Shealah Craighead

Birth Name: Shealah Deann Craighead

Place of Birth: Connecticut, U.S.

Date of Birth: September 21, 1976

Ethnicity: Belgian Flemish, Dutch, English, German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, 1/8th Paiute Native American, 1/32 Swiss-French, as well as remote Cornish, French, Norwegian, Swedish, and Swiss-German

Shealah Craighead is an American photographer. She has been Chief Official White House Photographer, since January 20, 2017.

She is the daughter of Catherine “Cathy” I. (Craighead) Craighead-Lambert and folk musician Arvel Ellis Bird. Shealah, her mother, and her maternal grandmother are pictured here.

Shealah’s patrilineal ancestry can be traced back to her eighth great-grandfather, Jeremiah Bird (died between April 19 and May 5, 1738, Elizabeth Township [now part of Elizabeth], New Jersey).

Shealah’s paternal grandfather was Earl Ellis Bird (the son of Ellis Bird and Alda Davis Housley). Shealah’s great-grandfather Ellis was the son of Charles Warner Bird and Celia Pernina White. Alda was the daughter of Joseph Benjamin Housley and Lydia Ann Davis.

Shealah’s paternal grandmother was LaVerna Shamp (the daughter of Thomas Ezra Shamp and Rhoda Carpenter). Thomas was the son of James Wesley Shamp and Mary Catherine Wehr. Rhoda belonged to the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, and was the biological daughter of Jack Bob Bee Queets and Tsuununk. After her biological parents’ deaths, she was adopted by William Hiram Carpenter and Marmora Sheffield.

Shealah’s maternal grandfather was Robert George Craighead (the son of Ralph Edward Craighead and Irene Clara Reed). Ralph was the son of Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Craighead and Anna Coon. Irene was the daughter of Franklin “Frank” Reed and Emma Ann Marie Voirol, whose parents, Augustin François Voirol and Marie Claire Marguerite Beuret, were Swiss-French emigrants, from Les Genevez, Jura.

Shealah’s maternal grandmother is Mary Catherine Hollie (the daughter of Aloysius Carl Hollie and Margaret Roach). Aloysius was the son of German immigrants, Carl Holle and Elizabeth Mary Rothermel. Margaret was the daughter of Richard Shelly Roach, whose was of Irish descent, and of Catherine Theresa Loner, who was of 3/4 German and 1/4 English descent.

Shealah’s matrilineal ancestry can be traced back to her eighth great-grandmother, Regina Magdalena.

Sources: Biography of Shealah’s father – https://unityrenaissance.org

Family history of Shealah’s paternal grandfather, Earl Ellis Bird – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage records of Shealah’s paternal great-grandparents, Ellis Bird and Alda Davis Housley – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org

Death record of Shealah’s paternal great-grandfather, Ellis Bird – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Shealah’s paternal grandmother, LaVerna (Shamp) Bird Carroll – http://www.legacy.com

Death record of Shealah’s paternal great-grandfather, Thomas Ezra Shamp – https://www.familysearch.org

Biography of Shealah’s paternal great-grandmother, Rhoda (Carpenter) Johnston – http://arvel.section101.com

Marriage record of Shealah’s maternal grandparents, Robert George Craighead and Mary Catherine Hollie – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Shealah’s maternal grandfather, Robert George Craighead – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Shealah’s maternal great-grandparents, Ralph Edward Craighead and Irene Clara Reed – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Shealah’s maternal great-grandparents, Aloysius Carl Hollie and Margaret Roach – https://www.familysearch.org