Spider-Man's Backstory and History (MCU)

This page is dedicated to the early life of Peter Parker, his cultural background, and how he became Spider-Man.

Birth and early life
Peter Benjamin Parker was born on August 10, 2001 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, the son of S.H.I.E.L.D agents Mary (née Fitzpatrick) and Richard Parker. When Peter was about five years old, without explanation, his parents told him that he would need to pack his bags and he would be living with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben for a period of time. Richard and Mary did not really tell him the reason why he needed to live with his aunt and uncle as they did not want to scare him. Richard had a hunch that one of their S.H.I.E.L.D co-workers was responsible for a number of deaths in the locations of their work, and Richard was finally proven right when he got a recording of the guy. Richard and Mary than got on a plane to Afghanistan for a mission, but the criminal knew that Mary and Richard knew too much and had them killed. Their deaths were later covered up as a plane crash. Prior to their deaths however, Richard and Mary had another child unknown to Peter, a daughter and Peter's younger sister, Teresa.

Peter was raised by his aunt and uncle, seeing them as his surrogate parents. Peter got his love for pop culture and preference to old-school music from his uncle. Peter also idolized the Avengers, with Iron Man being his favorite of them. The main reason for Iron Man being is favorite was because when he was eight years old, Iron Man saved him at the Stark Expo when drones were attacking. As Peter reached his high school years, he grew to be a prodigy in multiple scholastic subjects at Midtown High School, and received top honors. Despite this however, Peter struggled communicating with others and was often ignored and ostracized from his peers. He was also a target of consistent verbal bullying, though it rarely got physical. Peter already knew many of the students at Midtown High, as he had went to school with them in prior years, and he was unpopular in grade school as well as middle school due to being seen as a "nerd" and a "bookworm". He was also trolled on his social media accounts from his classmates, the worst offender being that of popular student Eugene "Flash" Thompson. Peter himself viewed most of his classmates with contempt for their treatment of him, and would come off as a rather cold and snarky around them, and many times his classmates would ask him if they can copy his homework, Peter deliberately gives them the wrong answers causing them to fail. He would however be nice to those who are kind to him or in his eyes are worthy of being treated nice to. Another hobby Parker had was cooking, as he loved making dishes from a cookbook his mother left behind for him, the particular dishes in the book contained foods from Puerto Rican, Italian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, and Ashkenazi Jewish cuisines, as well as American foods and other cuisines.

In fall of 2015, when Peter was fourteen years old, he and his class were taken on a field trip to General Techtronics Laboratories East. There, scientists showed the students many different exhibits, but Peter was must intrigued by the genetically modified "super" spiders the scientist created. They explained that they created the spiders with synthesized RNA from six species of spiders including the jumping spider, Darwin's bark spider, camel spider, diving bell spider, wolf spider, and ogre-faced spider. The spiders were also given doses of venom from the Brazilian wandering spider, black widow spider, and brown widow spider, so they are now venomous and are highly resistant to any kind of toxin. Now these spiders have superior strength, speed, endurance, web-building, senses, and jumping abilities. The diving bell spider RNA also gives these spiders more aquatic abilities and can hold their breath for extended periods of time, as well as the Brazilian wandering spider RNA making these spiders very venomous and make them immune or highly resistant to any kind of poison or venom. The combined RNA of all these spiders also makes the super spiders have a radar-like perception of their surroundings, as their brains generates electromagnetic waves which travel outward, bounce off objects, and are again picked up by the brain, which thus determines what its surroundings are. There were exactly fifteen of them, but one of the students were quick to point out that one was missing. As the students moved on to another area, the scientist demonstrated another thing they wanted to show the students. Unknown to everyone, one of the super spiders was above head and was irradiated by the demonstration's particle accelerator. The particle accelerator developed ionizing radiation, particularly gamma radiation and neutron radiation. The spider bit Peter on his hand and oblivious to him, after it fell off his hand it used its last pulses of life to bite his classmate Cindy Moon on the ankle, before dying as it had sustained too much radiation in its system.

