Gallery
Kofoworola, Lady Ademola, a member of the Nigerian branch
John W. Rogers, Jr., a member of the American branch
The Vaughan family is a Nigerian American family with branches on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In Nigeria, it has links to the Nigerian chieftaincy system and the Nigerian bourgeoisie, while in America, it belongs to the African-American upper class.
| Vaughan | |
|---|---|
| Parent house | Oodua |
| Current region | Nigeria America |
| Place of origin | Owu Egba |
| Founded | 1815 |
| Founder | Scipio Vaughan Maria Theresa Conway |
| Connected families | Ademola family Rogers family |
| Estate(s) | Camden House |
The Vaughans claim descent from the union of Scipio Vaughan, an American freedman of royal Owu Egba origin, and Maria Theresa Conway, who was herself of Catawba descent. [1] On Scipio's deathbed, he told his two sons Burrell Churchill Vaughan and James Churchill Vaughan Sr. to return to his ancestral home in Yorubaland following his death. The pair ultimately did so, and later established the Nigerian branch of the family before their own deaths. The American branch, meanwhile, was itself established by those of their siblings that remained behind. [2] [3] [4]
Vaughan's Nigerian descendants include the nationalist Dr. James C. Vaughan Jr. and Nigerian women's rights activist Kofoworola, Lady Ademola. [5]
Vaughan's American descendants include the U.S. government official Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious and her son, the businessman John W. Rogers Jr. [6]
The Vaughan family, while being either Nigerian or American, has provided a large number of doctors, lawyers, businesspeople and politicians over the years of its existence. [7]
The American branch started the incentive to trace its African heritage and re-unite with the African group of Vaughan descendants. Its members first attempt to convene a reunion started in August, 1970, when several Vaughans convened a meeting in Pittsburgh and decided to arrange an annual reunion of all their known relatives. They read the research of a deceased family member, Aida Arabella Stradford, a South Carolina school teacher, and studied census figures, family Bible records and other documents. [8] Today, the American Vaughans are a network of more than 3,000 cousins from over 22 states. From the daughters, who remained in the United States, the cousins have traced the eight main family lines - Barnes, Brevard, Bufford, Cauthen, McGriff, Peay, Truesdale and Vaughan. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
The Nigerian branch, for its part, was involved in major events back in the family's homeland: it took part in colonial politics, was active in the women's movement in the Independence era, and intermarried with various Nigerian royal families. Prominent lines amongst the Nigerian Vaughans include Vaughan, Coker, Moore and Vaughan-Richards. [14] [15] The Nigerian Vaughans and their American relatives have stayed in touch through the years after James Churchill Vaughan Sr.'s death, and today the Nigerians take part in the periodic "Cousin" reunions in America.
They may also have descendants in Jamaica.
Camden is the largest city and county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census, and the 2022 population estimate is 8,213. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Camden is the oldest inland city in South Carolina, and home to the Carolina Cup and the National Steeplechase Museum.
Nigerian Americans are Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigrants residing in the United States is rapidly growing, expanding from a small 1980 population of 25,000. The 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) estimated that 712,294 residents of the U.S.A were of Nigerian ancestry. The 2019 ACS further estimated that around 392,811 of these (85%) had been born in Nigeria. Which puts the total Nigerian American population a little over 400,000.
The West African Students' Union (WASU), founded in London, England, in 1925 and active into the 1960s, was an association of students from various West African countries who were studying in the United Kingdom.
Jewel Stradford Lafontant-Mankarious was the first female deputy solicitor general of the United States, an official in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, and an attorney in Chicago. She also was considered by President Richard Nixon as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.
James Churchill Omosanya Vaughan Jr., M.D. was a Nigerian doctor and a prominent political activist.
Sir Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi, KBE was a Nigerian ophthalmologist and politician. He was one of the founders of the nationalist Nigerian Youth Movement in 1934 and went on to have a distinguished public service career. His last major public assignment was as chairman of the Lagos Executive Development Board from 1958 until 1966.
John Oni Akerele was a Nigerian doctor, Nigeria's first indigenous surgeon.
Yoruba Americans are Americans of Yoruba descent. The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group that predominantly inhabits southwestern Nigeria, with smaller indigenous communities in Benin and Togo.
The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger.
The Vlekete Slave Market is a market located in Badagry, Lagos State. Established in 1502 and named after the Vlekete deity, the goddess of the ocean and wind the market was significant during the Atlantic slave trade in Badagry, as it served as a business point where African middlemen sold slaves to European slave merchants, thus making it one of the most populous slave markets in West Africa.
Oloori Kofoworola "Kofo" Aina Ademola, Lady Ademola MBE, MFR, OFR was a Nigerian educationist who was the president of the National Council of Women's Societies in Nigeria and was the head of the women's organization from 1958 to 1964. She was the first black African woman to earn a degree from Oxford University, studying at St Hugh's College, and also an author of children's books.
Chief Kofoworola Abeni Pratt Hon. FRCN was a Nigerian nurse who was one of the first notable black nurses to work in Britain's National Health Service. She subsequently became vice-president of the International Council of Nurses and the first black Chief Nursing Officer of Nigeria, working in the Federal Ministry of Health.
Remi Vaughan-Richards is a Nigerian filmmaker.
Chief Daniel Conrad Taiwo, alias Taiwo Olowo, was a trader, arms dealer, slave owner, political power broker, philanthropist and community leader in Colonial Lagos.
Scipio Vaughan (1784–1840) was an African-American artisan and slave who inspired a "back to Africa" movement among some of his offspring to connect with their roots in Africa, specifically the Yoruba of West Africa in the early 19th century. After gaining his freedom, he spent the latter part of his life in the United States and started the movement with his immediate family members in his final moments. Several generations of Scipio's descendants are dispersed across three continents where they mostly live or lived, except for occasional cousin reunions, which includes people from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Tanzania in Africa; Jamaica and Barbados in the Caribbean; the United States and Canada in North America; and the United Kingdom in Europe.
Dr. Wendy Onyinye Osefo is a Nigerian-American political commentator, public affairs academic, and television personality. She is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Education, and a main cast member of The Real Housewives of Potomac. Wendy practices in the field of journalism and has received rewards recognizing her contributions to the field of journalism.
Alan Vaughan-Richards (1925–1989) was a British-Nigerian architect who was active in the post-colonial architecture industry of Nigeria. He engaged architects on the potential influence of African forms in architectural design through publication of the journal West Africa Builder and Architect.
St Anne's School, Ibadan is a secondary school for girls in Ibadan, Nigeria. The school took its current name in 1950, after a merger between Kudeti Girls School, founded in 1899, and CMS Girls School, Lagos, founded in 1869. It can therefore claim to be the oldest girls secondary school in Nigeria.
Chief Adebesin Folarin was a Nigerian barrister, judge, public official, historian and author. He was one of the leading intellectuals in early 20th-century Abeokuta, and is recognised as "one of the first truly nationalist historians".