POLITICAL GENEALOGY
Kellyanne Conway’s Curiously Relevant Family History
After Conway asked a journalist to disclose his ethnicity at a press conference, I took it as an open invitation to research her own ancestral past
I’ve always said that there’s no such thing as a boring family tree, and Kellyanne Fitzpatrick Conway’s ancestral past is a case in point. I hadn’t intended to research her family history, but then a few weeks ago, the top White House advisor made headlines for her clumsy attempt at defending the president’s latest racist tirade. Conway deflected questions from a journalist by inquiring about his ethnicity, trying to make a point that “we are all from somewhere else originally.” In doing so, she mentioned her own Italian and Irish roots.
For this long-time genealogist, Conway’s remarks were the equivalent of an engraved invitation to research the lives of her ancestors. For decades, I’ve traced peoples’ family histories back to their immigrant roots and beyond, working on TV shows, writing books, speaking across the country, and serving as chief family historian at Ancestry.com. In that time, I’ve found that our roots claim us in ways we don’t realize. Conway may be surprised to find many parallels linking her distant past to her…