Peter felt unwell after the bite, but dealt with it until he went home. When he got home he collapsed, as the spider's venom caused him to become ill. Overnight, Peter's genetic makeup begins to alter, as the super spider's bite transferred its genetic information to Parker, fusing and splicing Parker's DNA with spider genes, which was primed with radiation. As Parker awoke he felt much better. He picked out his clothes, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and put on his glasses, almost missing the bus. When Peter got to school, he found out that his senses have been heightened dramatically, and in his words they were "dialed to eleven", causing a sensory overload. His senses got so overloaded by lunch period that he decided that he needed to get some air and clear his head. As Peter ran out the building, he did not notice that there was a car heading straight to him. Peter jumped out of the way and was shocked to find out the he was actually sticking to the wall. Peter found that he can climb walls and had the strength and agility of a spider. As he made it to the top of the building he was climbing. Peter put two-and-two together that these abilities must be tied to the spider bite at the demonstration the day prior, and decided to test them out, now fulling realizing that he could do whatever a spider can. The super spider that bit Peter spliced his DNA with the genes of the several species of spiders it possessed, and since that spider was also radioactive, it also caused Peter to possess radioactive bodily fluids and blood. The genes of the spider in conjunction with the radioactive, complex mutagenic enzymes in the spider's blood that were transferred at the time of the bite triggered numerous body-wide mutagenic changes within Parker, granting him superhuman strength, speed, toughened flesh, and numerous arachnid-like abilities. The genetically-engineered spiders were just normal spiders who biochemists used gene splicing to make them "super". The spider that bit Peter in particular was a genetically enhanced six-spotted fishing spider whose genes were spliced with those other spider types.

A couple days later, Parker encountered an ad offering a cash prize for lasting three minutes in the ring with Joseph "Crusher" Hogan, Peter decided this would be a good way to test his powers. Wanting to remain anonymous so he can avoid ridicule if he loses, Peter made a wrestling suit and named himself "The Spider". Using his knowledge from WWE and his new powers, Parker defeated Hogan with ease. Like promised, the wrestling gave Parker the money they advertised. Peter actually wanted to use the money to help his Aunt May and Uncle Ben move out of their house, as they had their eyes on an apartment but were short on money.

TV producer Maxwell Shiffman observed his performance and convinced him to go on television with his 'act'. Desperate for money and actually enjoying the thrill of wrestling, Parker agreed. After a visit to the Goodwill store and using items from his room, Parker designed and made a cheap costume and fabricated synthetic webbing and wrist-mounted web-shooters, using chemicals from his school and dumpster-diving to create the web-shooters, Peter debuted as Spider-Man, becoming an instant sensation. Parker remains unsure on how he knew how to create a web formula by heart, but suspects that when he got bitten the spider passed on instinctive knowledge on how to combine certain enzymes to create strong and sticky webbing, which he mostly credits the darwin's bark spider gene he possesses.

Over the coming days as Peter's popularity as Spider-Man grew and he was actually coming close to the amount of money in his goal, a mugger robbed the TV station which Peter allowed to run past him without using his abilities to stop the mugger deciding that it was not his problem and that he should let the police do their job. A couple days later, Peter had finally achieved his goal, and went home excitedly to tell his aunt and uncle the good news, but was shocked to see a cop car parked in front of his home. When he went inside a police officer informed him that his Uncle Ben had been murdered, as he surprised the burglar and took the bullet for May. Learning the police had the burglar responsible holed up in a warehouse, Peter changed into Spider-Man and easily captured him, only to discover he was the same thief he had allowed to escape earlier. Peter beat up the burglar named Dennis Carradine and was about to finish him off but he could not bring himself to do it, and instead webbed up Carradine for the police.

The heartbroken and remorse-filled Parker blamed himself for his uncle's death, and vowed that he will carry on and use his powers for good. Parker made good on his promise and operated as Spider-Man independently for six months until he was contacted by Tony Stark, who revealed that he knew that he was Spider-Man and recruited him to join his conflict with Avengers members acting in violation of the Sokovia Accords, led by Steve Rogers. During those six months and prior to being recruited by Tony, Parker had discovered that he had 20/20 eyesight sometime after the spider bite, but continued to wear glasses to maintain his perception as a geek in order to avoid anyone suspecting him of Spider-Man. And while he was tempted to participate in more physical activities and show off to his classmates, he once again held off to keep his cover and him having a superhuman advantage. The one time he willingly participated in a physical activity was when Flash broke his glasses and challenged him to a fight after school, which was then changed to a boxing match. During the match, Peter is afraid of really hurting Flash with his spider-strength, and holds back as much as he can. His spider instincts and lightning fast reflexes enables him to dodge Flash's punches in the split second he throws them, but from Flash's and Peter's classmates' perspective he is just staying out of Flash's reach. When Peter finally decided to land a hit on Flash, and even though he held back as much as he cold, he hit Flash with enough force to send him flying out of the ring. During round two, Peter knocked Flash out cold with a single punch, but he was booed by his classmates because Flash had his head turned at the time. After this incident, Peter decided to no longer participate in physical activities. Flash however still continued to bully Peter, albeit now he is more verbal than physical.

