Joyce Harrod grew up in the Washington, DC area, where she still lives. Ms. Harrod is an artist and teaches art to middle school students. Her father, George Harrod, was the first African American to hold various positions in the federal government. In her interview, she expressed herself as very proud of her father and said her grandmother had led “a model life” as a person of strong faith and “an independent woman”: “She continues to be an inspiration to me.”
Hemings-Hughes
Shallie Barrett Marshall
J. Calvin Jefferson
Calvin Jefferson, who is descended from the Grangers as well as the Hemingses of Monticello, grew up in Washington, DC. After working for the U. S. Postal Service, he became an archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration, from which he retired in 2007 after thirty years. He did not learn of his family’s connection to Monticello until 1996. He has a strong interest in his family history and continues research on the Hemings family, particularly Betty Brown and her descendants.
Timothy Hughes
In 1996, four generations of the Hughes family of Fauquier County came to Monticello soon after learning of their descent from Rev. Robert Hughes of Union Run Baptist Church and head gardener Wormley Hughes of Monticello. The connection might have been broken because their ancestor, also Wormley Hughes (1851-1901), left Albemarle County with the Union army in the confusion at the end of the Civil War.
Timothy Hughes was excited to learn of the minister in his family tree, since he was studying at Washington Bible College at the time and he bears a striking resemblance to Reverend Hughes. He recalled his conversations with his grandfather John Henry Hughes about a wide range of topics.
Bessie Baskerville Dorsey
Bessie Dorsey was a descendant of Wormley and Ursula Hughes through their grandson Philip Evans Hughes (1853-1925). Mrs. Dorsey lived most of her life in Washington, DC, raising and providing an education to her son, George Harrod, who went on to hold several prominent positions in the federal government. Her relatives have relied on her memories in their exploration of their family history.