Tag: Alexandria VA

The Other Alexandria: A 160-year-old Road Map

Annie Lee Wheeler’s death certificate

Many people came to Alexandria during the civil war from Maryland, North Carolina and other parts of Virginia. Few African American families talked to their children about their lives prior to the civil war. These stories were lost and never passed down through the generations. However, one of these families who migrated to Alexandria during the civil war did share their family history with their younger generation.

Annie Lee Wheeler shared her father’s family history with her daughter, Helena Wheeler and her grandchildren, especially her granddaughter, Shirley Gilliam Sanders Steele.

Check out their story in the Alexandria Times’ newspaper dated April 14, 2022, at https://alextimes.com/2022/04/the-other-alexandria-steele/.

Mrs. Helen Lumpkins Robinson Day

Helen Lumpkins Robinson Day

Mrs. Helen Lumpkins Robinson Day was a well-known teacher at Parker-Gray School and at Charles Houston Elementary School. She was born in Alexandria, VA in 1905. She was a trailblazer in advocating for a daycare center for African Americans. She was on many committees and raised money for many disadvantage African Americans.

You can read the article about Mrs. Day in the Alexandria Times at https://alextimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3.10.22-Layout.pdf.

Happy Black History Month

“The Other Alexandria’s Column,” in the Alexandria Times Newspaper

For Black History Month, I would like to highlight two articles that I wrote. The first article is in the December 2021 newspaper, I wrote an article on Lauretta Dorsey Young who was a well-known Opera Singer. Lauretta was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1942. Her family migrated to Baltimore, Maryland around 1951.

Lauretta Dorsey Young

Lauretta became an international Opera Singer winning many awards for her performance. She never forgot her ties to Alexandria. The City of Alexandria was Lauretta’s birthplace and throughout her world travels, she made all the Alexandrians proud.

You can read my article on Lauretta in:

Lauretta Dorsey Young sings for the world

Sarah A. Gray

Behind the scenes of the article titled, “Sarah A. Gray: Principal of Hallowell School.”

Sarah A. Gray was one of two people that Parker-Gray School was named after. She was a remarkable woman who was educated as well as a talented pianist and an organist.

Sarah A. Gray

Due to the death of her father, William Gray and two lawsuits, Sarah started experiencing health issues. Her father, William Gray died in 1891.

Sarah filed two lawsuits against Reverend Robert H. Robinson’s son, Reverend Robert B. Robinson, for slander. The other lawsuit was against her stepmother and relative, Alfred Peters concerning her father’s estate. Due to these heavy burdens, Sarah died in 1893 – just two years after her father.

A detailed article is available in the Alexandria Times dated, September 9, 2021 on, “Sarah A. Gray: Principal of Hallowell School on pages 17 and 18 at

https://alextimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/September-9-2021.pdf. A small correction in the article is that Sarah’s father died in 1891 not 1892. In addition, the above article incorrectly had Sarah teaching at the public school in 1871. She started in the 1870 school year.