Christopher Padgett
@cornislandproject.org
Family Historian, Genealogist, Caregiver & Aesthete | Explorer of Roots, Ephemera & Forgotten Histories | 8th-Generation Louisvillian | Entdecker der Wurzeln & Geschichten 🌍🔎🌿💙🎨📷 🇺🇦 cornislandproject.org
Into cemetery research for #genealogy? I’m teaching this class later in the month on the subject.
kygs.org/event/the-pa...
kygs.org/event/the-pa...
The PADGETT Methodology for Effective Cemetery Research in Genealogy
Gain an in-depth understanding of each component of the PADGETT Methodology and how it provides a systematic approach to cemetery research.
kygs.org
September 13, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Into cemetery research for #genealogy? I’m teaching this class later in the month on the subject.
kygs.org/event/the-pa...
kygs.org/event/the-pa...
Mediums. Séances. Spirits on call. Messages from the beyond. In the 1880s and 1890s, one branch of my Kentucky family tree wasn’t just touched by the American Spiritualist movement—they were the movement. This autumn, their story will be summoned on the www.cornislandproject.org. #genealogy
August 28, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Mediums. Séances. Spirits on call. Messages from the beyond. In the 1880s and 1890s, one branch of my Kentucky family tree wasn’t just touched by the American Spiritualist movement—they were the movement. This autumn, their story will be summoned on the www.cornislandproject.org. #genealogy
63 years ago today at Saint Cecilia in Portland, #Louisville—
He was 23, a boy from a log cabin in Garnettsville.
She was 21, born in the city at General Hospital.
They met at Western Lanes. She bowled three strikes.
He proposed. She said yes.
And my parents lifetime together began.
#genealogy
He was 23, a boy from a log cabin in Garnettsville.
She was 21, born in the city at General Hospital.
They met at Western Lanes. She bowled three strikes.
He proposed. She said yes.
And my parents lifetime together began.
#genealogy
August 18, 2025 at 1:57 PM
63 years ago today at Saint Cecilia in Portland, #Louisville—
He was 23, a boy from a log cabin in Garnettsville.
She was 21, born in the city at General Hospital.
They met at Western Lanes. She bowled three strikes.
He proposed. She said yes.
And my parents lifetime together began.
#genealogy
He was 23, a boy from a log cabin in Garnettsville.
She was 21, born in the city at General Hospital.
They met at Western Lanes. She bowled three strikes.
He proposed. She said yes.
And my parents lifetime together began.
#genealogy
In 1914, Clara crossed the Ohio River from a Louisville orphanage to a marriage parlor. She was 17, her pen faltering at her birthdate. A century later, I crossed the same river—my pen steady, but the ink between us still linked our names.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/the-ink-be...
#genealogy
www.cornislandproject.org/p/the-ink-be...
#genealogy
August 9, 2025 at 9:54 PM
In 1914, Clara crossed the Ohio River from a Louisville orphanage to a marriage parlor. She was 17, her pen faltering at her birthdate. A century later, I crossed the same river—my pen steady, but the ink between us still linked our names.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/the-ink-be...
#genealogy
www.cornislandproject.org/p/the-ink-be...
#genealogy
Six generations. One rare cactus. She blooms only at night — and only once a year. Tonight, she may open. And with her, a century and a half of family history. 🌙✨
www.cornislandproject.org/p/night-bloo...
#genealogy #familyhistory #ancestralplants
www.cornislandproject.org/p/night-bloo...
#genealogy #familyhistory #ancestralplants
August 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Six generations. One rare cactus. She blooms only at night — and only once a year. Tonight, she may open. And with her, a century and a half of family history. 🌙✨
www.cornislandproject.org/p/night-bloo...
#genealogy #familyhistory #ancestralplants
www.cornislandproject.org/p/night-bloo...
#genealogy #familyhistory #ancestralplants
Floating past Schloß Schönbühel on the Danube feels like slipping into a legend. Built on rock, watching the river roll by for nearly a thousand years. It doesn’t speak—but it remembers.
