Tag: Genealogy

Genealogy

My Family Story: The Unknown Legacy of Anna Gottheld (1874-1949)

August 2, 2017 by

Perhaps that is her story, her legacy even. She like so many women in history are lost to us in terms of details, but real to us in terms of having actually been here and part of the tapestry of our lives. She existed in all of her unrecorded, complicated and stark reality. Her legacy is real even if the details are shrouded. Perhaps this post will unearth more details or perhaps it will simply honor the life story that we know.

Rest in power, Grandma Annie.

Genealogy

My Family Immigration Story: The Short Life of Sadie Butler (1872-1922)

June 19, 2017 by

I first learned about Sadie Butler in the early 2000’s when I sent away for the Catholic Diocesan records of my paternal great-grandfather whom I (erroneously) believed was Irish Catholic. To my surprise, I learned the Irish Kerr’s were Protestant via the marriage information of my second great-grandparents, John K Kerr (1869-1908) and Sarah A […]

GenealogyImmigration

My Family Immigration Story: The Tragic Life of Jennie Tarleton (1868-1944)

March 23, 2017 by
Scots Immigrants

I’ve heard tales of Jennie Tarleton my whole life long – the brave 17 year old Scots girl who set sail for the New World all alone from Glasgow. Jennie was my 2nd great-grandmother and her arrival in 1885 makes her my most “recent” immigrant ancestor. Everyone else was here long before she set foot […]

AdvocacyFamilyGenealogy

My Family’s Immigration Story

January 30, 2017 by

This was not something I thought about as a child in the 1970’s and 1980’s in suburban West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. I knew my living grandparents and their basic backstories and a little bit about their respective parents. I was raised to believe I was mostly an Irish Catholic/little bit of German kid which turned out […]

FamilyGenealogy

My Friend Dave Turns Out To Be My (Sixth) Cousin #NaBloPoMo

November 5, 2016 by
Cousins

The most exciting update to my genealogy hobby is the discovery that my actual friend, Dave Ninehouser, is in fact my sixth cousin. Dave is an awesome guy. He’s very progressive, likes animals, treats his wife with respect and appreciation, works food drives into lots of his efforts and intentionally relocated from Pittsburgh to Ambridge, […]

FamilyGenealogy

I Just Met My First Openly Gay Relative

September 4, 2016 by

I’m the only queer person that I know in my family. I have 20 first cousins and more than 60 second cousins plus untold third, fourth and once-removed cousins. Odds are good that someone else is also queer and/or trans, but no one is talking. It isn’t easy being the only openly queer family member, […]

Culture

Growing Up Irish Under False Pretenses

March 13, 2014 by

With a surname of “Kerr” you probably aren’t too shocked to learn that I’m part Irish. What was shocking to me was when I learned the whole story about my ethnicity. I grew up in blue-collar West Mifflin, the daughter of a steel family. We were Kerr’s and Pryor’s – and everyone told me that […]