2026 Scholars

DOUGLAS CORNWALL is currently the Treasurer General of the Society of the First African Families of English America. He began his genealogical journey 10 years ago with many questions to be answered about his ancestors. The Cornwall family lineage traces back deep into the earliest colonial periods of New York, Massachusetts, and the Canadian Maritimes and while the research in this family is impressively thorough, it is his mother’s family that is the current focus of his Genealogical research. This journey has uncovered a deep history in the Mid-Atlantic states of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, as well as Midwest branches in Missouri and Illinois. Further work has uncovered connections to the 1619 “Twenty and Odd” Africans through the famous enigma Anthony Johnson and a long history of free people of color making a way for themselves and their families in the early centuries of this country, and to John Gowen and Margaret Cornish. Douglas is an AAHGS member, a charter member of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage and a charter member of the Society of the First African Families of English America.  He is also a seasoned technology and business leader with over 25 years of experience in delivering strategic insights, developing competitive intelligence, driving business growth and contributing to several major corporate business transformations. He has worked in diverse companies ranging from early-stage technology start-ups to Fortune 500 to Wall Street Investment Banks and is ideally positioned for a leadership role in the Society. 

CONNIE CURTS is a Forgotten Patriot Descendant and is an internationally published author who began historical and genealogical research more than 45 years ago.  Her published credits comprise articles and books for her technical profession and for the general public. She is a member of SOFAFEA and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

CLAIRE GALLOWAY JONES is an educator with the Brookline Massachusetts Public Schools, and a descendant of the historic Ames family of Massachusetts. The family includes Forgotten Patriot Private Prince Ames, Eunice Ames Davis an original Daughter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, several United States Colored Troops, and Sarah Roberts the plaintiff in Roberts v. City of Boston (1849) the precursor to Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown vs Board of Education (1954).

LISA FOX is a Forgotten Patriot Descendant and has been researching her Milton/Melton family for over 10 years. She is the 4th great granddaughter of Josiah Milton/Melton of Southampton County, Virginia who provided aid and comfort during the American Revolutionary War. She is a member of SOFAFEA and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

BREN LANDON  is the Director of Public Relations for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution where she oversees the internal and external communications efforts for the 133-year-old women’s volunteer service and lineage organization. She counsels the DAR President General on special initiatives of the National Society including the E Pluribus Unum Educational Initiative a project to bring awareness to underrepresented Patriots of the American Revolution. She will share how DAR brings awareness and dignity to underrepresented Patriots of the American Revolution. 

L. JACQUELINE (JACKIE) LONG is currently the Secretary General of the Society of the First African Families in English America. She has been expanding research on her New England roots building on decades of family history research given to her branch by cousin Bob Greene. With such a good start. she was able to prove colonial and revolutionary lineage and be accepted for membership by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR); the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP), and the Society of the First African Families of English America (SOFAFEA). Jacqueline is also a member of the African American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS), Georgetown Historical Society (GHS), and the Pejepscot History Center (PHC). Based in Harlem New York, Jacqueline is an independent real estate practitioner.  She is a designated Member of the Appraisal Institute and holds New York State Real Estate Broker and Real Estate Appraiser licenses. 

REVEREND DOCTOR KHADIJAH MATIN  is currently the Chaplian General of the Society of the First Afriah received he Doctcan Families in English America. She has an MS in Education from Fordham University. At OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary Khadijr ordination in Interfaith Ministry, and a Certificate in Interspiritual/Interfaith Counseling. She earned heror of Ministry from New York Theological Seminary, with a specialized focus in multi-faith ministry.  She was designated as a Rothschild Fellow, where she created coaching program designed to support diverse clergy and faith-based service providers. Khadijah currently serves as co-facilitator of the OneSpirit Interspiritual Counseling/Companioning program. Her research focus areas include an examination of faith and family history in the shaping of identity and community, and the varied ways in which service and spirituality intersect. Presently Khadijah serves as an advisor to the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society and the Association of Muslim Chaplains. She is SOFAFEA's Chaplin General and will honor attendees with an opening prayer honoring the ancestors of the past, those of the present and for those of the future. 

DEBRA NEWTON-CARTER (Forgotten Patriot Family) is a third-generation family historian, specializing in cross-cultural genealogy and has researched her 27 lines of descent through eight Mayflower ancestors, and early Massachusetts and Rhode Island families including NEWTON, KING, WING, and MOSHER. She compiled the history and database used to establish the only Sons of the American Revolution chapter named for a Forgotten Patriot, the NCSSAR Patriot Isaac Carter Chapter, her late husband’s great-grandfather Isaac Carter, and a descendant of six of the 14 Harlowe Patriots.

RIC MURPHY is an acclaimed historian, educator, lecturer and documentarian, and has presented throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. As an award-winning author and documentarian, he explores the rich tapestry of African American history by weaving together the personal and heroic stories of amazing men and women, and their rich and remarkable contributions to American history. He currently serves as the President General of the Society of the First African Families of English America and was the former National Vice President for the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. His family lineage dates to the earliest colonial periods of Jamestown, Virginia and of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and has been evaluated and accepted by several heredity societies, including but not limited to the General Society Sons of the Revolution; the Daughters of the American Revolution; the National Society of the Sons of Colonial New England; the Sons of the American Revolution; the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War; the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage; and the Society of the First African Families of English America. 

Mr. Gene Stephenson is a Life Member of the Afro American Historical Genealogical Society and its Immediate Past National President; Former President, Friends of the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (Fulton County) and Stonecrest Library (Dekalb County, Georgia); National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America -Atlanta GA. Chapter; Member, Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations, among others. Chaired the UNCF Advisory Board Central Pennsylvania, the National Forum Black Public Administrators-Capital Area Chapter (Harrisburg, PA.). Mr. Stephenson is a Member/Ordained Elder-First AfriKan Presbyterian Church, Lithonia, GA.