Alex Haley
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Alexander Murray Palmer Haley, the oldest of three sons (George and Julius), was born to Simon and Bertha (Palmer) Haley on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York. Six weeks after his birth, Simon and Bertha returned to Henning, Tennessee, and presented Will and Cynthia Palmer with their grandson, Alex Haley. Alex and his mother remained with the Palmers, while Simon returned to Cornell University to complete his graduate studies in agriculture. After the death of Will Palmer in 1926, Simon Haley joined his wife and family in Henning and operated the Palmer business. During this time, Haley listened to his grandmother Cynthia tell vibrant stories about their family’s ancestry. She spoke about “Kin-tay”, one of his grandfathers tracing back seven generations, whom she said was sold into slavery with other Gambian Africans in “Naplis” (Annapolis, Maryland). In 1929, Simon Haley began his teaching career, and the family moved. Two years after they relocated, Bertha Haley passed away in Normal, Alabama when Alex was ten years old. Learn More