Richard Parker's biography
Richard Parker was born September 9, 1967 in Lakewood, Jefferson County, Colorado, the son of Allen Christopher Parker (1934-2010) and Geraldine Vanessa "Jerry" Wells (1939-2024). His father was a native of Wichita, Kansas, while his mother was from Denver, Colorado. Both of his parents were of Old Stock American heritage. Richard married Mary Fitzpatrick in 1999 in Denver, and when Mary got pregnant they moved to New York City, where Richard's brother Ben moved many years ago for college. Richard and Mary met while they became agents of SHIELD. Richard and Mary were killed in Afghanistan on August 27, 2006. Their daughter Teresa was born about a month prior.

Richard's paternal grandfather was Herbert Frankford Parker (the son of Andrew Bartholomew Parker and Charlotte Grace "Lottie" Thorsen). Herbert was born in Illinois. Andrew was the son of George William Parker and Theresa Ann Holland. Charlotte was the daughter of Julius Michael Thorsen and Henrietta Amelia Eriksen, who were Norwegian emigrants.

Richard's paternal grandmother was Selina Rosemary Dunn (the daughter of Joseph Buchanan Dunn and Mary Edna Laudenberg). Selina was born in Kansas. Joseph was born in Kansas, the son of Andrew Houston Dunn and Rachel Susana Stonebraker. Mary was born in Iowa, the daughter of Adam Samuel Laudenberg and Margaret "Maggie" Konen. Adam and Margaret were Luxembourgian emigrants.

Richard's maternal grandfather was Marvin Eugene "Vinny" Wells (the son of Robert Redmond Wells and Annie Laura Velchek). Marvin was born in Colorado. Robert was born in Kansas, the son of Romeo Ernest Black and Virginia Marie Judge. Annie was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Martin Velchek, who was an  Austrian emigrant from Theresienfeld, Bezirk Wiener Neustadt-Land, Lower Austria, and of Louisa Calliope Gaffney, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Richard's maternal grandmother was Florence Eleanor King (the daughter of Edward Vincent "Ned" King and Pearl Caroline Sorensen). Florence was born in Utah. Edward was born in Utah, the son of Charles Thomas King and Leona Belle Wolf. Pearl was born in Colorado, the daughter of Frederick Pedersen "Fred" Sorensen, who was a Danish emigrant from Præstø, Vordingborg, Sjælland, Denmark, and Elizabeth Goodnight "Bessie" McLauchlen.

Mary Fitzpatrick's biography
Mary Fitzpatrick was born on September 16, 1967 in Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia. She was the middle child of three children born to Betty Sue (née Enoch) (1939-2003), an insurance broker, and William James "Wild Will" Fitzpatrick (1941-2018), an archaeologist. At the time of Mary's birth her father got a big break in his archaeologist career, and was offered a job in Colombia to promote agricultural development. Mary's father was a Catholic from Santa Fe, New Mexico and was of Irish, English, German, French, Scottish, Dutch, Flemish Belgian, Swedish, Italian, French-Canadian, and Puerto Rican descent, while Betty was an Ashkenazi Jew from Philadelphia, whose families came from Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, and Romania. While in Colombia, Mary's family actively attended Little Candles Day celebrations. When Mary was eight years old, her family finally left Colombia and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mary spoke fluent Spanish and it took time to fully learn English. As aforementioned, Mary was born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, and celebrated both Christian and Jewish holidays. Mary's brothers Zachariah and Paul, actively went to a local synagogue with their mother and both received bar mitzvah ceremonies, while Mary went to church and was baptized, and later got communion and confirmation. Mary also learned how to make her favorite Jewish dishes from her bube (grandmother), such as gefilte fish, chicken soup, mandel bread, and chocolate babka, among other dishes. Mary attended Albuquerque High School and earned her diploma in 1985. She then enrolled at University of Southern California, and graduated with a double-major degree in human biology and architectural and building sciences. She then met Richard Parker at S.H.I.E.L.D. and married him in 1999, and having a son in 2001. They later had another child named Teresa in 2006 about a month prior to her and Richard's demise.

Mary's paternal grandfather was Clarence Baylor "Clancy" Fitzpatrick (the son of Michael Joseph Fitzpatrick and Lillian May Marshall). Clarence was born in Nebraska. He was born on December 18, 1922 the seventh of fourteen children. Clarence served in World War II and was killed in action in Italy on September 13, 1944. His older brother Maurice Chauncy Fitzpatrick (1920-1944), was killed in action two months prior in France during the Normandy invasion. Michael was born in Illinois, the son of Estes Albany Fitzpatrick and Mary Antoinette Agee. Lillian was born in Kansas, the daughter of Ephraim Marshall and Catherine Stark.

Mary's paternal grandmother was Josephine Violet Saggese (the daughter of Norbert Peter Saggese and Ana Maria Gonzalez). Josephine was born in Texas. Norbert was born in Massachusetts, to an Italian father and a French-Canadian mother, Victor Alberto Saggese and Marie Frances Fontaine. Maria was born in Isabela, Puerto Rico, the daughter of Isidro Benejan Gonzalez y Betancourt and Francisca Sebastiana Garcia.

