I'm named after my father's mother's mother, my great grandmother, Geneva Griffith McKinney, of Green Mountain, NC. • On my paternal grandmother's side, I'm a direct descendant of the McKinneys, Griffiths, Byrds, Harrells, Garlands, Buchanans, Youngs, and Masters of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. • On my paternal grandfather's side, I'm descended from the Rousseaus of Victoria, British Columbia, by way of France. Rousseau seems to have become Brooks along the way. My great great grandmother was Josephine Rameau, also from French Canada. My grandfather's mother was a Collins, of County Roscommon in Ireland. • Through my maternal grandfather, I'm related to... apparently most people who ended up in Brooklyn by way of Caltavuturo, Palermo, in Sicily, but his surname was Ortolivo, and through Ellis Island misspellings his relatives through his father mostly became Ortoleva. His mother was a Sireci and her mother was a Vivirito. There were a lot of daughters so by marriage my cousins are Ficaras, Tontis, Ruggieros, and more. I'm also the step-granddaughter of the LaCortes and LoCurtos, also from Caltavuturo - my grandfather Ortolivo remarried after my mother's mother died, and it was to his teenage sweetheart, a longtime friend of the family and the only "gramma" I've ever known. • My maternal grandmother's branch is the biggest mystery to me; my grandmother died young and my mom's dad's big Italian family filled the gap. But I can tell you if you meet a Solon, a Sogard, or an O'Halloran/O'Hallaran from Minnesota or Wisconsin, I might be related. • I've started down this rabbit hole in an effort to get to know the women I'm related to that I never got to meet. Both of my grandmothers died before I was born. My dad's only sister died before I was born. Both my parents being military brats took them far from where their relatives stayed for decades longer, and I've begun to long to know more about the people I come from. • So I am mainly here for my relatives, but will always check the requests for the cemeteries I'm visiting to snap photos I may be able to find.

I'm named after my father's mother's mother, my great grandmother, Geneva Griffith McKinney, of Green Mountain, NC. • On my paternal grandmother's side, I'm a direct descendant of the McKinneys, Griffiths, Byrds, Harrells, Garlands, Buchanans, Youngs, and Masters of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. • On my paternal grandfather's side, I'm descended from the Rousseaus of Victoria, British Columbia, by way of France. Rousseau seems to have become Brooks along the way. My great great grandmother was Josephine Rameau, also from French Canada. My grandfather's mother was a Collins, of County Roscommon in Ireland. • Through my maternal grandfather, I'm related to... apparently most people who ended up in Brooklyn by way of Caltavuturo, Palermo, in Sicily, but his surname was Ortolivo, and through Ellis Island misspellings his relatives through his father mostly became Ortoleva. His mother was a Sireci and her mother was a Vivirito. There were a lot of daughters so by marriage my cousins are Ficaras, Tontis, Ruggieros, and more. I'm also the step-granddaughter of the LaCortes and LoCurtos, also from Caltavuturo - my grandfather Ortolivo remarried after my mother's mother died, and it was to his teenage sweetheart, a longtime friend of the family and the only "gramma" I've ever known. • My maternal grandmother's branch is the biggest mystery to me; my grandmother died young and my mom's dad's big Italian family filled the gap. But I can tell you if you meet a Solon, a Sogard, or an O'Halloran/O'Hallaran from Minnesota or Wisconsin, I might be related. • I've started down this rabbit hole in an effort to get to know the women I'm related to that I never got to meet. Both of my grandmothers died before I was born. My dad's only sister died before I was born. Both my parents being military brats took them far from where their relatives stayed for decades longer, and I've begun to long to know more about the people I come from. • So I am mainly here for my relatives, but will always check the requests for the cemeteries I'm visiting to snap photos I may be able to find.