1. It is important to celebrate the life of my late 3rd cousin Doretha Williams Grinnard. She lived from February 20, 1939, to April 10, 2024. We share the same ancestor as Zilphy Claud (1820-1893). Her parents were Theodore Lewis Williams (1906-1993) and Ethel Lena Gilliam (1911-2001). Theodore Lewis Williams's parent was Peter Percy Williams (1880-1949). Peter Percy Williams's mother was Adaline Hill (1862-1930). Adaline's Hill's parents were Tom Hill and Sarah Claud. Sarah Claud's mother was my 5th great grandmother Zilphy Claud. Doretha Williams Grinnard was a hard-working woman and a religious woman who faithfully believed in God. She grew up in the rural area of Southampton County, Virginia where many of my maternal relatives are from. She was a member of Bryant's Baptist Church in Courtland, Virginia. Doretha graduated from Southampton County Training School in 1959. Later, she married Thomas Grinnard being a couple for 64 years. Doretha worked in New York at the Federbush Loose-leaf Building Company. She worked in New York City to be a worker for 20 years in the City of New York Department of Social Services. Doretha and Thomas worshipped God in Deer Lake, New York and at Union Baptist Missionary Church in Suffolk, Virginia. Doretha and Thomas Grinnard have three daughters whose names are Michele Grinnard Hite, Toni Grinnard, and Tanya Grinnard. Their two grandchildren are Dominique Hite and Christian Reed. Doretha Williams Grinnard's siblings are: James Williams, Fred Williams, Theodore Williams, Douglas Williams, Hattie Pope, Ethel Easter, Nannie Rollins, Sadie Hill, Katie Flythe, Brenda Tillery, John Williams, and Marvin Williams.
2. My 3rd cousin Nannie Vivian Williams Rollins was born on February 18, 1936, in Southampton County, Virginia. Her parents were Theodore Lewis Williams (1906-1993) and Ethel Lena Gilliam (1911-2001). He married William Henry Rollins Sr. (1933-2018) in 1958 in New York City. The couple had many children who are: Evelyn Rollins Gaines, Michael Rollins, Sharon M. Rollins, William H. Rolins Jr., and Pamela Rollins. Nannie Vivian Williams's grandfather was Peter Percy Williams (1880-1949). Peter Percy Williams's mother was Adeline Hill (1862-1930). Adaline Hill's parents were Sarah Claud and Tom Hill (1838-1915). Sarah Claud's mother was my 5th great-grandmother Zilphy Claud (1820-1893).
3. There is more information found about my late 3rd cousin Virginia Dare Bynum (1938-1977). We are descendants of my 5th great-grandmother Zilphy Claud. Her daughter was Sarah Claud. Sarah Claud married Tom Hill, and their daughter was Adeline Hill (1862-1930). Adeline Hill (1897-1946) married Dupie Nehemiah Bynum (1892-1947) on February 2, 1911, in Southampton County, Virginia. Their children are John Henry Bynum (1911-1979), Nello Bynum (1913-1992), Dorothy Bynum (1917-1998), James L. Bynum (b. 1934). Dorothy Bynum had a daughter named Virginia Dare Bynum. Virginia Dare Bynum married Robert Lewis Daye (1932-1987) at Courtland, Virginia on March 3, 1956. Their children are Sterling Laverne Day (b. 1954), Malcolm Eugene Daye (1955-2022), Serita A. Daye (b. 1958), Alton Milford Daye (b. 1959), Kelson Demore Daye (b. 1962), and Robert Nelson Daye. My 5th cousin Serita A. Daye is married to Napoleon Beard.
