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, English, and African-American
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, President of the United States Conference of Mayors, from 2017 to 2018, and Senior Advisor to the President, and Coordinator in the White House for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, both, since November 15, 2021, 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 May 4, 1970 to May 1, 1978, and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, from September 24, 1979 to January 20, 1981. His sister, Mary Landrieu, is also a politician, who was Treasurer of Louisiana, from January 1, 1988 to January 8, 1996, and a U.S. Senator from Louisiana, from January 3, 1997 to January 3, 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/Cyrantha Cleno Mackey). Joseph was born in Mississippi. Victor was born in France, and was the son of Geofroy/Geoffroy Stanislaus/Stanislas Landrieu, from Abbeville, and of Melanie Claude Eugénie/Eugenia LeMoine. Cyrintha was the daughter of William Clarence Mackey, and appears to have been of mixed-race background, European and African.
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, who was born in Alsace, and of Bertha Malwine Charlotte Gehrke, who was born in Nakel. Mary was the daughter of German parents, 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 of Italian-Maltese descent. He was the son of Joseph Mercieca/Macheca and Marietta Carvanna. Mitch’s 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/French Alsatian descent.
Sources: Genealogy of Mitch Landrieu – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Mitch Landrieu (through his sister, Mary Landrieu) – http://www.wargs.com
Mitch’s paternal grandfather, Joseph Geoffrey Landrieu, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Mitch’s paternal great-great-grandparents, Geofroy/Geoffroy Stanislaus/Stanislas Landrieu and Melanie Claude Eugénie/Eugenia LeMoine – https://www.familysearch.org
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
Mary Louisa Burrus was of Alsatian descent (a mix of German and French): https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/L2RJ-2H4
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_14,_1891_New_Orleans_lynchings
https://robertobrumat.wordpress.com/2018/05/26/linciaggio-di-italiani/
It says Joseph P. Macheca was the son of Sicilian parents but was adopted by a Maltese man named Macheca.
That’s not the same person. Probably a great-great-uncle.
Yep, dates do not match but the adoption thing is likely correct.
There are some odd things goin’ on:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS5G-BSW
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPYK-BZJ?from=lynx1UIV8
Michael Macheca’s parents birth place: “Poland Walton”, “England”.
Also this: https://www.geni.com/people/John-Macheca/6000000043434613021?through=6000000030948644393
vs
https://www.geni.com/people/Michael/6000000043484821826
A bit messy.
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.