52 Ancestors - Week 10 - 2025 - SIBLINGS

52 Ancestors – WEEK 10 – Siblings

By Cynthia Keefer Patton 

I come from a fairly large family--six children. Well today that is a large family, back then it was pretty normal. My brothers and sisters and I had a great time growing up together. There were 3 girls and 3 boys. The birth pattern was girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, and boy. Mom always told people about that. When my oldest sister Deb was 15, the youngest Scott was born. They never really knew each other until adulthood. Deb was off in college, married, and raising children while Scott was finishing high school.

One of my favorite memories of childhood was us playing "City". We usually played on a rainy day or exceptional hot afternoon in East Point, Georgia ( a suburb of Atlanta). I was a middle child but took on the role of "leader" and assigned everyone a position in our little city's businesses. It is interesting to reflect back now and see how prophetic the jobs we took played a part in our future careers.

Older sister Deb and brother David were usually not involved. Deb was down in her basement bedroom reading college level books as a teenager. She went on to own a bookstore and become an early pioneer in computer coding working for large companies like Target. Today she writes for a local newspaper https://southsidepride.com/columnists/debra-keefer-ramage/ in the Minneapolis suburbs.

David was an avid Scout and self-taught photographer. He worked at an early age as a newspaper delivery boy. He liked to build things. His careers included service in the Army/Army National Guard and teaching at the college level in the theater department all things set design, lighting, and sound. Article from David's career

I would always want a "shop" that sold clothes, or to be the Librarian and card catalog all our children's books. I created a "check out" method using 3 X 5 cards taped inside the book jackets. As the natural born leader, I ended up serving 26 years in the Army as well (active and Reserve) and started numerous business ventures in my lifetime including renovating and managing rental properties, buying and selling antiques, consulting with businesses on computer skills, and eventually owning a leadership consulting business that supported Army programs. Today I am a professional genealogist, telling the story of mine and others families. Cynthia Keefer Patton - Genealogist

My little brother Kevin always played the banker, with his Monopoly money tray on the back of the toilet and he would sit backwards and wait for us to come withdraw and deposit funds for our businesses. He didn't follow that path, but his gentle nature and love of others resulted in him becoming an EMT and Fire Chief. Kevin's Obituary

My younger sister Denise always played the teacher. And lo and behold after many years of education and earning her Doctorate she is currently the Provost at the University of Alaska. Denise at UAA

Finally, little brother Scott always wanted to run the restaurant. In true nature, he became a chef and worked for many years in the that field. Today he does IT work for a large company, and manages the Gift of Music https://giftofmusic.org/about/, an organization that provides musical instruments to children and is co-founder of Authenticity Theater https://www.authenticitytheater.org/about/, which he and wife Sasha started to produce shows that tackled difficult subject matter.

I am super proud of all my siblings and cherish our relationships. We were a tight knit group because we lived far from all our other relatives in Pennsylvania and New York. Our time play-acting in the little city we created prepared us well for the outside world.

52 Ancestors - Week 26- Family Gathering

52 Ancestors – WEEK 26 – Family Gathering

By Cynthia Keefer Patton

I am working on planning, organizing, and enjoying a family gathering. My older brother David turns 70 on July 26th and my siblings and I have decided to celebrate it in Minneapolis, Minnesota this year.

We booked a large AirBnB in St. Paul and I am excited for the beautiful kitchen where we will be able to gather around and make old family favorites and try some new recipes.

Food--is always the centerpiece when my family gets together. Whether it is Thanksgiving or a casual weekend, almost the first topic of conversation when we walk into the house is "where are we eating dinner tonight?" or "are we going to the grocery store and cooking here?"

My youngest brother Scott was a professional chef for many years, but the rest of us are pretty good cooks, specializing in either regional cuisine, organic food, baking bread, or vegetarian specialties. It makes for an interesting cornucopia of delights!

When we were young, our parents would road trip us from our Southern home in Atlanta to the ancestral places in western Pennsylvania (Washington, Pittsburgh, Mount Pleasant, and Connellsville) in July. My father's birthday was July 1st, so we would combine the visit with the 4th of July and it was a great time when many people were off from work. We would gather with cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. There was always an abundance of food.

As we age, it is harder and harder to gather, with competing work schedules and health issues that are beginning to limit our options. But I am looking forward to the genealogy value of our time together and plan to share my latest research discovers and try and talk some people into doing DNA tests I need for future projects.

52 Ancestors - Week 2 - Origins

WEEK 2 – ORIGINS

By Cynthia Keefer Patton

or·i·gin

/ˈôrəj(ə)n/

noun

plural noun: origins---the point or place where something begins, arises, or is derived. "the name is Norse in origin".  Similar words: beginning; start; origination; genesis; birth; dawning; dawn; emergence.

 

“Where do you come from?” That is a question we have all been asked. Where do I come from? I was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1958. So, I am from Atlanta. I am from the South.

My parents were Clyde Andrew Keefer (born 1 Jul 1926 and died 28 Mar 2023) and Dolores Jean Mahanna (born 15 Mar 1933 and died 14 Dec 2016). He was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania and she in Washington, Pennsylvania. So, I guess I come from my parents. And I come from Pennsylvania roots.

I come from America. That is the answer I gave when I was a Soldier and serving overseas after 9/11. I am American, I come from America.

But many, many years before I was born, my ancestors came from many places in Europe. Ireland, England, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. So “we” come from Europe.

Since doing genealogy for over forty years, I think I have come to the conclusion that we are all so connected, that we have shared life experiences, shared hometowns, shared belief systems, and shared DNA segments.

But aside from all that, there is no one else on earth who is like me. Who is me. I am an original, the definition of which is “present or existing from the beginning, first, or earliest OR not a copy or imitation.”

So, my conclusion is that my origin is EVERYTHING that I come from.