Hi, I’m Chris Starfire (and have been Catastrfy online since 1993), and here are some of my projects:
2024: Researching Sarah A. Thomas whose grave is on the Seminoe Cutoff of the Oregon Trail above Lander, WY.
The grave of Sarah A. Thomas was one of the last known graves on the Oregon-California trail where the name, age, and date of death was known but nothing else had been discovered.
When I saw OCTA’s video about her grave, the story felt familiar to me, so I started researching. Here are my results: Sarah A. Thomas–Who Was She?
UPDATE 15 June 2024: I spent a fair bit of time combing through the Iowa State Census records. The Thomases and Campbells are listed in Washington Township in 1852, but in 1854, both are gone.
This is the first indication I’ve found that Randy Brown was right on the money when he said it was very likely that the Campbells & Thomases travelled to California together. And it helps explain the oddity of Sarah’s 16 y.o. sister Lucinda travelling with them if the entire family was travelling together.
UPDATE August 2024: I’m currently working on an extensive tree for the Campbell and Thomas families. I hope that if Sarah has living descendents herself or descendents of her siblings, that they’ll enjoy having information on the extended family.
UPDATE November 2024: Randy Brown sent in a Letter to the Editor of the Overland Journal updating them on my research. Exciting to see my name in print in the journal of the Oregon California Trails Association (OCTA)!
Spring to Winter 2024: Pride Tartans!
I love tartan and I’m queer, genderqueer, and aspec. So this year has been Pride Tartans time: Aspec, Bi, Genderqueer, Lesbian, Nonbinary, Pansexual, Rainbow, and Transgender Pride. You can find them on all sorts of things at Redbubble; click on the Tartan Designs Collection to find them.
(I also made one silly tartan using Wade & Logan’s colours this past Fall and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.)
I’m currently proofing the Pride Tartanas on Spoonflower fabric, and it look GREAT!
Winter 2023-current: my “Watching Over Me” walls
As my body gets weaker, I get great comfort from having pictures of people and characters I love around me, watching over me. It started with my collection of Stormé DeLarverié photos and fan art of Aziraphale and Crowley, plus cats. Thank you to the incredible photographers and artists who’ve shared with me! This fall/winter I’ve added fan art of the movie Wade and Logan and photos of Wade and Logi Bear at Disneyland to the wall.
2020-2024: Comfort Dolls!
I’m still attempting to make Crowley and Aziraphale dolls or bears to keep me company when I’m not well enough to get up. And now I’m planning Deadpool and Wolverine dolls or bears too. Will I ever be well enough to use the sewing machine without stitching my fingers (again)? Stay tuned for the hopefully not exciting but happymaking answer!
2016-2024: Autisticat
I started making Autisticat designs for Autistic Acceptance April in 2016. You can find Autisticat at autisticat.com and facebook.com/Autisticat. I sell my Autisticat designs at Redbubble, Amazon, and Zazzle 1 & Zazzle 2 currently
2018-2023: Stormé DeLarverié
I began researching Stormé Delaverié in early 2018 when I realised she was both being celebrated as a myth and being used by racists and transphobes in an attempt to disenfranchise heroes from the Stonewall era, while the incredible person she was was being not only forgotten, but erased. Thanks to friends and family of Stormé, I found more than I could’ve imagined. I created a website in her honour: Stormé DeLarverié
I’ve since transferred the site to Jeanne Stanley, my dear friend and fellow Stormé researcher. She’ll protect Stormé’s legacy and my research after I’m gone.
2014: Interview with Mark Greyland
After his sister went public with abuse from their mother, Marion Zimmer Bradley, I interviewed Mark Greyland and we became friends.
After too much public attention, he requested that I take it down. Several years later he said he’d like it available again, but I was too ill to do it then. Mark has since died, and I’m finally fulfilling his request: Secret Keeper No More: An Interview With Mark Greyland