Mary's maternal grandfather was Benjamin Morton Enoch (the son of Albert Enoch and Jessie Kuchinsky). Benjamin was born in Maryland. Albert was a Russian-Jewish emigrant, the son of Moses Idel Enoch and Shifra Garfinkel. Celia was a Polish-Jewish emigrant, and was the daughter of Wolf Kuczynski and Rachel Rosenberg.

Mary's maternal grandmother was Lois Caroline Kane (the daughter of Maurice Moshe "Morris" Kane and Elizabeth Frances "Fannie" Berger). There was a eighteen year age difference between Lois' parents, as Maurice was born in 1873 and Elizabeth was born in 1891. Lois was the third of sixteen children and the seventeenth of her father, as he had fourteen kids from his previous marriage. Maurice was the son of Ukrainian Jewish emigrants, Louis Cohen and Yetta Lowenthal. Elizabeth was the daughter of Abraham Berger, who was a Hungarian Jewish emigrant, and of Isla Rachel Savage, who was born in England, the daughter of Romanian Jewish parents.

The story of Peter's ancestors
Herbert Frankford Parker, Peter's great-grandfather was born on August 13, 1909 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Herbert passed away on January 15, 1987 in Kansas City, Kansas. Herbert had two brothers, Richard "Dick" Parker (1909-1979) and Sebastian Parker (1913-2001). His parents were Andrew Bartholomew Parker and Charlotte Grace "Lottie" Thorsen. Andrew Parker, Peter's great-great-grandfather was born June 10, 1877 in New Palestine, Randolph County, Illinois, the son of George William Parker and Theresa Ann Holland, both natives of Kentucky. Charlotte Thorsen, Peter's great-great-grandmother, was of Norwegian parentage, the daughter of Julius Michael Thorsen (1837-1897), of Åndalsnes, Rauma, Møre og Romsdal, and of Henrietta Amelia Eriksen (1840-1926), of Trondheim, Trøndelag. Charlotte was born on January 1, 1887 in the Hegewisch neighborhood in Chicago. Charlotte was the youngest of fourteen children. Her siblings included Celia Barbara Thorsen (1857-1933), Florence Hannah Thorsen (1858-1911), Thor Thorsen (1860-1948), Loki Thorsen (1861-1950), Olaf Thorsen (1863-1899), Joseph Michael Thorsen (1867-1962), Peter Marcus Thorsen (1869-1939), Daniel Alfred Thorsen (1870-1944), Christian Douglas Thorsen (1873-1952), Thomas Theodore Thorsen (1874-1970), Francis Thorsen (1878-1974), Kenneth Espen Thorsen (1879-1975), and Mary Frances Thorsen (1881-1957). Charlotte passed away on November 23, 1982 in Kansas City, Kansas.

Selina Rosemary Dunn was Peter's great-grandmother. She was born on August 8, 1914 in Garden City, Finney County, Kansas, the daughter of Joseph Buchanan Dunn (1894-1976) and Mary Edna Laudenberg (1891-1960). Her mother was of Luxembourgian descent. Selina passed away on December 30, 2007 in Houston, Texas. Joseph Buchanan Dunn was born on March 18, 1894 in Carbondale, Osage County, Kansas, the son of Andrew Houston Dunn (1846-1932), of New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and of Rachel Susana Stonebraker (1860-1928), of Morris, Grundy County, Illinois. Selina's mother Mary Edna Laudenberg, was born on April 6, 1891 in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, the daughter of Luxembourgian parents, Adam Samuel Laudenberg (1868-1901), of Koerich, Canton de Capellen, and of Margaret "Maggie" Konen (1870-1944), of Erpeldange, Canton de Diekirch.

