Editing Strom Thurmond (section)

==Personal life==
Thurmond was married twice and fathered five children.

===First daughter with Carrie Butler===
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?179613-1/washingtonwilliams-news-conference Essie Mae Washington-Williams news conference, December 17, 2003], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?185233-1/words-essie-mae-washingtonwilliams ''After Words'' interview with Williams on her book ''Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond'', February 6, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]| video3 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?186622-1/dear-senator-memoir-daughter-strom-thurmond Presentation by Williams at the Palm Springs Book Festival, April 16, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]}}
[[File:Strom Thurmond's statue with Essie Mae added.jpg|thumb|In the text accompanying Strom Thurmond's statue at the [[South Carolina State House|Statehouse grounds]], the phrase: "The father of four children", had the "four" replaced with "five" after Thurmond's fatherhood of [[Essie Mae Washington-Williams]] became public.]]
[[File:Ford B2348 NLGRF photo contact sheet (1976-11-29)(Gerald Ford Library) (cropped2).jpg|thumb|right|The Thurmond family with [[President of the United States|President]] [[Gerald Ford]] in 1976]]
[[File:President George W. Bush wishes Sen. Strom Thurmond happy birthday during a birthday celebration at the White House.jpg|thumb|right|President [[George W. Bush]] with Thurmond on his 100th birthday in 2002]]

Six months after Thurmond's death in 2003, [[Essie Mae Washington-Williams]] (1925{{ndash}}2013) publicly revealed she was his daughter. She was born on October 12, 1925, to Carrie "Tunch" Butler (1909 or 1910{{snd}}1948), who had worked for Thurmond's parents and was 15 or 16 years old when she gave birth.<ref name=rape?>{{cite news | publisher = thenation.com | date = March 15, 2004 | title = Was Strom a Rapist? | quote = ...Butler was born in 1909 or 1910. The only way the conclusion of statutory rape could be avoided is if Butler was born no later than early January 1909, and conception occurred just after her sixteenth birthday. | author = Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw | url =  https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/was-strom-rapist/#:~:text=Any%20serious%20inquiry%20into%20the,in%20print%20and%20electronic%20media.}}</ref>

Essie Mae Washington was raised by her maternal aunt and uncle, and was not told that Thurmond was her father until she was in high school, when she met him for the first time. She later married, took on the last name Washington-Williams, had a family, and retired as a [[Los Angeles Unified School District]] elementary school teacher with a master's degree. Though the Thurmond family never publicly acknowledged Washington-Williams as his daughter while he was alive, he helped pay her way through a [[historically black college]] in South Carolina and continued to give her financial support well into her adult life.<ref name="60min">{{Cite interview|title=Essie Mae On Strom Thurmond|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/essie-mae-on-strom-thurmond/|date=February 11, 2009|first=Essie Mae|last=Washington-Williams|type=Transcript|publisher=CBS|access-date=November 28, 2011|interviewer=[[Dan Rather]]|work=[[60 Minutes]]}}</ref> Washington-Williams said she did not reveal she was Thurmond's daughter during his lifetime because it "wasn't to the advantage of either one of us".<ref name="60min"/> She kept silent out of respect for her father<ref name="foxnews.com">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Thurmond's Family 'Acknowledges' Black Woman's Claim as Daughter|date=December 17, 2003|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105820,00.html|publisher=Fox News|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103012430/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105820,00.html|archive-date=November 3, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and denied the two had agreed she would not reveal her connection to him.<ref name="60min"/>

After Washington-Williams came forward, the Thurmond family attorney acknowledged her parentage. Her name has been added to those of his other children on a monument to Thurmond installed at the statehouse grounds.<ref name="jet">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050525033029/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_3_106/ai_n6153480 "Daughter of late Sen. Strom Thurmond to join Confederacy group"], ''Jet'', July 19, 2004, retrieved March 26, 2009</ref> Many close friends, staff members, and South Carolina residents had long suspected that Washington-Williams was Thurmond's daughter,<ref name="Kin">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/16/national/16STRO.html?ex=1231218000&en=0509c5d87e66cd7a&ei=5070 | work=The New York Times | title=Thurmond Kin Acknowledge Black Daughter | first=Michael | last=Janofsky | date=December 16, 2003}}</ref> as they had noted his interest in her. As a young woman, she was granted a degree of access to Thurmond more typical of a family member than a member of the public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.frankkwheaton.com/uploads/INTRODUCTORY_REMARKS.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711023428/http://www.frankkwheaton.com/uploads/INTRODUCTORY_REMARKS.pdf |url-status=dead |title=Essie Mae Washington-Williams|archive-date=July 11, 2011}}</ref>

