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Katherine Johnson Today I'm going to point you to katherinejohnson.net, where you can read about Katherine Johnson, the mathematician and computer scientist who broke barriers for women and African Americans while advancing science, mathematics and space exploration. Be sure to read as many articles in the PRESS and ARTICLE LINKS as you can (some of them are behind paywalls). More information is also available at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson , along with its References and Further Reading. A woman and a mathematician, I had never heard of Katherine Johnson until I saw the movie Hidden Figures . Then I made it my business to find out as much about her as I could learn. I never had the opportunity to meet Katherine myself, of course, but I am only two degrees of separation from her. When my friend Imara Dawson was young, Katherine was his math tutor. (Imara is also how I can claim two degrees of separation from the late Maya Angelou, who was a friend of his family...
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Star Trek Klingon artwork by Gennie Summers Today is Free Comic Book Day. Of the 273,201 individuals logged in my Reunion file, containing all the people I’ve connected to my children, there is one comic book artist who stands out. I never met Gennie Summers, but she was my fifth cousin once removed. Our nearest common ancestors were Matthias Hollopeter and Barbara (Rusz) Hollopeter, who were our immigrant ancestors; they arrived in the American colonies about 1754.   Ethel Genevieve “Gennie” Summers was born in 1924 in Nebraska, the only child of Alvin Dale Summers and Ethel Mae (Smith) Summers. In 1930, Gennie was living with her parents in Crescent, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Her father was a farmer. The 1940 census located Gennie residing in her parents’ home in West Benson, Douglas County, Nebraska. She was a senior in high school. Gennie’s father died in 1986, at the age of ninety years. Her mother passed away in 1995, when she was ninety-two years old.   When Gennie pa...
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Dr. Martha Purple Martha Purple was born about 1816 in Connecticut, the daughter of Isham and Phoebe Purple. She grew up in the east and came to Michigan with her family after her sister Mary was married to Morgan Lyon, who was given bounty land in Michigan in compensation for his father’s death in the War of 1812. Apparently, Martha was engaged to be married when she was young, but her fiancé died just before their wedding was to take place. Martha was devastated, but then dedicated her life to the practice of medicine. In 1858, Martha was newly located in Battle Creek, Michigan but had already been a practicing physician for ten years. Martha lived in Battle Creek and gave her occupation as “doctress” when the 1860 census was taken.   Elizabeth Blackwell, generally accepted as the first female physician in the United States, graduated from Geneva Medical College in New York in 1849. Unfortunately, we have not been able to discover the origin of Martha Purple’s medical training, b...
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Wilma Pearl Mankiller Wilma Pearl Mankiller was born in 1945 in Tahlequah, Cherokee County, Oklahoma, to Charley Mankiller and Clara Irene (Sitton) Mankiller. In 1950, Wilma was living with her parents and six siblings in Wauhillau, Adair County, Oklahoma. Her father was working as a farm laborer; all members of her family identified as native American.   Arizona Republic , 8 April 2010: “Wilma Mankiller, 64, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation in modern times, whose leadership on social and financial issues made her tribe a national role model, has died at her home in Adair County, Okla. She had metastatic pancreatic cancer. Mankiller, principal chief of the Cherokee from 1985 to 1995, tripled her tribe’s enrollment, doubled employment, and built new housing, health centers and children’s programs in northeastern Oklahoma, where most of the 200,000 or so tribal members live. In 1990, she signed an unprecedented agreement in which the Bureau of Indian Affairs surrendered ...
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Christina Hammock Koch Christina Marie Hammock was born in 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Ronald Mack and Barbara Ann (Homrich) Hammock. Her parents were married in 1978 in Grand Rapids, Michigan:   The Grand Rapids Press , 18 February 1978: “Miss Barbara Ann Homrich and Dr. Ronald Mack Hammock of Grand Rapids were united in marriage Saturday afternoon in Holy Trinity Church. Parents of the couple are Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Homrich of Comstock Park and Mrs. Ruby Hammock of Westland. Matron of honor was Mrs. Beth Jammal. Bridesmaids were Miss Barbara Christ, Mrs. Wendy Morrison, Mrs. Teresa Roderick, Miss Denise Hammock and Miss Doris Hammock. Best man was Dr. John Walker. Groomsmen were Michael, William, David and James Homrich and Dr. Jack Dekkinga. The reception was held in the Casino Club Hall. The couple will reside in Grand Rapids.”   In 1950, Ronald Hammock and his family were living in Tennessee. Barbara’s parents Walter and Dolores Homrich were both bo...
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Malala Yousafzai (photograph from nelsonmandela.org) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai https://malala.org/ Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard of Malala Yousafzai. If you’re anything like me, you may not know exactly why you’ve heard of her. Today instead of writing about an influential woman in my own life, I’m just going to refer you to Malala Yousafzai’s Wikipedia article and her foundation's website, so you can learn more about her, like I did today.
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Two of May's children (probably Robert and Charles) with Gladys' children Doris and Hubert Edith May Bunger was born in 1884 in Ohio, the youngest child of William A. Bunger and Lydia A. (Michael) Bunger. She always went by “May”. In 1900, May was living with her parents and two of her older brothers, Theodore and Omar, in Butler Township, Darke County, Ohio. She was attending school; her father was a farmer. Her three elder siblings, David, Ozora and Flora, were already married with families of their own. May’s oldest sister, Ozora Ann (Bunger) Clay, was my great-great-grandmother; Ozora’s daughter Alta Gladys Clay, born in 1896, was my great-grandmother. “Aunt May” was a fixture in Gladys’ life from the very beginning. In 1953, Gladys wrote her “Life’s Story,” telling with detail about her grandparents’ home, where her Aunt May was still living. It will serve to show what May’s childhood and young womanhood was like. …My grandparents lived about 1 mile from our little village...
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