Peter's great-grandfather was Marvin Eugene "Vinny" Wells. He was born on May 20, 1915 in Ponderosa Park, Elbert County, Colorado, the son of Robert Redmond Black (1890-1978) and Annie Laura Velchek (1894-1986). Marvin had two brothers Wesley Arthur Wells (1911-1989) and Matthew Wells (1917-2006). Marvin attended University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and graduated with a degree in chemistry in 1937. He married Florence King in 1938, and later had a daughter named Geraldine on November 30, 1939. Marvin later served as a private in the United States Army during World War II. He was a fighter pilot and had survived an astonishing 111 missions flying Mustangs and Spitfires. Marvin was preceded in death by Florence, and passed away on November 6, 1996 in Crystal Bay, Washoe County, Nevada. Marvin's father Robert was born on December 9, 1890 in Argonia, Sumner County, Kansas, the son of Romeo Ernest Wells (1862-1930), of Kempton, Jefferson Township, Tipton County, Indiana, and of Virginia Marie Judge (1867-1954), of North Webster, Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana. Virginia's father was an Irish Catholic farmer from Nenagh. Marvin's mother Annie was born on July 14, 1894 in Mineral Point, Iowa County, Wisconsin. She was the eighth of eleven children, and was the daughter of Martin Velchek (1854-1933), who was an Austrian emigrant from Theresienfeld, Bezirk Wiener Neustadt-Land, Lower Austria, and of Louisa Calliope Gaffney (1862-1938), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Annie's siblings were Charles Francis Velchek (1882-1929), John Joseph Velchek (1884-1943), Simon Lewis Velchek (1885-1952), Herbert Franklin Velchek (1887-1964), Albert Stephen Velchek (1888-1970), Marianna Manuela Velchek (1889-1985), Frances Amelia Velchek (1891-1979), Matthew William Velchek (1897-1995), Andrew Benedict Velchek (1902-1980), and Theresa Helen Velchek (1905-2001).

Peter's great-grandmother was Florence Eleanor King. Florence was born on August 14, 1911 in Spanish Fork, Utah County, Utah. She was one of eight children. Her siblings included Eugene Conrad King (1907-1966), Elizabeth Antonella "Bessie" King (1909-1979), Walter Everette King (1910-1998), Hugh Alexander King (1913-2008), Terrance Hunter King (1915-2000), Violet Mabel King (1917-1999), and Ora Mae King (1921-2013). Florence was the daughter of Edward Vincent "Ned" King (1884-1923) and Pearl Caroline Sorensen (1889-1973). Florence's father Edward served as a second lieutenant during World War I and when he returned from overseas he became a boxer, but he died of blunt force head trauma when his jealous opponent bludgeoned him with a crowbar after being defeated. In her teens, Florence dated Portuguese boy Francisco "Frank" Perpetua, and had a son with him named Lorenzo Peter Perpetua, born August 20, 1929, when Florence was eighteen and Frank was twenty. Florence and Francisco subsequently tied the knot in the summer of 1932, in between Florence's junior and senior year at University of Utah. Florence and Francisco had a second son, Felix Augustine Perpetua, born June 1, 1934. Francisco and Florence separated and later divorced when Felix was two, citing irreconcilable differences. She later got remarried with Marvin "Vinny" Wells on July 12, 1938 in Springdale, Utah, where their daughter Geraldine was born on November 30, 1939. When Geraldine was three, the family relocated to Broomfield, Colorado. Florence passed away on August 21, 1981 in Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado. Florence's father Edward was born on October 30, 1884 in Pleasant Grove, Utah County, Utah, the son of Charles Thomas King (1855-1916), of Kingdom City, Callaway County, Missouri, and of Leona Belle Wolf (1861-1913), of Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois. Florence's mother Pearl was born on March 30, 1889 in Sanford, Conejos County, Colorado, the daughter of Frederick Pedersen "Fred" Sorensen (1841-1910), who was a Danish emigrant from Præstø, Vordingborg, Sjælland, Denmark, and of Elizabeth Goodnight "Bessie" McLauchlen (1866-1956), of Aurora, Kane County, Illinois. Bessie's parents were John McLauchlen (1834-1918), of New Winchester, Whetstone Township, Crawford County, Ohio, and of Bertha Goodnight (1836-1921), of Jeffersonville, Montgomery County, Kentucky.

