Barbara Kavanagh

Barbara Kavanagh was born around 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest child of Patrick Kavanagh (a barge captain from Arklow, County Wicklow) and Sarah "Sadie" Rolf (b. Canada). She grew up in Brooklyn alongside her older brother Robert and her two older sisters, Martha and Irene.

By April 1950, the family was living in a second-floor apartment at 180 83rd Street, Brooklyn. At seven years old, Barbara was residing at home with her parents and older siblings, attending school. 

On the 1950 census return, Barbara's line was selected for supplemental questioning, confirming that her father was born in Ireland and her mother in Canada.