Biography brown james nathaniel hughes

Langston’s grandfather James H. Hughes was the child of two Kentucky slaves and both of their fathers were well-known white men in the state. His maternal grandfather was Silas Cushenberry, a Jewish trader in Clark County, Kentucky.

His paternal grandfather was a Henry County, Kentucky distiller named Sam Clay, who was possibly a relative of the Great Compromiser Henry Clay. James met his wife Emily in Kentucky and they moved to Indiana before the Civil War.

Charlestown is where their four oldest children were born, including John Hughes and James Nathaniel Hughes, Langston’s father.

Biography brown james nathaniel hughes

James Nathaniel lived in Louisville long enough to pass the postal civil service exam, although he was never hired by the post office. This is interesting because Langston Hughes’ fellow Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen also had a connection to Louisville through a parent.

Cullen was born Countee LeRoy Porter to Elizabeth Thomas Lucas and his birthplace has been alt