The Vaughan family is a

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

family with branches on both sides of the

Atlantic ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. In

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, it has links to the

Nigerian chieftaincy system The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest continuously existing institutions i ...

and the

Nigerian bourgeoisie The social structure in Nigeria is the hierarchical characterization of social status, historically stratified under the Nigerian traditional rulers and their subordinate chiefs, with a focus on tribe and ethnicity which continued with the ad ...

, while in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, it belongs to the

African-American upper class The African-American upper class is a social class that consists of African-American individuals who have high disposable incomes and high net worth. The group may include highly paid white-collar professionals such as academics, engineers, law ...

Family history

The Vaughans claim descent from the union of

Scipio Vaughan 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. A ...

, an American

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

of royal Owu Egba origin, and Maria Theresa Conway, who was herself of

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany * Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

descent. 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 Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this ...

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.

Nigerian lineage

Vaughan's Nigerian descendants include the nationalist Dr. James C. Vaughan Jr. and Nigerian women's rights activist Kofoworola, Lady Ademola.

American lineage

Vaughan's American descendants include the U.S. government official

Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious Jewel Stradford Lafontant-Mankarious (April 28, 1922 – May 31, 1997) was the first female (and African American female) deputy solicitor general of the United States, an official in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, and an atto ...

and her son, the businessman

John W. Rogers Jr. John Washington Rogers Jr. (born March 31, 1958) is an American investor and founder of Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments, LLC), founded in 1983. He is chairman and co- CEO of the company, which is the United States' largest mino ...

Today

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Gallery

File:Kofo Ademola.jpg, Kofoworola, Lady Ademola, a member of the Nigerian branch File:20120721 John W. Rogers, Jr.JPG,

John W. Rogers, Jr. John Washington Rogers Jr. (born March 31, 1958) is an American investor and founder of Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments, LLC), founded in 1983. He is chairman and co-CEO of the company, which is the United States' largest minor ...

, a member of the American branch

References