Washington-Williams later said she intended to join the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]], and did apply to join the [[United Daughters of the Confederacy]], as she was eligible through her Thurmond ancestry. Thurmond was a member of the [[Sons of Confederate Veterans]], a similar group for men.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thurmond's Biracial Daughter Seeks to Join Confederacy Group |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/02/national/02daughter.html|work=The New York Times|date=July 2, 2004 |first1=Shaila K.|last1=Dewan|first2=Ariel|last2=Hart|quote=Evidently she is eligible: Senator Thurmond, once a fierce segregationist, was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a similar group for men.}}</ref> Her UDC application was not approved while she was alive.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Secret Fight to Save Confederate Monuments |journal=[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour]] |date=August 16, 2018 |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/the-secret-fight-to-save-confederate-monuments |access-date=June 25, 2021}}</ref>

Washington-Williams died on February 4, 2013, in [[Columbia, South Carolina]], at age 87.<ref>{{cite news|title=Strom Thurmond's Daughter, Essie Mae Washington Williams, Dies |url=http://www.wltx.com/news/article/220051/2/Strom-Thurmonds-Daughter-Essie-Mae-Washington-Williams-Dies- |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217021947/http://www.wltx.com/news/article/220051/2/Strom-Thurmonds-Daughter-Essie-Mae-Washington-Williams-Dies- |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 17, 2013 |first=Tony |last=Santaella |publisher=WLTX-TV |access-date=February 5, 2013 |date=February 4, 2013 }}</ref>

===First marriage===
Thurmond was 44 when he married his first wife, Jean Crouch (1926–1960),<ref>{{cite book |title=Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond |first1=Jack |last1=Bass |author-link=Jack Bass |first2=Marilyn W.  |last2=Thompson |author2-link=Marilyn W. Thompson |year=2003 |publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-57003-514-2 |page=187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjO6L2hv0mIC&q=unauthorized+biography+bass+thompson |access-date=January 20, 2012}}</ref> in the South Carolina Governor's mansion<ref>{{cite book |title=Strom Thurmond and the politics of southern change |first=Nadine |last=Cohodas |year=1994 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-446-8 |page=288 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=poxko8_LCPAC |access-date=January 20, 2012}}</ref> on November 7, 1947.<ref>{{cite book |title=The centennial senator: true stories of Strom Thurmond from the people who knew him best |first= Robert J. Duke |last=Short |year=2006 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-9778870-0-2 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85QRzktyQl4C |access-date=January 20, 2012}}</ref> In April 1947, when Crouch was a senior at [[Winthrop College]], Thurmond was a judge in a beauty contest in which she was selected as [[Miss South Carolina]]. In June, upon her graduation, Thurmond hired her as his personal secretary. On September 13, 1947, Thurmond proposed marriage by calling Crouch to his office to take a dictated letter. The letter was to her, and contained his proposal of marriage.<ref name="Life 1947">{{cite magazine |year=1947 |title=Governor wins secretary's hand |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |issue=November 17, 1947 |pages=44–46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1EgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44 |access-date=January 20, 2012}}</ref> Crouch died of a [[brain tumor]] in 1960 at age 33; they had no children.

===Second marriage===
Thurmond married his second wife, Nancy Janice Moore, on December 22, 1968. He was 66 years old and she was 22. She had won Miss South Carolina in 1965. Two years later, he hired her to work in his Senate office. Although Nancy did not particularly enjoy politics, she nevertheless became a popular figure on Capitol Hill. At age 68 in 1971, Thurmond fathered the first of four children with Nancy, who was then 25. Thurmond and Nancy's children are: Nancy Moore Thurmond (1971–1993), a beauty pageant contestant who was killed by a drunk driver;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestate.com/latest-news/article209778159.html |title= Drunk driver in Five Points killed Strom Thurmond's 'little girl' 25 years ago |date=April 29, 2018 |newspaper=The State |first=Cody |last=Dulaney |access-date=July 6, 2022 }}</ref> [[James Strom Thurmond Jr.]] (b. 1972), a former [[U.S. Attorney]] for the District of South Carolina and Solicitor for the 2nd Judicial District of South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nafusa.org/user_profile.php?memid=1123|title=National Association of Former United States AttorneysNational Association of Former United States Attorneys|website=National Association of Former United States Attorneys}}</ref><ref>[http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/38203094.html "Strom Thurmond Jr. begins new career as solicitor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224115819/http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/38203094.html |date=December 24, 2013 }} WRDW-TV, January 22, 2009, retrieved November 17, 2013</ref> Juliana Whitmer (b. 1974),<ref>See [http://sti.clemson.edu/sti/general-info/biography-of-senator-strom-thurmond.html A] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313031100/http://sti.clemson.edu/sti/general-info/biography-of-senator-strom-thurmond.html |date=March 13, 2012 }}. Juliana was the mother of Strom Thurmond's [http://www.wyff4.com/news/542244/detail.html first grandchild B.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929092118/http://www.wyff4.com/news/542244/detail.html |date=September 29, 2008 }} See also [https://web.archive.org/web/20110522061552/http://amarillo.com/stories/061803/usn_peopleinthe.shtml C] and [http://chronicle.augusta.com/images/headlines/070203/strom2/slide14.shtml D]</ref> and [[Paul Thurmond|Paul Reynolds Thurmond]] (b. 1976), a former South Carolina State Senator.

