Quander family

The Quander family is an African-American family whose documented history extends from the late seventeenth century to the present. Historians commonly identify the family as one of the oldest continuously documented African-American families in the United States, although the broader claim that it is the oldest such family is necessarily dependent on the survival and interpretation of historical records. The family traces its ancestry to the Fanti people of the Akan world in present-day Ghana. According to the family tradition and historical accounts summarized in reference material, an ancestor known as Egya Amkwandoh was captured during the transatlantic slave trade and transported to North America in the late 1600s. His name was subsequently rendered in colonial records and oral usage in forms such as “Quando,” “Quandoe,” and “Kwando,” before the spelling “Quander” became established during the nineteenth century. The family’s early American history developed along separate Maryland and Virginia branches. Two sons of Egya Amkwandoh were reportedly separated and taken to different colonies. The earliest cited record of a free branch concerns Henry Quando in Charles County, Maryland. In a will dated October 13, 1684, Henry Adams of Port Tobacco documented the manumission of members of the Maryland Quando family. This record is central to the family’s claim of unusually early and continuous documentation. Other descendants remained enslaved in Virginia, including members of the community associated with the Washington family and Mount Vernon. Nancy Quander and her mother, Sukey Bay, were among the people enslaved at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. Nancy worked as a spinner, producing cloth in the domestic work areas associated with the enslaved quarters. George Washington’s will directed that the people he enslaved be freed after Martha Washington’s death. Martha executed a deed of manumission in December 1800, and the affected people were freed on January 1, 1801. Nancy Quander was among those released. Later accounts describe her returning to Washington’s tomb with other formerly enslaved people roughly three decades afterward, a visit interpreted as an expression of personal loyalty and remembrance despite the coercive circumstances of her enslavement. After emancipation, Quander descendants acquired land in the Mount Vernon area. Charles Henry Quander accumulated property in parcels, eventually holding approximately 88 acres according to the cited account. Land associated with the family later gave its name to Quander Road and Quander School, now known as Quander School. Some family members continued to live near this historic community, and at least one house along Quander Road was reported to have survived for about a century. The family has maintained distinct regional branches in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, particularly Philadelphia and nearby communities. The Virginia and Washington-area branch has held annual reunions since 1926, while the Maryland branch began its reunion tradition in 1974. In 2010, a reunion was held at Mount Vernon, reportedly the first time the family’s gathering had taken place there. Participants placed boxwood cuttings at a memorial to enslaved people in honor of ancestors who had worked on the estate. Catholic identity has been important in parts of the family’s later history. The name Chapel Hill was associated with an early community near a Catholic chapel, and more recent family activities have included gatherings at Incarnation Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., visits to St. Mary’s in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and a Lenten fish fry. The family has also produced public figures in government, the military, journalism, music, education, religious service, historical interpretation and family-history preservation. Nellie Quander was an early member and later international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and helped secure the sorority’s incorporation in 1913. Other notable descendants include singer Elizabeth Ann Quander, public official Paul Alonzo Quander Jr., military officer Mark Quander, journalist Michael Quander, Mount Vernon employee Jay Quander and historian Rohulamin Quander. The family’s history has been preserved through reunions, public interpretation and Rohulamin Quander’s book The Quanders: Since 1684, an Enduring African American Legacy.

