After Thurmond 's death in 2003 , an attorney for his family confirmed that in 1925 , when he was 22 , Thurmond fathered a mixed-race daughter , Essie Mae Washington , with his family 's housekeeper , Carrie Butler , then 16 years old .
After Thurmond 's death in 2003 , an attorney for his family confirmed that in 1925 , when he was 22 , Thurmond fathered a mixed-race daughter , Essie Mae Washington-Williams , with his family 's housekeeper , Cassie Butler , then 16 years old .