On Peter's maternal side, his great-grandfather was Clarence "Clancy" Fitzpatrick. He was born on December 22, 1922 in Peru, Nemaha County, Nebraska the son of Michael Joseph Fitzpatrick (1900-1973) and Lillian May Marshall (1898-1957). Clarence was of Old Stock American heritage. Clarence was the seventh of fourteen children. His siblings included Marts Karlton Fitzpatrick (1916-1988), Margaret Amanda "Maggie" Fitzpatrick (1917-2015), Luise Madeline Fitzpatrick (1918-1998), Maurice Chauncy Fitzpatrick (1920-1944), Donna Olivia Fitzpatrick (1920-2009), Ruth Yvonne Fitzpatrick (1920-2013), Alyce Golda Fitzpatrick (1921-2008), Charles Francis Fitzpatrick (1924-2017), Richard Eugene Fitzpatrick (1926-2006), Cornelia Maxine Fitzpatrick (1927-2024), Raymond Gilbert Fitzpatrick (1929-2011), Marilyn Georgiana Fitzpatrick (1930-1995), and George Edward Fitzpatrick (1931-2014). Michael was born on June 23, 1900 in El Paso Township, Woodford County, Illinois, the son of Estes Albany Fitzpatrick (1874-1953), of Washington, Ozan Township, Hempstead County, Arkansas, and of Mary Antoinette Agee (1876-1966), of Bostwick, Morgan County, Georgia. Mary's patrilineal line traces back to Jean-Louis Gaspard Agee (1607-1697), who was born in Plumaugat, Côtes-d'Armor, Bretagne, France. Jean-Louis immigrated to Saint Kitts and Nevis, some of his descendants and many of which were Mary's direct ancestors intermarried with natives of the island and slaves of African descent. Lillian was born on July 7, 1898 in Osage City, Osage County, Kansas, the daughter of Ephraim Marshall (1869-1954), of Flora, Clay County, Illinois, and of Catherine "Kate" Stark (1874-1943), of Cleveland, Jackson Township, Hancock County, Indiana. Clarence's family moved to San Antonio, Texas when he was six years old. He met Josephine Saggese in 1939. They soon got married and had a child named William Fitzpatrick on July 17, 1941. Their second son Ralph Waldo Emerson Fitzpatrick was born on February 10, 1943. Clarence soon enlisted in the United States Army and was killed in action on September 13, 1944 in Villanova di Bagnacavallo, Provincia di Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was twenty-one years old.

Peter's great-grandmother was Josephine Violet Saggese. She was born on December 14, 1920 in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Josephine was the daughter of Norbert Peter Saggese (1889-1979) and Ana Maria Gonzalez (1896-1930). Josephine had two siblings Bruno Bernardo Saggese (1919-2014) and Dolores Catarina Saggese (1922-2016). Josephine's father Norbert was born on February 3, 1889 in Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, the son of Italian immigrant Victor Alberto Saggese, of Bologna, and of French Canadian immigrant, Marie Frances Fontaine, of Saint-Jérôme, Québec. Josephine's mother Ana was of Puerto Rican descent, and was born on June 10, 1895, in Isabela, Puerto Rico. Through Ana's Puerto Rican ancestry, she had Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, African, Taíno, and Sephardic Jewish blood. She was the daughter of Isidro Benejan Gonzalez y Betancourt (1870-1958) and Francisca Sebastiana Garcia (1877-1970). She was the oldest of fifteen children, her siblings included Catarina Gonzalez (1897-1995), Marcos Miguel Gonzalez (1899-1956), Michaela Gonzalez (1900-1989), Isidro Garcia Gonzalez (1901-1991), Juan José Gonzalez (1903-1980), Alvino Sebastiano Gonzalez (1904-1944), Santiago Gonzalez (1905-2000), Ignacio Manuel Gonzalez (1907-1960), Francisca Olaya Gonzalez (1909-1979), Pedro Alejandro Gonzalez (1910-1997), Maria Gertrudis Gonzalez (1912-1990), Eduardo Carlos Gonzalez (1913-2003), Monica Gonzalez (1916-2008), Josefa Francisca Gonzalez (1917-2012), and Roberta Violet Gonzalez (1924-2017). Following Ana's graduation from Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in 1917, Ana came to America. Isidro was born in Moca, Puerto Rico, the son of Miguel González y Domínguez (1850-1926) and Mercedes Aquino Betancourt y Rodriguez (1848-1915). Miguel was the son of Manuel Fernando González y Belmonte (1828-1902) and Isabela Domínguez y Villegas (1830-1924). Manuel's mother, Alma Cecilia Belmonte (1802-1879), was the daughter of Alfredo Giacomo Belmonte (1769-1838), an Italian merchant from San Damiano d'Asti, and of Luce Françoise Lefèvre (1774-1862), of Léogâne, Ouest, Haiti, a former Haitian slave who fled from Haiti to Puerto Rico during the Haitian Revolution. Luce's paternal grandmother Delphine Élisabeth Belafonte (1729-1769), was the daughter of Laurence Belafonte (1710-1794) an Afro-Jamaican slave originally from Falmouth, Trelawny Parish who was relocated to Haiti, and Teresa Inés Acevedo (1707-1777), who was a Mexican native of Monterrey. Mercedes was the daughter of Agustín Betancourt y Rojas (1821-1908) and Gabriela Rodriguez y Medina (1823-1912). Francisca was born in Aguadilla, the daughter of Bernardo Hugo Garcia y Gomez (1849-1885) and Monica del Madrigal Font (1855-1885). Bernardo was of African descent, descended from African slaves who were brought to Puerto Rico during the Atlantic slave trade, while Monica was a Sephardi Jew, descended from Jews who fled from Spain and Portugal during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, as well as some recent migrants as well. Bernardo was Catholic while Monica practiced Crypto-Judaism. Bernardo and Monica were killed in a traffic collision when Francisca was eight, and was adopted by Manuel Pedrosa Martinez (1841-1914) and Jocelyn Reyes Flores (1848-1910).

