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 […]
In response to a reader’s inquiry, this blog post delves into the nuanced task of documenting transgender family members in genealogy. It emphasizes the need for sensitivity and respect while guiding appropriate terminology and their inclusion in family narratives.
In genealogy, the common practice of documenting women with […]
[This article was originally published in The California Nugget, Spring 2018 edition.]
Part 1 of 2
Eighteen years ago, my husband and I adopted a baby boy at birth. He has brought much joy into our lives, including the joy of doing his birth family’s genealogy. My son is a Mayflower descendant […]
I first encountered the term “Present-ism” while reading Thomas MacEntee’s blog. Presentism is the awareness of being cautious not to apply today’s cultural norms to past societies. This principle is relevant to all genealogy subjects and particularly crucial when exploring the lives of LGBTQ ancestors.
Our ancestors did […]
Walking with my husband one evening, we noticed that our neighbors had planted a new tree in their yard. We stopped to admire the trellis and pinned branches. I thought from the leaf shape that it may be an apple tree. I could have continued our walk, but curiosity said […]
When chronicling the stories of our ancestors, we aim to present the most authentic account of their lives. However, when it comes to LGBTQ ancestors, some family historians express reservations, hesitant to “out” their ancestors or arguing that their forebears chose to keep this aspect of their lives private […]
When I discovered my son’s biological paternal line connected to Mayflower passengers Francis Cooke and Samuel Warren, I was thrilled and overwhelmed at the same time. I was happy to have made the connection to a seminal historic event while also thinking this was an awful lot of people to […]
