nearly all original order has been maintained. Series I is Jefferson/Hemings Documents; Series II is Hall Documents; Series III is Athletics; Series IV is Historical Topics; and, Series V is Charts, Diagrams, and Photographs.

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