Josephine's mother passed away on September 29, 1930 of brain aneurysm, leaving Norbert a widower. Josephine attended an all-girls Roman Catholic high school, Incarnate Word High School, and graduated in 1938. Josephine was accepted to the prestigious university Rice University in Houston, and the following year, she met Clarence Fitzpatrick a couple weeks prior to starting her sophomore year. They married on July 12, 1940. In between her junior and senior years of college, Josephine gave birth to their firstborn child, a son in July 1941. Following Josephine's graduation in May 1942, she and Clarence got married the day before their son William's birthday. They had a second son in February 1943. The following year, Clarence was killed in action in Italy when the Spitfire plane he flew was shot down by Nazi forces. Now a widow, Josephine returned to Rice University and earned a teaching degree, deciding to become a special education teacher. She remarried with Charles DeMatthews (1917-2009) on August 7, 1946 and they had four children. Charles was born on August 25, 1918 in Caracas, Venezuela, the daughter of a Peruvian father Héctor Juan Montemayor de Mateo, of Lima, and of a Ecuadorian mother, Rosa Micaela Serrano y Rojas, of Guayaquil. Charlotte Josephine "Charlie" DeMatthews (born July 22, 1947), Steven Joshua "Steve" DeMatthews (born February 17, 1949), Nicola Elizabeth "Nickey" DeMatthews (born May 9, 1950), and Vincent Leopold DeMatthews (born November 17, 1954). Josephine passed away on January 8, 2013 in Prewitt, McKinley County, New Mexico at the age of ninety-two.

Peter's great-grandfather was Benjamin Morton Enoch. He was born on March 17, 1911 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Albert Enoch (1869-1942) and Jessie Kuchinsky (1871-1957). He was the eleventh of sixteen children, his siblings included David Enoch (1891-1961), Bessie Enoch (1893-1983), Joseph Enoch (1894-1985), Abraham Enoch (1897-1972), Hannah Enoch (1898-1981), Libbe Enoch (1900-1994), Sarah "Sadie" Enoch (1902-1999), Florence Enoch (1903-1972), Max Enoch (1907-1970), Solomon Enoch (1909-1979), George Enoch (1912-1969), Frances "Fannie" Enoch (1914-1984), Annie Enoch (1917-2012), Isadore Harold Enoch (1918-2009), and George William Enoch (1920-1944). Albert was a Russian-Jewish emigrant, moving with his family from Saint Petersburg, Russia when he was fifteen. He was the son of Moses Idel Enoch (1843-1927) and Shifra Garfinkel (1845-1931). Jessie was a Polish Jew from Świątki, Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and was the daughter of Wolf Kuczynski (1841-1912) and Rachel Rosenberg (1843-1920). Her family emigrated to America when she was twelve. Benjamin married Lois Kane in 1934 a year after his graduation from Pennsylvania State University, and had six children, Jacqueline Enoch (1935-2016), Margaret Jean "Peggy" Enoch (1936-2004), Arlene Enoch (1938-2011), Rebecca Susan Enoch (1939-2003), Sheila Liliana Enoch (1941-2022), and Melvin Enoch (1943-1997). Benjamin passed away on May 24, 1969 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, at the age of fifty-eight.

