Speaker for the Dead: A Genealogy Blog
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 2
Our Changing World is Not New
Last month I wrote about my family constellation. It is unique and complex, but I am not the only one with a unique and complex mix of people I consider family by DNA, by adoption, by step, by fostering, or by choice. To tell a […]
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 1
Family History vs. DNA Genealogy
This blog series on LBGTQ Genealogy will now shift focus to genealogical software, both online and offline. Often, for our families, available software doesn’t fit. Software is written hetero-centrically, for a cis male / cis female coupling that have biological children. To demonstrate, I will tell […]
#LGBTQgenealogy: A History
At the 2017 FGS Conference, I was inspired by Judy Russell and her presentation entitled “Rainbows and Kaleidoscopes: Inclusion as a Society and Corporate Genealogical Standard.” Judy, The Legal Genealogist, a well-respected professional holding significant community status, was telling her own industry to become more inclusive of diversity. All our […]
Writing Your Own Obituary
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 […]
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 confessing 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 […]
