Category: Uncategorized

Unknown Origins

Entries Born in Unknown Locations

Entries Located On This Page Have No Definitive Documentation (That I've Been Able to Find) To Indicate Where in the World They Were Born. It is my hope to someday eliminate this page by documenting accurate birth locations for every entry on both my Women's and Men's lists, so if you have documentation for one of the entries listed below, please send it in along with the source so we can update that entry accordingly! Thank you!

Note: The Country in Parentheses is the most likely origin, but again, none have been proven (that I can find!)

Entries:

  1. Abba Kovner, The Man Who Founded the Jewish Avengers (Russia or Belarus)
  2. Alice Sanger, The First Female Staffer in the White House (United States)
  3. Antoinette Tuff, Stopped a School Shooter (United States)
  4. Black Diamond the Elephant, Circus Performer (Southeast Asia)
  5. Caroline Crachami, The Sicilian Dwarf (Italy or Ireland)
  6. Catherine Davidson, Union Solider During the War Between the States (United States)
  7. Cathie Jung, Now That is a Slim Waist (United States)
  8. Christine Denner, Saved Edith Hahn's Life During the Holocaust (Austria)
  9. Clara Quintanilla, Art Restorer Who Worked for the Museo del Prado (Spain)
  10. Colleen Stan, The Girl in the Box (United States)
  11. Cora the Witch, Legend Behind the Cora Tree (United States)
  12. Madame DeCourcelle, The First Female Taxi Driver in Paris (France)
  13. Delphine LaLaurie, The Deranged Serial Killer From New Orleans (United States or Ireland)
  14. Elizabeth Cowell, The First Female Television Announcer (England)
  15. Epicharis, Tried to Assassinate Nero (Ancient Roman Empire)
  16. Etta Place, The Sundance Kid's Wife (United States)
  17. Gary Staab, Sculptor (United States)
  18. Hannah Stilley Gorby, The Oldest Person Ever Photographed (United States)
  19. Hattie Lewis Lawton, Pinkerton Detective (United States)
  20. Heyward Shepherd, Victim of the Failed Raid on Harper's Ferry (United States)
  21. Ida Remington, Union Soldier During the War Between the States (United States)
  22. Jack Van Arsdale, We Used to Celebrate Evacuation Day Partially Because of Him (United States)
  23. Janice Hooker, Helped Kidnap and Then Later Helped Colleen Stan Escape (United States)
  24. Jaya Varma Sinha, Manager of the South Eastern Railway System (India)
  25. Jenny the Titanic Cat, The Ship's Unofficial Mascot (Supposedly) (The United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland)
  26. Pope Joan, Possibly the First Female Catholic Pope (Somewhere in Europe)
  27. Private John J Williams, The Last Battle Casualty in the War Between the States (United States)
  28. Laura J Alber, CEO of Williams-Sonoma (United States)
  29. Leigh Searl, CEO of America's Career Force (United States)
  30. Linnda Caporael, Proposed Ergot Poisoning as a Cause for the Salem Witch Trials (United States)
  31. Lizzie Arlington, The First Woman to Play on a Men's Professional Baseball Team (United States)
  32. Lorllys Ramos Acevedo, Former Head of the Venezuelan Aviation Accident Unit (Venezuela)
  33. Magistra Hersend, One of Louis IX's Surgeons During the Seventh Crusade (France)
  34. Mamie Fossett, Deputy Marshal in the Indian Territory (United States)
  35. Marie Claude Beaumont, Le Mans Race Car Driver (France)
  36. Martha Corey, Salem Witch (United States)
  37. Martin Couney, The Man Who Saved the Incubator Babies (France)
  38. Mary Anne Arnold, the Cross dressing Sailor (United Kingdom)
  39. Mary the Elephant, Circus Performer (Southeast Asia)
  40. Mary Galloway, Union Soldier During the War Between the States (United States)
  41. Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley The Real Molly Pitcher, (United States)
  42. Mary Vincent, Kidnap Victim Who Had Her Forearms Cut Off Before Being Left For Dead (United States)
  43. Maude E Steane, One of Eight Canadian Women Confirmed Killed in Action During World War II (Canada)
  44. Melissa Lora, Former President of Taco Bell International (United States)
  45. Michele Roberts, Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association (United States)
  46. Monica Mitro, Executive Producer of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (United States)
  47. Odette Siko, Le Mans Race Car Driver (France)
  48. Owen Suskind, Autism Spokesman (United States)
  49. Priyaleen Singh, Archaeological Conservationist (India)
  50. Rachel Washburn, Gave up Being a Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader to Join the US Army
  51. Rahat Khan, Hockey Queen of Pakistan (Either Pakistan or India)
  52. Rebecca Peterman, Union Soldier During the War Between the States (United States)
  53. Rosa Carmichael, The Woman Who Ran the Gettysburg Orphanage (United States)
  54. Samantha Geimer, Child Rape Survivor (United States)
  55. Santa Inocencia, Mexican Child Saint and Corpse Relic (Ancient Roman Empire or Mexico)
  56. Sarah Bowman, Camp Follower During the Mexican/American War (United States)
  57. Sparethra, Queen Who Fought Cyrus the Great (Somewhere in the Eurasian Steppes)
  58. Stephanie Garman Freed, Co-Founder and CEO of Rapha House International (United States)
  59. Sue Ellen Cooper, Founder of the Red Hat Society (United States)
  60. Princess Tarakanova, Pretender to the Russian Throne (Anywhere but Russia)
  61. Teuta of Illyria, Queen Who Went to War With Rome (Possibly Albania)
  62. Tituba, Salem Witch (Venezuela or Barbados)
  63. Theodora I, Empress of the Byzantine Empire (Crete, Syria, or Cyprus)
  64. Topsy the Elephant, Circus Performer (Southeast Asia)
  65. Tripp Phillips, The Inventor of Le-Glue (United States)
  66. Trisha Prabhu, Inventor and CEO of ReThink Technology (United States)
  67. Willie Mallory, Victim of the American Eugenics Movement (United States)

