Officials of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society invited Phyllis Codling McLaughlin, a member of the HEC board of directors, to return as one of its speakers for its annual conference to be held online Oct. 12-15, 2022.

McLaughlin gave a one-hour talk to AAHGS last year about her research into the life of Robert Jefferson, whose daughters Lucy and Georgianna attended Eleutherian College in the mid-1850s.

She will present updates that will include more DNA-based evidence that suggests Robert Jefferson was, as he claimed, a son of President Thomas Jefferson and an enslaved woman, Milley Rutherford.

Her second presentation will focus entirely on Eleutherian College and the Neil’s Creek Anti-Slavery Society, which founded the institution in 1848 to educate boys and girls, regardless of race, but with the aim of leading Black students into the field of education.

Established in 1977 in Washington, D.C., AAHGS has 37 local and state chapters nationwide.