#ancestorvibes #austria #danube #castles #familyhistory
#ancestorvibes #austria #danube #castles #familyhistory
July 17, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Floating past Schloß Schönbühel on the Danube feels like slipping into a legend. Built on rock, watching the river roll by for nearly a thousand years. It doesn’t speak—but it remembers.
#ancestorvibes #austria #danube #castles #familyhistory
#ancestorvibes #austria #danube #castles #familyhistory
He wasn’t on a rearing stallion. He rode a mule in bad weather. But history isn’t what happened—it’s what gets remembered.
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Pass.
Names etched in stone: HANNIBAL. KAROLUS MAGNUS. BONAPARTE.
Propaganda meets permanence.
#NapoleonicWars #genealogy #belvedere #vienna
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Pass.
Names etched in stone: HANNIBAL. KAROLUS MAGNUS. BONAPARTE.
Propaganda meets permanence.
#NapoleonicWars #genealogy #belvedere #vienna
July 17, 2025 at 4:35 AM
He wasn’t on a rearing stallion. He rode a mule in bad weather. But history isn’t what happened—it’s what gets remembered.
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Pass.
Names etched in stone: HANNIBAL. KAROLUS MAGNUS. BONAPARTE.
Propaganda meets permanence.
#NapoleonicWars #genealogy #belvedere #vienna
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Pass.
Names etched in stone: HANNIBAL. KAROLUS MAGNUS. BONAPARTE.
Propaganda meets permanence.
#NapoleonicWars #genealogy #belvedere #vienna
Morning on the Danube. A lone cabin keeps watch while the river carries yesterday away. Sunrise like this feels ancestral…a reminder that the best stories drift in quietly. #Danube #MorningLight #AncestorVibes
July 16, 2025 at 4:44 AM
Morning on the Danube. A lone cabin keeps watch while the river carries yesterday away. Sunrise like this feels ancestral…a reminder that the best stories drift in quietly. #Danube #MorningLight #AncestorVibes
Funeral in the Carpathians by János Tornyai (1869–1936), Hungarian National Gallery.
A quiet line of mourners winding through snow, their grief stitched into the hills and river below. Tornyai’s brush reminds us even in the deep cold, our stories carry us home.
#art #Hungary #museumdays #budapest
A quiet line of mourners winding through snow, their grief stitched into the hills and river below. Tornyai’s brush reminds us even in the deep cold, our stories carry us home.
#art #Hungary #museumdays #budapest
July 14, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Funeral in the Carpathians by János Tornyai (1869–1936), Hungarian National Gallery.
A quiet line of mourners winding through snow, their grief stitched into the hills and river below. Tornyai’s brush reminds us even in the deep cold, our stories carry us home.
#art #Hungary #museumdays #budapest
A quiet line of mourners winding through snow, their grief stitched into the hills and river below. Tornyai’s brush reminds us even in the deep cold, our stories carry us home.
#art #Hungary #museumdays #budapest
The Dead Are Still Here
Western Cemetery listens. A quiet field in Louisville’s West End—once a public graveyard, now mostly erased. But the dead are still there.
A story of forgotten graves, faded maps, and hands that brought the names back.
#genealogy
www.cornislandproject.org/p/louisville...
Western Cemetery listens. A quiet field in Louisville’s West End—once a public graveyard, now mostly erased. But the dead are still there.
A story of forgotten graves, faded maps, and hands that brought the names back.
#genealogy
www.cornislandproject.org/p/louisville...
May 20, 2025 at 2:03 AM
The Dead Are Still Here
Western Cemetery listens. A quiet field in Louisville’s West End—once a public graveyard, now mostly erased. But the dead are still there.
A story of forgotten graves, faded maps, and hands that brought the names back.
#genealogy
www.cornislandproject.org/p/louisville...
Western Cemetery listens. A quiet field in Louisville’s West End—once a public graveyard, now mostly erased. But the dead are still there.
A story of forgotten graves, faded maps, and hands that brought the names back.
#genealogy
www.cornislandproject.org/p/louisville...