The Trouble With Find a Grave

Posted on by nickssquire12

By now you've most likely seen my various listings and references to the website Find a Grave. This website is amazing for a plethora of reasons, but it has its faults as well, and that is what I wanted to focus on today.

So, what's the big deal? Well...as any good teacher will tell you, you need to source everything, especially in the day and age of Wikipedia and people pretending to be French models on dating apps. Find a Grave allows someone to post literally whatever they want about whoever they want, with no consequences. Several of the "Famous" people I've added to my virtual libraries have inaccurate information on them, but unless the person who controls the memorial page accepts the corrections nothing can be done. So be weary of what you cite from that website, and always do your best to back up anything you do use from that cite. This isn't such a big deal when your leaving virtual flowers on the graves of family members a thousand miles away, but actual scholarly journals? Eek! They even "trick" you slightly. If you scroll to the very bottom of the page you can click on the "Source Citation" for the specific memorial, but all it says is the name of the account who created the page and the number of the memorial in question :/

That's the main issue with Find a Grave, but I also have a personal problem with them, and that problem is--Drum Roll Please--the Famous Badge. I honestly do not understand how the badge works. I've applied for it on numerous of the pages I've created, and I get rejected every time! The people who run Find a Grave have a very specific set of rules you must follow in order to be named "Famous" but even when you follow them to the letter--they reject you! My latest example of this is on my profile for Lisa del Giocondo (entry coming to the website eventually):  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/200764348/lisa-del_giocondo

I followed their guidelines to a T and was still denied the Famous Badge for failing to follow their guidelines (and they never tell you what you did wrong either). It exasperates me to no end (see what I did there) so if you get frustrated too, just know you are not alone!

That's all for this one friends, toodles! -The Exasperated Historian