This may have long been rumored, but it's the first we've heard of it:

A 78-year-old retired schoolteacher is coming forward after years of silence to claim she is the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, her attorney said Saturday.

..."We're not trying to upset the Thurmond estate. We are merely bringing closure to Essie Mae's life, so her children have an opportunity to know from where they come, whether those ancestors are black or white matters not. It is part of our American history."

Williams told The Washington Post that Thurmond privately acknowledged her as his daughter and had provided financial support since 1941. The Post first reported her claims on its Web site Saturday.

Thurmond, "an arch segregationist," died in June at age 100. This, is classic:

Williams claims Thurmond fathered her long before his political career started, when he was a 22-year-old living in his parents' home in Edgefield, S.C. Her mother, then 16, had been working as a maid in the Thurmonds' home.

Ms. Williams met Thurmond for the first time around 1941:

Williams told the Post she first met Thurmond around 1941, when she returned to Edgefield for a visit at age 16. Her mother was suffering from an untreatable kidney disease and insisted on introducing her to her father, Williams said. In a meeting lasting 20 to 30 minutes, Williams said, Thurmond called her a "very lovely daughter."

"I was very happy. I knew I had a father somewhere, and it was wonderful to meet him."

Update: Strom Thurmond's family acknowledges Ms. Williams is the Senator's daughter.

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