Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Family Tree of Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga, born as Stefani Germanotta, was born to parents who both shared Italian ancestry. Her direct paternal line and direct maternal line are both of Italian extraction. I started researching Lady Gaga's family tree about a year ago, and I had since forgotten about it. I remembered it today and I thought I would share with the world (and her fans!) the details of her ancestry. Below, I will briefly write about her family tree. What I don't talk about will be featured in the image of her family tree, so make sure to check that out for additional information.

Lady Gaga's paternal grandfather was Joseph Anthony Germanotta. He was born to Italian immigrants from Naso, Messina, Sicily. Joseph Anthony actually passed away a year ago, today.. 24 Sep 2010. RIP Mr. Germanotta.



Lady Gaga's mother is of Anglo-American and Italian heritage. Her mother is Veronica Rose Ferri and was born to Italian immigrants. At this point, I am unsure where in Italy Veronica's parents were from. Anyone know? :)

Veronica Ferri's husband was Paul Douglas Bissett. Paul's ancestry can be traced back to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia (where he was from). Paul's surname of Bissett could possibly be an English name of French origin, but his paternal grandmother's surname of Burghardt is definitely of Germanic origin. Paul's mother, Sally Ann Leech, appears to be of English origins. You can't get much more English than Bosley or Morningstar!

Any additional information anyone can provide me with would be much appreciated!

The Hungarian Ancestry of Queen Elizabeth II; Part 3

This entry is part three highlighting the Hungarian ancestors of Queen Elizabeth II. Part three is focused on Erzsébet Macskássy de Rápolt, a second great-grandmother of Countess Klaudina Rhédey de Rhéde. Her ahnentafel list is as follows:


First Generation
1. Erzsébet Macskássy de Rápolt

Second Generation
2. Mihály Macskássy de Rápolt
3. unknown

Third Generation
4. Mihály Macskássy de Rápolt
5. Judit Bethlen de Bethlen
6. unknown
7. unknown

Fourth Generation
8. Ferencz Macskássy de Rápolt
9. Margit Nyakazó
10. Mihály Bethlen de Bethlen
11. Katalin Bornemisza de Petrelin
12. unknown
13. unknown
14. unknown
15. unknown

Fifth Generation
16. Boldizsár Macskássy de Rápolt
17. Ilona Gávay de Noszoly
18. unknown
19. unknown
20. György Bethlen de Bethlen
21. Ilona Csejtey
22. unknown
23. unknown
24. unknown
25. unknown
26. unknown
27. unknown
28. unknown
29. unknown
30. unknown
31. unknown

FamilySearch Find Of The Day: Hiram Howell & His 1847 Taxes

I stumbled upon this 1847 taxation document from Tippah County, Mississippi the other day, and it shed a tiny bit more light (although not much) on the life of Hiram Howell. He is at the top of the document with two of his sons: Reece & David.

Hiram is listed as having 2 slaves, which matches what is listed in the 1850 Federal Census Slave Schedules. In 1850, it was a 21 year old female and a 4 year old male (probably her son?). I assume they are the same individuals listed in this 1847 taxation document. The woman would have been about 17 years old and the male child about 1 year old. This also makes me wonder how a girl of 15 or 16 became pregnant, as she is the only slave in the household. Was Hiram or one of his sons the father of the child? It could be another contributing factor that lead to Hiram's murder in 1853, but we may never know. Reece and David are listed as not owning any slaves.

Reece and David both paid the same amount for county ($.30) and state ($.50) taxes. Hiram on the other hand paid more in taxes (did he own more land than them?) Hiram paid $.72 for county taxes and $1.20 for state taxes.

I'm still looking for Hiram and any of his children in the previous taxation documents, but I don't believe any are listed. I do know, however, that Hiram appears in the 1845 state census in Tippah County. If he's in the 1845 state census living in Tippah County, how come he doesn't appear in the 1845 taxation records? Strange.