When La Marseillaise filled the room, it echoed more than music—it echoed Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. A shared dream that still binds us, 200 years after Lafayette’s visit. #Lafayette200 #FrancoAmericanFriendship #Louisville #France #Lafayette
May 11, 2025 at 12:57 AM
When La Marseillaise filled the room, it echoed more than music—it echoed Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. A shared dream that still binds us, 200 years after Lafayette’s visit. #Lafayette200 #FrancoAmericanFriendship #Louisville #France #Lafayette
200 years ago, #Lafayette came to #Louisville. Today, we honored that visit with dinner, dance, remembrance, and gratitude for the friendship between #France and America. History wasn’t just remembered—it was relived. #Lafayette200 #LouisvilleHistory #AncestorVibes #Genealogy
May 11, 2025 at 12:53 AM
200 years ago, #Lafayette came to #Louisville. Today, we honored that visit with dinner, dance, remembrance, and gratitude for the friendship between #France and America. History wasn’t just remembered—it was relived. #Lafayette200 #LouisvilleHistory #AncestorVibes #Genealogy
Louisville’s namesake is hidden in storage—a king who backed our revolution, now mostly forgotten.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#Louisville
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#Louisville
May 8, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Louisville’s namesake is hidden in storage—a king who backed our revolution, now mostly forgotten.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#Louisville
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#Louisville
Louisville’s namesake is hidden in storage—a king who backed our revolution, now mostly forgotten. This story isn’t about royalty. It’s about memory, nuance, and what we choose to bring back into the light.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/why-is-lou...
www.cornislandproject.org/p/why-is-lou...
May 4, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Louisville’s namesake is hidden in storage—a king who backed our revolution, now mostly forgotten. This story isn’t about royalty. It’s about memory, nuance, and what we choose to bring back into the light.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/why-is-lou...
www.cornislandproject.org/p/why-is-lou...
Anyone else going to the NGS Conference in Louisville next month 5/23-25? I’ll be bouncing around the expo hall Saturday and Sunday, helping out at the @kentuckygenealogy.bsky.social booth #130. Come say hi if you’re around! #genealogy #genchat
April 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Anyone else going to the NGS Conference in Louisville next month 5/23-25? I’ll be bouncing around the expo hall Saturday and Sunday, helping out at the @kentuckygenealogy.bsky.social booth #130. Come say hi if you’re around! #genealogy #genchat
A quiet marvel tucked away in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky: This Tiffany-designed grave marker glows with artful restraint. It’s one of the hidden gems you walk right past—until the light catches just right. #cemetery #Kentucky #Louisville #TiffanyStudios #genealogy
April 23, 2025 at 2:37 AM
A quiet marvel tucked away in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky: This Tiffany-designed grave marker glows with artful restraint. It’s one of the hidden gems you walk right past—until the light catches just right. #cemetery #Kentucky #Louisville #TiffanyStudios #genealogy
Floodline
How the Great Flood of 1937 brought two Kentuckians — and the family that followed — to higher ground.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory #GreatFlood #Louisville #Kentucky
#OhioRiver #blinddate #CornIslandProject
How the Great Flood of 1937 brought two Kentuckians — and the family that followed — to higher ground.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory #GreatFlood #Louisville #Kentucky
#OhioRiver #blinddate #CornIslandProject
April 22, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Floodline
How the Great Flood of 1937 brought two Kentuckians — and the family that followed — to higher ground.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory #GreatFlood #Louisville #Kentucky
#OhioRiver #blinddate #CornIslandProject
How the Great Flood of 1937 brought two Kentuckians — and the family that followed — to higher ground.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory #GreatFlood #Louisville #Kentucky
#OhioRiver #blinddate #CornIslandProject
In 1937, #Louisville flooded. My grandfather paddled a canoe through the city to rescue the woman he’d just met.
They’d go on to build a family 76 strong.
New story on Substack: Floodline
A love story born in rising water.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory
They’d go on to build a family 76 strong.
New story on Substack: Floodline
A love story born in rising water.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory
April 21, 2025 at 10:39 PM
In 1937, #Louisville flooded. My grandfather paddled a canoe through the city to rescue the woman he’d just met.
They’d go on to build a family 76 strong.
New story on Substack: Floodline
A love story born in rising water.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory
They’d go on to build a family 76 strong.
