Michael McGuigan

Ancestors

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Michael McGuigan is a descendant of Mayflower Passenger John Howland.

Descendant of PGM migrant John Swain.

In America, the question of “Where am I from?” usually means, “Where did my family live before they arrived/were forcibly shipped to America?” The answer to this question is more than our DNA. It invites us to think about the many generations that came before us, to learn about their lives and the communities they belonged to. Culture does not come from DNA. It comes from lived experience, traditions and stories passed down, from actual people who shape our perceptions of the world.

This is why I’ve enjoyed learning about my family through good old-fashioned genealogy research. Scrolling through pages of old newspapers or deciphering handwriting on a census is how I found out I’m descended from Revolutionary War soldiers, Union and Confederate; from slave-owners and abolitionists and, possibly from witches and witch burners. It’s where I learned that a distant relative living in Missouri, Tom Blankenship, was the person Samuel Clemens based his character Huckleberry Finn on and that another distant relative was married to our first President, George Washington. Our family has worshiped with Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers, and Mormons and we come from all walks of life, from indentured servants to kings and queens. One of our ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. Far more arrived without fanfare or notoriety but have narratives equally worth hearing.

These are more than facts. They are the narratives that tell the story of us, whether we like them or not. Learning our history is a forced reckoning, asking us to consider whose stories we carry with us, which ones we want to carry forward.

Biography

Michael Paul Roberts, son of Maurice Roberts and Marilyn Wright, was born on 10 Sep 1957 in Fairbanks, Alaska. The family lived in a three-bedroom log cabin with a husky named Sitka. On 15 Sep 1957 he was baptized at the Church of Immaculate Conception in Fairbanks, Alaska. Their first home after leaving Alaska was a rental at 173 Bradford Street, Pittsfield, MA. This I where his sister Patricia Roberts was born. Their next home was 199 Fort Hill Avenue in Pittsfield. MA. This was the first home the family purchased. Brother Mark Roberts was born here. In 1973, he attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Pennsylvania. On 05 Jun 1975 he was granted a name change from Michael Paul Roberts to Michael Paul McGuigan. On 12 Dec 1975 he was adopted by John Joseph McGuigan and Marilyn McGuigan. On 27 May 1979 he was licensed to be a preacher by Calvary Baptist Church in Pittsfield, MA. That same year Michael and spouse Ann Salzarulo moved into 3105 Lipscomb Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas while they attended Texas Christian University. In 1980 they moved into graduate student housing, Fuller Hall #31, 215 Herrick Road, Newton Centre. MA while Michael attended Andover Newton Theological School. In 1982 they rented 1000 Sinex, C-62, Pacific Grove, CA while Ann attended the Monterey Institute for International Studies in Monterey, CA. In 1985 they moved to Mesa del Campanero, Sonora, Mexico where they served as volunteers for the American Friends Service Committee. In 1986 they moved to 56 Springside Avenue, Pittsfield, MA where he worked as the affordable housing coordinator for the city. In 1988 they moved to 1060 North Rhodes Street, Arlington, VA where he worked for the National Association of Housing and Rehabilitation Officials. In 1990 they moved to San Diego, CA where Michael worked for the County to develop farmworker housing. In 1994 they purchased a house at 56 Seaview Avenue, North Kingstown, RI. Michael worked for the Rhode Island Department of Housing, and then the Community Builders. In 2002 he attended Brown University and earned an MA in teaching and worked for a year at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. In 2003 Michael and Ann moved to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where he taught at St. Michael’s School. In 2004, they moved to Guatemala City, Guatemala where he worked as a teacher for Colegio Maya. In 2006 they moved back to Rhode Island where Michael continued to work as a teacher.

He married Ann Salzarulo, daughter of Thomas Vincent Salzarulo and Jean Elaine Castronova, on 27 May 1979 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She was born on 25 Sep 1958 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1982 Ann was the Director of the Central American Task Force. In 1986, Ann worked for the Central American Scholarship Program. In 1994, Ann worked for Plan International. Between 2009 and 2012 Ann worked for Oxfam International. In 2014, she began teaching at the University of Rhode Island. They were members of Calvary Baptist Church in Pittsfield, MA. They were members of Providence Friends Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by Michael McGuigan at registration.