Students to Document History of Well Known Black Family
By Edith Billups
WI Staff Writer
Thursday, May 11, 2006

Students at West Potomac High School in Alexandria , Va. plan to document the history of Charles Henry Quander, the first African American settler and founder of the Spring Bank community, in an ambitious oral history project beginning this year.

During the project, students will collect oral histories from local African American residents who are descendants of Quander, whose family is among the earliest slaves in the United States . The Quanders are one of the oldest documented Black families in America .

The announcement was made during a book launch last week for “White House Under Fire,” a collection of essays written by Advanced Placement US Government students at the school, located at 6500 Quander Road in Alexandria . The school, part of the community of Spring Bank, is built on land owned by James Henry Quander, a son of Charles Henry Quander.

The book launch was hosted by the Local History Club of the school and the Spring Bank Historical Society and Preservation Group. “White House Under Fire” contains every major decision made by a US President ranging from Thomas Jefferson to George W. Bush. The book explores challenging topics such as Jefferson’s controversial purchase of the Louisiana Territory; Woodrow Wilson’s reluctance to embrace the Women’s Suffrage Movement; the reactions of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the Great Depression; Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan ; Nixon’s opening to China and his downfall from the Watergate scandal; and George W. Bush’s response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

According to Bill Rhatican, an Advanced Placement instructor at the school and the editor of “White House Under Fire,” “I was sitting home three years ago and reading the students’ essays. I said that this is good stuff and we should do something with it. I said, ‘Why don’t we publish them in a book?’”

Rhatican used his own money to publish 400 copies, and the book is available at Amazon.com as well as other sites. He said that a decision was made to document Charles Henry Quander and the surrounding Spring Bank community after Ed Hines, a member of the Quander family, made the suggestion.

Hines, a former entertainment industry executive, said that Spring Bank is on land that was originally owned by George Mason VI, the son of George Mason, author of the Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Constitution. Hines said that Quander purchased 88 acres after being compensated for the two years that he was held in slavery after The Emancipation Proclamation. “It is important that the students at the school, one of the most diversified in Fairfax County , know the oral history of Spring Bank and the people who bought the land from the Quanders and help to build the community,” Hines said.

During the launch, several historical figures such as Mason and Lincoln gave remarks, commenting on issues such as the Civil War and the institution of slavery. Dan Storck, the Mount Vernon representative of the Fairfax County School Board, portrayed Lincoln by reading portions of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Charles Henry Quander, 84, portrayed his grandfather Charles Henry being “set free” by Lincoln . The program was dedicated to Ezell W. Hines Jr., and Welton Quander, 81. Ezell Hines Jr., son of Ezell W. Hines Sr. and Alcinda Quander Hines, died as an infant in the 1930s and is buried in a grave on West Potomac High School property. Welton Quander is the son of James Henry Quander, on whose land West Potomac High is built.

During remarks at the book launch, West Potomac High School Principal Rima Vesilind said, “Over the next year, our students will be doing primary and secondary research as well as recording oral histories about the earliest days of our country. What is unusual about this project, however, is that the oral histories will all be from our neighbors, people who live in the vicinity of West Potomac High School .”

Vesilind said that the research, “much of which will be conducted during the balance of this school year, will be turned over to next year’s seniors to complete. Once the research is completed, our students will compile their findings in a book to be published next spring to coincide with the 400 th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth of Virginia .”

Several members of the Quander family said that they were delighted that the school is documenting their family history, which goes back to 1684. Hines noted that Sukey Bay and her daughter, Nancy Carter Quander, were slaves at Mount Vernon when George Washington was alive, although Nancy was freed at Washington’s death.

During the program, several other descendants of Charles Henry Quander addressed the audience and invited guests that included Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille. Alexandria was once part of Fairfax County and the location of one of the important slave trading markets in the region. “The headquarters of the Urban League sits on the site of the former Franklin & Armfield Co.,” said Hines. “The company was one of the largest buyers of slaves in the area.”