Mitch Landrieu
Landrieu in 2012, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Mitchell Joseph Landrieu
Place of Birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Date of Birth: August 16, 1960
Ethnicity: German, about one eighth French, one eighth Italian-Maltese, small amounts of Irish and English
Mitch Landrieu is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, from January 11, 2004 to May 3, 2010, Mayor of New Orleans, from May 3, 2010 to May 7, 2018, and President of the United States Conference of Mayors, from 2017 to 2018, among other duties.
He is the son of Verna Marie (Satterlee) and politician Moon Landrieu (born Maurice Edwin Landrieu), who was Mayor of New Orleans, from 1970 to 1978, and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, from 1979 to 1981. His sister, Mary Landrieu, is also a politician, who was a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, from 1997 to 2015.
Mitch is married to attorney Cheryl Quirk, with whom he has five children.
Mitch’s paternal grandfather was Joseph Geoffrey Landrieu (the son of Victor Firmin Landrieu and Cyrintha/Cerentha Cleno Mackey). Joseph was born in Mississippi. Victor was born in France, and was the son of Geoffroy Stanislaus Landrieu, from Abbeville, and of Melanie Claude Eugenia LeMoine. Cyrintha was the daughter of William Clarence Mackey and Harriette/Harriet Margaret Claiborne.
Mitch’s paternal grandmother was Loretta Frances Bechtel (the daughter of August Rudolph Bechtel and Mary Rocker). Loretta was born in Louisiana, and was of German descent. August was the son of Frank Joseph Bechtel and Bertha Malwine Charlotte Gehrke. Mary was the daughter of Frederick “Fritz” Rocker and Anna/Ann Mary Dollinger.
Mitch’s maternal grandfather was Kent St. Elmo Satterlee (the son of William Crawford Satterlee and Lillie/Lilly Louise Lemke). Kent was born in Louisiana. William was the son of Jon/John Spencer Satterlee/Satterly and Virginia Barker. Lillie was the daughter of German parents, Frederick/Ferdinand “Fred” Lemke and Louisa/Louie Krämer.
Mitch’s maternal grandmother was Olga Helen/Ellen Macheca (the daughter of Michael/Michel Macheca and Laverna Alberta C. Hartmann/Hartman). Olga was born in Louisiana. Michael was the son of Maltese parents, Joseph Peter Mercieca/Macheca and Marietta Carvanna. Mitch’s Macheca ancestry has been referred to as Sicilian Italian. Mitch’s great-grandmother Laverna was the daughter of Philip Heinrich/Henry Hartmann, who was German, and of Mary Louisa Burrus, who was of German descent.
Sources: Genealogy of Mitch Landrieu – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Mitch Landrieu (through his sister, Mary Landrieu) – http://www.wargs.com
Genealogy of Mitch’s maternal grandmother, Olga Helen/Ellen Macheca – https://www.findagrave.com
Mitch’s maternal great-grandparents, Michael/Michel Macheca and Laverna Alberta C. Hartmann/Hartman, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Mitch’s maternal great-grandfather, Michael/Michel Macheca, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Why Italian and not Maltese?
What’s Italian-Maltese? Just write Maltese. The 1880 and 1900 censuses both says his parents were from Malta, Italian isn’t mentioned anywhere. He is 1/8th Maltese.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDXM-JKR
https://www.geni.com/people/Michael/6000000043484821826
Marietta’s surname was Carvanna.
I also don’t get why it’s described as ”small amounts”, when he’s 1/8th Maltese.
Agreed. 1/8th isn’t that small. And it’s an exact fraction of how much Maltese he is.
Well, I’ve seen a lot of things like this:
http://www.iadlc.org/news/marylandrieu_endorsement
Apparently Mitch Landrieu is claiming African-American ancestry now as well.
Maybe he took a DNA test and came up significantly African descent.
For me, that’s the same as Ronda Rousey saying she is part Venezuelan. Maybe it’s a family rumour that stuck for some reason, and now they actually think they’re Italian and not Maltese. Or maybe they know that their ancestors were from Malta but think that the tiny island is to unknown or prestigeless to mention, and instead they round it off to the nearest big, well-known landmass (Sicily).
Point being, I don’t think we should pay too much respect to what celebrities say if the record tells a different story, unless they go into great detail.