This installment marks a shift in our LGBTQ Genealogy series, turning the spotlight onto genealogical software—both online and offline. Often, the available software falls short in accommodating diverse family constellations, as it tends to be hetero-centric, designed primarily for cisgender, heterosexual couples with biological children. To […]
In 2017, Judy Russell, known as The Legal Genealogist, delivered a compelling presentation at the FGS Conference in Pittsburgh titled “Rainbows and Kaleidoscopes: Inclusion as a Society and Corporate Genealogical Standard.” Her call for diversity and inclusivity within the genealogical profession resonated deeply, challenging the narrative […]
Write your own obituary, because who can do it better than you? Who amongst your surviving relatives will know why you took the life paths you did? Who will have the insight and writing skills to convey to generations to come who you were in life?
As genealogists, we are happy […]
Throughout this blog series, we’ve embarked on the journey of uncovering LGBTQ clues when someone in our family’s history raises our rainbow flag fancy. Remember the confirmed bachelor or spinster aunt was not by default unlucky in finding a spouse. Perhaps they […]
Perhaps an LGBTQ ancestor left behind a collection of love letters like Willa Cather or Charity Bryant. Or maybe there is an existing dairy confessing details of their love life. An ancestor may have been mentioned in a queer organization’s newsletter. With […]
I love cemeteries.
I am a taphophile. And maybe you are too.
Taphophilia is “a love of funerals, cemeteries and the rituals of death.” [1] You might also call me a Tombstone Tourist but I like the term taphophile best.
Cemeteries are art, history, genealogy, class, religion all rolled into one. A grave allows a tangible […]
Long before the modern era of gay marriage, LGBTQ individuals have committed to each other throughout history. Scholars have extensively documented these unions, shedding light on diverse expressions of love. One seminal work, Judy Grahn’s Another Mother Tongue (1984, Beacon Press), unveiled […]
In August 1979, gay rights activist Tom Brougham proposed the new concept of “domestic partnership” to counter the inequality of job benefits being exclusive to heterosexual couples. Tom and a dedicated group of LGBTQ activists, including my husband Leland Traiman, championed the […]
May is for mother’s day, so I am deviating from my LGBTQ Genealogy series this month to share some of my own genealogical writing. This is a profile of my maternal great grandmother, Antonia. I was lucky to meet her a couple of times. Once when […]
