Patti Dozier/Times-EnterpriseFrank Delaney addresses family members at the family history book presentation.

THOMASVILLE — After 14 years of gathering and compiling information and eventually arranging it in four thick volumes, Jean Delaney Hadley’s family history book has reached its final resting place.

The volumes — adorned with flowers — were presented to the Thomasville Genealogical Library on the Thomas University campus in the presence of family members.

Hadley’s slave ancestors were brought to Tallahassee, Florida, from Jacksonville by Florida’s first territorial governor, William Pope Duval. After the Civil War, the former slaves migrated to an area of Thomas County that is now Grady County.

Hadley, who is retired from a New York City banking career, was determined to document the Delaney family history. Her efforts took her not only to North Florida, but to Washington D.C., South Carolina and Barbados.

The Delaney family history has been told for generations. It is now in writing for future generations and immortalizes the family in voluminous volumes.

At the book presentation, Hadley told family members she never regretted a moment she spent on the book. 

“Sometimes the road got bumpy,” she added.

Hadley said her grandfather, who lived in Thomasville, told her family stories when she was a child. 

“It was all oral,” she said.

Frank Delaney, the author’s cousin, speaking at the presentation, said, “It was love that founded us. … It is love that holds us together. It’s not the Krazy Glue.”

Pointing out that his roots are on a Thomas County plantation, Delaney said parents today sometimes dwell on giving children what what they want instead of the family love and security they need.

Jack Hadley, also Jean Hadley’s cousin, said their ancestors were sold as slaves and had no names.

“Blacks have lost a lot of history. … It is very important that we preserve our history,” Hadley told family members.

Family members traveled from New York, North Carolina and Texas to attend the book presentation.

The author, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, resident, described the event as “absolutely fabulous.”

She feels as though she gave something back to her family — “filling a void,” she said.

 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820