The Quander family’s documented history begins with an African ancestor identified in family and historical accounts as Egya Amkwandoh, a member of the Fanti people of the Akan region of present-day Ghana. He was captured during the transatlantic slave trade and transported to North America in the late seventeenth century. Colonial speakers and recordkeepers appear to have transformed his name into several forms, including Quando, Quandoe and Kwando. The modern spelling Quander became more common during the nineteenth century. The family tradition holds that Egya Amkwandoh had two sons who were separated and transported to different locations, establishing lines in Maryland and Virginia. The Maryland line is connected to Henry Quando, whose free status is documented in the will of Henry Adams of Port Tobacco in Charles County, Maryland, dated October 13, 1684. The document is a foundational record for the family’s claim to exceptionally early and continuous African-American documentation. It also illustrates the complicated legal circumstances through which enslaved people and their descendants could obtain freedom in colonial Maryland. A Virginia branch remained connected to the plantation world surrounding George Washington. Nancy Quander and her mother, Sukey Bay, were enslaved at Mount Vernon. Nancy worked as a spinner, making cloth in the work areas near the enslaved quarters. The quarters were divided into male and female wings and combined sleeping and work spaces under cramped and unsanitary conditions. Washington’s will provided for the emancipation of the people he enslaved after Martha Washington’s death. Martha signed a deed of manumission in December 1800, and the people covered by the arrangement were freed on January 1, 1801. Nancy Quander was among them. Later narratives recount that she and other formerly enslaved people visited Washington’s tomb approximately thirty years later. Freedom enabled members of the family to establish landholding communities, especially near what became Quander Road in the Mount Vernon area. Charles Henry Quander is described as having purchased parcels incrementally until he held about 88 acres. His property was later divided among his children and their descendants. The family’s presence was commemorated geographically through Quander Road and Quander Road School, subsequently known as Quander School. These place names helped preserve the connection between the family, local land ownership and the history of formerly enslaved communities in Fairfax County and the wider Washington region. The family’s later history includes religious, civic, cultural and professional activity. Catholicism became an important tradition for many descendants, with family communities and reunions connected to Catholic churches in the Washington and Maryland area. Annual reunions developed as a major mechanism for maintaining kinship and historical memory. The Virginia and Washington, D.C., branch began holding reunions in 1926; the Maryland branch began its own tradition in 1974. In 2010, a reunion took place at Mount Vernon, where family members commemorated ancestors who had been enslaved there by placing boxwood cuttings at a memorial. Several descendants became notable beyond family and local history. Nellie Quander was an early member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, became its first international president, and played a decisive role in obtaining the organization’s legal incorporation on January 29, 1913. Elizabeth Ann Quander was associated with the Duke Ellington Band and later sang at the White House during a 1977 ceremony honoring her. Gladys Quander Tancil worked as a historical interpreter at Mount Vernon and advocated fuller recognition of enslaved people in the site’s interpretation. James Quander became a Catholic permanent deacon and was an early user of insulin for diabetes treatment. Paul Alonzo Quander Jr. served as Washington, D.C.’s deputy mayor for public safety and justice and briefly served as acting chief of staff. Brigadier General Mark Quander held senior military posts, including a leadership role at West Point. Jay Quander worked at Mount Vernon as director of food and beverage, creating a direct contemporary link between the family and the estate where earlier generations had been enslaved. Family historian Rohulamin Quander founded the Quander Historical Society and documented the family in The Quanders: Since 1684, an Enduring African American Legacy, first published in 2021 and updated in later editions. Through written histories, reunions, public speaking, museum interpretation and genealogical research, the family continues to connect African origins, slavery, emancipation, landownership and modern professional achievement.

• 2021

  Family history published

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  Rohulamin Quander’s family history, The Quanders: Since 1684, an Enduring African American Legacy, was first published.

• 2010

  Reunion held at Mount Vernon

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family held its 85th reunion at Mount Vernon and commemorated ancestors who had been enslaved at the estate.

• 1974

  Maryland reunions begin

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Maryland branch began its own annual family-reunion tradition.

• 1926

  Virginia and Washington-area reunions begin

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Quander branch based in Virginia and Washington, D.C., began holding annual family reunions.

• 1913

  Alpha Kappa Alpha incorporation

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  Nellie Quander helped secure the legal incorporation of Alpha Kappa Alpha on January 29, 1913, protecting the organization’s name, symbols and continuity.

• 1801

  Mount Vernon emancipation

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  People covered by George Washington’s emancipation instructions were freed on January 1, 1801, after Martha Washington executed a deed of manumission in December 1800. Nancy Quander was among those released.

• 1684

  Early Maryland freedom record

  [1]Quander familyen.wikipedia.org

  A will dated October 13, 1684, is cited as documenting the freedom of members of the Maryland Quando family, including descendants associated with Henry Quando.

Not a commercial brand; the Quander family is a historical and genealogical identity associated with African-American ancestry, community continuity, public history and family reunions.

1. 1Quander familyen.wikipedia.org