Sylvia Browne

Birth Name: Sylvia Celeste Shoemaker

Date of Birth: October 19, 1936

Place of Birth: Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.

Date of Death: November 20, 2013

Place of Death: San Jose, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: German, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish, some English and Irish, remote Welsh

Sylvia Browne was an American writer. She described herself as a medium with psychic abilities.

She was the daughter of Missouri-born parents, Celeste E. (Call) and William Lee Shoemaker. Sylvia was raised Catholic.

She was married to Michael Ulery, until her death. She had two children with her first husband Gary Dufresne. Her surname was from her former husband Kenzil Dalzell Brown, whose name she took and then added an “e” to.

Sylvia’s paternal grandfather was William H. Shoemaker (the son of Edward Shoemaker and Sarah/Sally Baker). William was born in Independence, Missouri.

Sylvia’s paternal grandmother was named Hattie/Addie Buscher. Hattie was born in Missouri, to Russian Jewish parents.

Sylvia’s maternal grandfather was Marcus Henry Coil (the son of Noah Voy Coil, Jr. and Elizabeth Ann Brown). Marcus was born in Missouri. Noah was the son of Noah Coil, whose mother was Irish, and of Elizabeth Lail. Both the Coil and Lail surnames originate in Germany. Sylvia’s great-grandmother Elizabeth Ann Brown was the daughter of Joseph Walker Brown and Harriett Ann Mountjoy.

Sylvia’s maternal grandmother was named Ada Celeste Kaufholz (the daughter of Herman Henri Kaufhottz/Kaufholz and Elizabeth or Ida Katrina von Banica). Sylvia’s grandmother Ada was born in Germany, or in Missouri, to German parents.

Sources: Genealogies of Sylvia Browne – https://www.geni.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Sylvia’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Sylvia’s paternal grandparents, William H. Shoemaker and Hattie/Addie Buscher, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
William H. Shoemaker and Hattie/Addie Buscher on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Sylvia’s paternal grandfather, William H. Shoemaker, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org