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Joseph de Graft Hayford (1840–1919) was a Ghanaian Wesleyan Methodist minister who was a prominent figure in Fante politics and society in the Gold Coast. He was one of the founders of the Fante Confederation of 1867 and one of the first political detainees in Ghanaian history.

Background

De Graft Hayford was a supporter of the Methodist church planter Thomas Birch Freeman and when Freeman was forced to resign from his post in 1857, de Graft Hayford also left the church; he later returned and became a preacher for the denomination.

He has been described as "one of the greatest politicians of his day, and the most active member of the Fanti Confederacy of 1867". When the Confederacy was declared illegal, he was one of the four leaders to be arrested on a charge of conspiracy, the others being James Hutton Brew, James F. Amissah and George Kunto Blankson.

Family

Of the Anona clan of Cape Coast, he was the son of Rev. James Hayford and Elizabeth de Graft. He was the husband of Mary Awuraba Brew (daughter of the prominent Gold Coast trader Samuel Collins Brew and Adjuah Esson) and his children were: Rev. Josiah Hayford, Isaac Hayford, Ibinijah Hayford, Rev. Dr Ernest James Hayford, Rev. Mark Christian Hayford, Rev. Mark Christian Hayford, Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, Hester Hayford, Helen Mary Hayford and Sydney Spencer Hayford; he was the brother of Rev. Isaac Hayford and Lucy Hayford.

J. E. married Adelaide Casely-Hayford and the poet Gladys Casely-Hayford was Joseph's granddaughter.

His descendants continued to be leaders in law, politics and arts, and in 2008, the Casely-Hayfords were named as the most influential black family in the UK.

References

1. "Rev. Joseph de Graft-Hayford". Geni.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
2. Casely-Hayford, Augustus Lavinus. "A Genealogical Study of Cape Coast Stool Families (PhD Thesis)" (PDF). The School of Oriental and African Studies. p. 209, note 23.
3. Stanley, Brian (2009). The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910'. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 9780802863607.
4. David U. Enweremadu, "Casely-Hayford, Joseph Ephraim", in Henry Louis Gates, Jr, Emmanuel K. Akyeampong, and Steven J. Niven (eds), Dictionary of African Biography, Oxford University Press USA, 2012, Vol. 2, p. 43.
5. Attoh Ahuma, Rev. S. R. B. (1971) . The Gold Coast Nation and National Consciousness (Second ed.). Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 9781136971068.
6. ^ Brill website "Mark Christian Hayford: A non-success story", article by G. M. Haliburton published in the Journal of Religion in Africa XII, I (1981).
7. "Tribute to Dr Louis Casely-Hayford". Graphic Online. 14 December 2014.
8. Tapan Prasad Biswal, Ghana, Political and Constitutional Developments, Ghana, Political and Constitutional Developments, New Delhi: Northern Book Centre, 1992, p. 21.
9. Geni website, Elizabeth de Graft
10. Brittany Rogers, "Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford (1866-1930)", BlackPast, March 28, 2009.
11. "Ernest Hayford, Physician, and Lawyer born", African American Registry website.
12. Taylor Francis website, Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, African American Registry website.
13. "Joseph E. Hayford, Editor, and Author born"
14. Geni website, Rev Joseph de Graft Hayford
15. Oxford Research Encyclopedia website, African History section, Casely-Hayford, Adelaide and Gladys, article by LaRay Denzer
16. Brittany Rogers, "Adelaide Smith Casely Hayford (1868-1960)", BlackPast, March 8, 2009.
17. Coventry University website, "Chancellors of Coventry University | 1996", article on Margaret Casely-Hayford.

• 1840 births
• 1919 deaths
• Casely-Hayford family
• Fante people
• Ghanaian clergy
• Ghanaian Methodists
• Ghanaian people of English descent
• Gold Coast (British colony) people
• Methodist ministers