Place of Birth: Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Date of Birth: January 24, 1957
Ethnicity:
*African-American (father)
*English, small amount of German, along with 1/64th French (mother)
Lawrence Hill is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist.
Lawrence’s father, Daniel Grafton Hill III, was an African-American, originally from Independence, Missouri. Lawrence’s mother, Donna Mae (Bender), was a white American, born in South Dakota. His parents are pictured here.
Lawrence’s parents moved from Washington, D.C., to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1953. He has two siblings, Karen and Daniel, and speaks fluent English and French.
Lawrence’s paternal grandfather was Daniel Grafton Hill, II (the son of Daniel Hill and Margaret Phoebe Peck). Lawrence’s great-grandfather Daniel was the son of Richard Hill and Demias Crew.
Lawrence’s paternal grandmother was Mae/May Edwards.
Lawrence’s maternal grandfather was George Almon Bender (the son of Thomas Bender and Gertrude Johnson). Thomas was the son of Franklin Bender and Sarah Jane Skilton.
Lawrence’s maternal grandmother was Ruby Belle Duryee (the daughter of William Andrew Duryee and Emily Esther Hall). William was the son of Alfred Henry Duryee, whose paternal grandfather was born in France, and of Mary Jane Shupe. Emily was the daughter of George Hall and Esther Curtis.
Sources: http://www.archives.gov.on.ca
http://reynolds-lake.ca
Genealogy of Lawrence’s maternal great-grandparents, Thomas Bender and Gertrude Johnson – https://www.geni.com
Photo by Prphotos.com