He then became a third class Petty Officer in the rate of Mess Attendant, one of the few enlisted designators open to African Americans at that time. On May 24, 1939, Alex Haley began his 20-year service with the U.S. Simon Haley felt that Alex needed discipline and growth and convinced his son to enlist in the military when he turned 18. At the age of 17 Alex returned home to inform his father of his withdrawal from college. In 1937, Haley was enrolled at Elizabeth City State Teachers College, in North Carolina, which he attended for two years.
Two years after they relocated, Bertha Haley passed away in Normal, Alabama when Alex was ten years old.Īlthough Alex was considered a lax student, he graduated from high school at the age of 15. In 1929, Simon Haley began his teaching career, and the family moved. She spoke about “Kin-tay”, one of his grandfathers tracing back seven generations, whom she said was sold into slavery with other Gambian Africans in “Naplis” (Annapolis, Maryland). During this time, Haley listened to his grandmother Cynthia tell vibrant stories about their family’s ancestry.
After the death of Will Palmer in 1926, Simon Haley joined his wife and family in Henning and operated the Palmer business. Alex and his mother remained with the Palmers, while Simon returned to Cornell University to complete his graduate studies in agriculture. Six weeks after his birth, Simon and Bertha returned to Henning, Tennessee, and presented Will and Cynthia Palmer with their grandson, Alex Haley. Alexander Murray Palmer Haley Aug– February 10, 1992Īlexander Murray Palmer Haley, the oldest of three sons (George and Julius), was born to Simon and Bertha (Palmer) Haley on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York.
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