New story on Substack: Floodline
A love story born in rising water.
www.cornislandproject.org/p/floodline
#genealogy #familyhistory
St. Mary Major in Rome — ancient, aching, eternal.
Soon the final resting place of Pope Francis,
a shepherd who walked with the people.
These images I shot last month can’t capture the silence inside, but they come close.
#PopeFrancis #Rome #StMaryMajor #SacredPlaces #TravelPhotos
Soon the final resting place of Pope Francis,
a shepherd who walked with the people.
These images I shot last month can’t capture the silence inside, but they come close.
#PopeFrancis #Rome #StMaryMajor #SacredPlaces #TravelPhotos
April 21, 2025 at 7:12 PM
St. Mary Major in Rome — ancient, aching, eternal.
Soon the final resting place of Pope Francis,
a shepherd who walked with the people.
These images I shot last month can’t capture the silence inside, but they come close.
#PopeFrancis #Rome #StMaryMajor #SacredPlaces #TravelPhotos
Soon the final resting place of Pope Francis,
a shepherd who walked with the people.
These images I shot last month can’t capture the silence inside, but they come close.
#PopeFrancis #Rome #StMaryMajor #SacredPlaces #TravelPhotos
Reposted by Christopher Padgett
Did your ancestors cross paths with the Marquis de Lafayette?
Explore his 1824–1825 Farewell Tour with this interactive timeline produced by Project Kin.
projectkin.org/lafayette
#genealogy #lafayette #Projectkin #educationresource #americanhistory #MarquisdeLafayette
Explore his 1824–1825 Farewell Tour with this interactive timeline produced by Project Kin.
projectkin.org/lafayette
#genealogy #lafayette #Projectkin #educationresource #americanhistory #MarquisdeLafayette
Projectkin | Lafayette Timeline
Where were your ancestors when Lafayette made a tour of the United States from 1824 to 1824. Learn more and add your ancestors to his timeline.
projectkin.org
April 14, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Did your ancestors cross paths with the Marquis de Lafayette?
Explore his 1824–1825 Farewell Tour with this interactive timeline produced by Project Kin.
projectkin.org/lafayette
#genealogy #lafayette #Projectkin #educationresource #americanhistory #MarquisdeLafayette
Explore his 1824–1825 Farewell Tour with this interactive timeline produced by Project Kin.
projectkin.org/lafayette
#genealogy #lafayette #Projectkin #educationresource #americanhistory #MarquisdeLafayette
The Shoemaker Who Might've Met Lafayette
substack.com/@christopher...
#genealogy #lafayette #Louisville #Kentucky #Germany #France #CornIslandProject
substack.com/@christopher...
#genealogy #lafayette #Louisville #Kentucky #Germany #France #CornIslandProject
April 13, 2025 at 8:38 PM
The Shoemaker Who Might've Met Lafayette
substack.com/@christopher...
#genealogy #lafayette #Louisville #Kentucky #Germany #France #CornIslandProject
substack.com/@christopher...
#genealogy #lafayette #Louisville #Kentucky #Germany #France #CornIslandProject
Just published: The Shoemaker Who Might’ve Met Lafayette —
A Napoleonic veteran, a Harmony exile, and the quiet legacy they left in Louisville.
No monument, just memory.
#Genealogy #Louisville #Kentucky #Lafayette #Ancestors
open.substack.com/pub/christop...
A Napoleonic veteran, a Harmony exile, and the quiet legacy they left in Louisville.
No monument, just memory.
#Genealogy #Louisville #Kentucky #Lafayette #Ancestors
open.substack.com/pub/christop...
April 11, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Just published: The Shoemaker Who Might’ve Met Lafayette —
A Napoleonic veteran, a Harmony exile, and the quiet legacy they left in Louisville.
No monument, just memory.
#Genealogy #Louisville #Kentucky #Lafayette #Ancestors
open.substack.com/pub/christop...
A Napoleonic veteran, a Harmony exile, and the quiet legacy they left in Louisville.
No monument, just memory.
#Genealogy #Louisville #Kentucky #Lafayette #Ancestors
open.substack.com/pub/christop...