Lois Caroline Kane was Peter's great-grandmother. She was born on March 23, 1909 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and passed away on May 16, 2002 in Tucson, Arizona. She was the daughter of Maurice Moshe "Morris" Kane (1873-1949) and Elizabeth Frances "Fannie" Berger (1891-1984). Rebecca was the third of sixteen children, her siblings included Isaac Samuel Kane (1907-1956), Peter Hilliard Kane (1908-1989), Louis Bernard Kane (1912-2003), Ernest William Kane (1914-2010), Mary Josephine "Mollie" Kane (1915-1988), Esther Delores Kane (1917-2009), Abraham Wilson Kane (1920-1990), David Benjamin Kane (1921-2006), Andrew Lucas Kane (1921-2006), Abigail Ruth Kane (1921-2012), Claudia Gwendolyn Kane (1923-2000), Annie Octavia Kane (1924-2011), Timothy Walter Kane (1926-2018), Alfred Gene Kane (1931-2008), and Richard Frankford "Dick" Kane (1934-2019). Maurice was born in The Bronx on March 1, 1873, the son of Ukrainian-Jewish emigrants from Kharkiv, Louis Cohen (1832-1920) and Yetta Lowenthal (1836-1923). Maurice was the fifth of eight children, following Julia Madeline Kane (1861-1947), Elizabeth Irene Kane (1864-1951), Mary Jane Kane (1867-1960), Meyer Alexander Kane (1869-1962), and preceding Arthur Josiah Kane (1875-1940), Bertha Adeline Kane (1878-1972), and Edith Emma Kane (1882-1963). Maurice married Russian-Jewish girl Margaret Louise "Marge" Velasco (1873-1903), when he was fourteen years old. Marge's birthday was August 27, 1873, and she and Maurice married on August 8, 1887, nineteen days before her fourteenth birthday. Their firstborn child, a daughter, was born later that year on November 9, 1887, her name was Henrietta Carla Kane (1887-1953). Following Henrietta was the birth of more children, Walter Alfred Kane (1888-1970), Irving Anthony Kane (1889-1984), Catherine Matilda Kane (1891-1987), Elizabeth Jessie "Elsie" Kane (1893-1990), James Albert "Jimmy" Kane (1894-1982), Thomas Andrew "Tommy" Kane (1894-1992), Henry Richard Kane (1894-1994), Martin Chance Kane (1896-1973), Jerome Carter Kane (1898-1980), Samuel Isaac Kane (1899-1986), Matthew Lewis "Mathis" Kane (1900-1998), Emmanuel Alfonso Kane (1901-1968), and Muriel Cecile Kane (1903-2001). Muriel was born January 3, 1903, and six months later, on July 18, 1903 Marge died of accidental nitrogen asphyxiation, she was twenty-nine years old. Maurice mourned her death for many months, when he finally got a new job, but had to relocate to Philadelphia for it. There, he met Elizabeth "Fannie" Berger, and despite the age difference between the two that did not stop them from pursuing a relationship. They got married on November 16, 1906 and later welcomed sixteen children. Maurice passed away on November 25, 1949. Elizabeth was born on March 5, 1891 in Philadelphia, the daughter of Abraham Berger (1868-1953) and Isla Rachel Savage (1864-1948). Abraham was a Hungarian Jew while Isla was born in England, to Romanian Jewish parents. Elizabeth had six siblings, including Mary Ann Berger (1886-1956), Genevieve Caroline "Jenny" Berger (1888-1968), Nancy Priscilla Berger (1894-1987), Shelley Eleanor Berger (1899-1979), Joel Zaccheus Berger (1903-1999), and John Moses Berger (1908-1994). Elizabeth passed away on May 23, 1984 in Loma Linda, San Bernardino, California. Elizabeth's father Abraham was born on February 14, 1868 in Nagykálló, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, then Szabolcs County, the son of Rabbi Shalom Yosef Berger (1843-1927) and Menucha Fingerhut (1846-1935). Abraham's family moved to Flushing, Queens when he was twelve. He had eight siblings, Wesley Berger (1864-1942), Anna Berger (1865-1950), Laura Berger (1869-1956), Libbe "Sallie" Berger (1871-1964), Natania "Nat" Berger (1873-1951), James Matthew "Jim" Berger (1874-1967), Cornelia Lillian Berger (1877-1974), and Luna Belle Berger (1882-1979). Abraham passed away on November 24, 1953 in Springfield, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth's mother Isla was born on June 27, 1864 in Spitalfields, Middlesex, England, the daughter of Nathan Savage (1840-1936) and Gertrude Siegel (1836-1921), both Romanians of Jewish descent originally from Huși, Vaslui County, Romania. Isla was one of twenty-two children and her siblings included Joseph Solomon Savage (1858-1939), Sidney Lewis Savage (1859-1941), Moses Daniel Savage (1861-1954), Mary Frances Savage (1863-1936), Anna Margaretha Savage (1865-1948), John Adam Savage (1867-1934), Emmanuel Levi Savage (1868-1942), Agnes Naomi Savage (1869-1944), Samuel Isaac Savage (1871-1950), Isadore Harry Savage (1872-1956), Helen Louise Savage (1873-1933), Isadora Celeste Savage (1873-1966), Daniel Bennett Savage (1875-1970), Philip Nolan Savage (1878-1972), Stella Adelaide Savage (1880-1975), Peter Sebastian Savage (1881-1940), Max Leonard Savage (1883-1972), Freda Delores Savage (1884-1984), Dorothy Beatrice Savage (1886-1979), Beulah Earnestine "Bee" Savage (1888-1978), and Simon Wolfe Savage (1889-1984). Isla and two of her sisters Mary and Anna left England in 1883 and emigrated to the United States, renting a small apartment in Maspeth, Queens. The following year, she met Abraham Berger, and they married the year after that on March 16, 1885. Abraham moved in with Isla and her sisters. They had their first two children Mary and Genevieve in Queens and conceived their third daughter there, but moved to Philadelphia while Isla was three months pregnant. Isla passed away on October 24, 1948 in Springfield, Pennsylvania.