Speaker for the Dead: A Genealogy Blog
LGBTQ Genealogy – Part 20
Putting it all together
Throughout this blog series, I’ve written about finding clues in the genealogical record that might raise a rainbow flag. Remember the confirmed bachelor or spinster aunt was not by default unlucky in finding a spouse. Perhaps they did have long-term partners but there was no legal record […]
LGBTQ Genealogy – Part 19
LGBTQ Archives
Perhaps an LGBTQ ancestor left behind a collection of love letters like Willa Cather or Charity Bryant. Or maybe there is an existing dairy giving details of their love life. An ancestor may have been mentioned in a queer organization’s newsletter. […]
Taphophilia
Taphophilia
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 […]
LGBTQ Genealogy – Part 18
Long Before Gay Marriage
LGBTQ folk have lived in committed relationships for centuries and many scholars have written about historic queer relationships. As a young gay man, my introduction to gay history came from reading Judy Grahn’s book, Another Mother Tongue (1984, Beacon Press). In this book, […]
LGBTQ Genealogy – Part 17
From Domestic Partnership to Marriage
In August 1979, gay rights activist Tom Brougham proposed a new category of relationship called “domestic partnership” to address the inequality of job benefits only extending to heterosexually married couples. Tom and a group of dedicated LGBTQ activists, which included my husband Leland Traiman, brought the […]
Antonia MARTÍNEZ Estrada
Profile – Antonia MARTÍNEZ Estrada
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 […]
