William T. Jefferson was the husband of Olivia Jefferson and the father of George and Henry Jefferson.
Summary[]
In a early episode Louise remarks that after her wedding her father-in-law told her that the Jeffersons were sharecroppers from Alabama, but the storyline was later changed..(Although in one episode when George Jefferson makes his dry-cleaning business into a museum he does claim he came from a family of Alabama sharecroppers). William Jefferson had a city job as a street cleaner in New York City; however he also moonlighted by making his living as a "Numbers runner" [Illegal gambling] and was killed when he was hit by a bus in about 1942. He was buried in a small cheap cemetery but the plot was unknown and George couldn't remember the place because the very thought of his father's death was so traumatizing.
Trivia[]
In a flashback episode George Jefferson gets the idea for going into the dry-cleaning business from his father, who remarks "That's where the money is."