Dannelle Parker, assistant director of Administrative Services, is related to Matoaka, better known as Pocahontas. "On my father's side of the family, we are descendants of Thomas Rolfe, who was the only child of John Rolfe and Pocahontas." Consequently, Dannelle has a collection of Pocahontas memorabilia ("no Disney stuff") - advertisements for Pocahontas brand cranberries to oysters, items from the USS Pocahontas, numerous pictures and drawings of the famous Native American and even an assortment of items from Pocahontas, Ark.
Debby Quayle, director of Help Desk Services, is the great, great, great, great niece of Jonny Appleseed. "Many people mistakenly believe he was a mythical character, but he was not," Debby said. "His real name was John Chapman, and he was born in Leominster, Mass., on Sept. 26, 1774." Often portrayed as a vagabond who had a penchant for scattering apple seeds wherever he went, Jonny Appleseed was really a savvy nurseryman who recognized that as pioneers moved west, they would need seeds and seedlings in order to get established on their new land. "Jonny Appleseed's method was to move west ahead of the settlers in order to buy land and establish seedlings he could sell to the settlers once they caught up to him." He died on March 18, 1845, in Fort Wayne, Ind. - the town where Debby was born.
