This was my dad's official business photo for Silly Putty.

He took this photo in 1964.

My dad's great grandparents on both paternal sides were 

enslaved in Union, Monroe County, West Virginia 

(Mansfield and Eliza Dawson Haynes)

 & Martha Payne Haynes (enslaved in Fluvanna, Virginia

but separated from her enslaved husband and sold to WV) 

and her second husband Solomon Haynes. His great 

grandparents on his maternal side included a formerly 

enslaved woman (Dora Littleton) and an unknown white 

male.   Dora was raised by her aunt Mary Littleton Hughs 

who had been owned by the Lieutenant Governor of 

Confederate Virginia - Samuel Price.  His other maternal

great grandparents were Caucasian (Harry Suthcliff Cooper 

who owned the Lewisburg Hotel ) & Harry was descended 

from Cyriacus Fleischman of the Alsace Lorraine area (see 

story about him on the net), Braveheart's brother John Wallace, 

&   Joan of Kent.  So his ancestor was half sibling to the crazy

 King that Shakepeare wrote the play about.  Also four revolutionary war uncles and one direct 

descendant --- and no I do not want to be a Daughter of the Confederacy or a member of the DAR. 

But,  I am in contact with the Cooper family presently.    My father's mother looks like them.    

The webs that are weaved.  

 

His grandfather, George W. Haynes was born during slavery and his grandmother, Elizabeth Jane Payne Haynes Haynes Lewis was born shortly after emancipation. His maternal grandmother was born after emancipation but her mother had been enslaved. His paternal grandfather was Harry Suthcliff Cooper who was a white male and the owner of the Lewisburg Hotel in Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. His grandfather, George Washington Haynes was a "mulatto" stonemason, carpenter of Monroe County, WV and my father inherited these skills. He was an amazing carpenter though he only did that as an avocation. His paternal grandmother Elizabeth was a Black & possibly partly Native American seamstress also from Monroe County, George and Elizabeth were also farmers and they had 14 children (including school teachers, a barber, a podiatrist, a violinist, an actress/musician, and laborers). One of these 14 children was his father, William "Hubert" Haynes who was a chauffeur for the Steinbach's of New Haven. The Steinbach's were printers. Their daughter, Francis Steinbach, married Dr. Arthur Weil and Hubert would drive Dr. Weil from the Greenbrier Resort to New Haven**. His paternal grandfather was Harry Suthcliff Cooper (a white male who was the owner of the Lewisburg Hotel in Greenbrier County, W.V.) His paternal grandmother was Mary Alice Knight (a domestic servant & laundress). His mother was Dora "Jane" Kelly Knight Lee Haynes Midder (who worked for the Block Shop & who also worked - most likely as a domestic servant / laundress - for Professor Rollin Osterweiss (cultural historian & author of the definitive history on New Haven), or for the family of same (cigar makers)). He married twice, to my mother, Juanita, and then to Judith Snipes. He had four daughters, me (Carol Haynes), Patricia (Jones) Haynes, Dawn (who is a celebrity stylist & owns/operates Dawn 2 Dusk Agency of Los Angeles), and Sandra Haynes Thomas. He had two stepsons, James and David Snipes***. He lived his entire life in New Haven and Branford and he is buried in Branford.

* Because of slavery it is not known if we are descended from Burton Payne (who was sold off around the time of Martha's pregnancy with Elizabeth) or Solomon Haynes who she married on July 4, 1865 (immediately after emancipation -but possibly before enslaved individuals were emancipated in West Virginia as emancipation in Northern states came later than in the south).

** Francis Steinbach Weil died on 2/4/1974 in Palm Beach, Florida. She was "of 307 St. Rohan Street, New Haven, Ct." She was the wife of Dr. Arthur Weil and she was the daughter of Abdul D. and Raye Hoffman Steinbach. See New York Times, 2/7/74.

*** David is a writer and he has lived in Egypt for many years.

(For more information on Southeast West Virginia genealogy see my other blog at http://aagenwv.blogspot.com/ - African American Genealogy - West Virginia)