Thurmond's children remained in South Carolina with relatives, and Nancy commuted back and forth to Washington. Thurmond and Nancy separated in March 1991, after Nancy claimed that they no longer had a real marriage, stating "At this point in my life I would like to be able to pursue several career options and some measure of independence."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1991-03-29-9103291008-story.html|title=Strom Thurmond, Wife Announce Separation|author=Knight-Ridder Newspapers|publisher=The Orlando Sentinel|date=March 29, 1991|access-date=April 26, 2020}}</ref> She returned to South Carolina, where their children were living. Although Nancy casually dated other men during the early stages of the separation, neither she nor her husband considered divorce, and they reportedly remained close. It was alleged that she spoke with her husband several times each day, and he stayed at her house several times each month, whenever he returned to South Carolina. They continued attending events together.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjO6L2hv0mIC |title=Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond|last1=Bass|first1=Jack|last2=Thompson|first2=Marilyn W.|date=2002|publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press|isbn=9781570035142|language=en}}</ref> They were also reported as [[Family estrangement|estranged]] in 1996, when Nancy was facing trial for drunk driving.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/oct/06/thurmonds-wife-reveals-alcoholism/|title=Thurmond's Wife Reveals Alcoholism|agency=Associated Press|publisher=The Spokesman-Review|date=October 6, 1996|access-date=April 26, 2020}}</ref> In 2001, they were still reported to be estranged when Nancy refused an offer to succeed Thurmond in the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/29/magazine/strom-in-the-balance.html|title=Strom In the Balance|first=James|last=Bennett|work=[[The New York Times]] Magazine|date=April 29, 2001|access-date=April 26, 2020}}</ref>

===Sexual misconduct allegations===
According to [[NBC News]] in 2017, it was widely acknowledged around Congress that Thurmond inappropriately touched women throughout his career.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sexual-harassment-spotlight-shines-capitol-hill-n820511 |title=Sexual Harassment Spotlight Shines on Capitol Hill |date=November 14, 2017 |first1=Leigh Ann |last1=Caldwell |first2=Kasie |last2=Hunt |work=NBC News |access-date=May 27, 2020 }}</ref> Thurmond's colleague, Senator [[Patty Murray]], stated in 1996 that Thurmond, who was 91 years old at the time of incident, tried to fondle her breast in an elevator.<ref name=APbook>{{cite news |url=https://lmtribune.com/nation/world/book-recounts-sexual-harassment-allegation-against-sen-thurmond-by-sen-patty-murray/article_e701429e-5c2a-5eba-b59d-74e99938190c.html |title=Book recounts sexual harassment allegation against Sen. Thurmond by Sen. Patty Murray |date=November 8, 1996 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=May 27, 2020 |newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune }}</ref> According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', Thurmond had been known for fondling women in Senate elevators, and did not realize Murray was a fellow senator.<ref name="Clymer" /> The alleged incident prompted a statement from Thurmond's office, saying that he had not engaged in any inappropriate behavior, and that he was showing gentlemanly courtesy by assisting Murray into the elevator.<ref name="APbook" />  Female Senate staffers from the late 1980s and early 1990s recalled that Thurmond was on an informal list of male senators who were known for harassing women regularly, such as while alone in elevators.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Desjardins|first1=Lisa|last2=Bush|first2=Daniel|date=May 15, 2020|title=What 74 former Biden staffers think about Tara Reade's allegations|work=[[PBS Newshour]]|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-74-former-biden-staffers-think-about-tara-reades-allegations}}</ref>

Political reporter [[Cokie Roberts]] said in 2017 that Thurmond kissed her on the mouth, while she was live on the air at a political convention. Roberts stated that Thurmond "was in a category of his own" when it came to politicians and sexual harassment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/11/15/564272316/cokie-roberts-on-politicians-and-sexual-harassment |title=Cokie Roberts On Politicians And Sexual Harassment |publisher=National Public Radio |date=November 15, 2017 |access-date=May 27, 2020 }}</ref>