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Dr. Judy Raiford Pantelides will be presenting a program titled the “Story of Phillip Wrayford & How We Are All Connected” on Sunday, April 16, at the Southampton County Administration building, which is located at 26022 Administration Center Drive in Courtland.

The program will begin at 3 p.m.

A newsletter from the Southampton County Historical Society noted that from Europe to America comes the history of the Wrayford/Raiford families. 

Pantelides is the author of two recent books on the lineage of Phillip Wrayford, the immigrant, who settled in Southampton County around 1670. 

Several books have been written about the Wrayford/Raiford families, more specifically about the North Carolina Raifords, but only recently has the accurate lineage of Phillip Wrayford been discovered. 

Not only is Pantelides a member of the SCHS, but she is also of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Moretonhampstead, England Historical Society, the Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia Genealogical Society. 

She regularly attends genealogical conferences across the country and is currently helping others find their ancestors. She has spent more than 25 years researching the Raiford family in conjunction with her late brother, Bill Raiford, and has collected photographs and memories from hundreds of family members around the world. 

She will be sharing some of the most interesting Raiford stories and photographs and will have her books available for sale. 

“From the outlaw Jesse James to President Thomas Jefferson… come see how we are all connected,” SCHS officials said in the newsletter.

Light refreshments will follow.