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Italian-American Genealogy Meeting Notes

prepared by Barbara (Barb) Morten

The April 14th, 2018 meeting was held at the Westover Branch Library, 1644 N Mckinley Rd, Arlington, VA 22205 Phone: (703) 228-5260

Note that the minutes are maintained on the website:

http://www.circolomazzei.org/

We went around the room discussing our progress, or lack thereof. We were given updates on the continuing difficulty of securing a location for meetings. .

A member had been looking for family records in New England. He called several groups and has been unsuccessful. It was suggested that he talk to librarians for suggestions. The librarian found some who had interviewed the family years ago, and had created a family tree which was found at the NEHGS library on Newbury Street in Boston, MA. It was mentioned that the NEHGS has digitized town records. Also mentioned was the NEHGS has webinars

A member, whose family is Spanish, visited St. Augustine, FL, searching for the name Requena (sp?). She recounted that a man in the library, who normally would not interject himself into anyone’s research, asked her if she knew the significance of the name. She did not and asked for more information. He told her that Requena was the only surviving relative of the original Spanish settlers.

A member whose family names are Sartorio, Dedio, Massena said that her mother’s father and grandfather came in 1908 and went back to Italy. She has family, her mother’s cousins, in Sicily. She said that her grandfather mentioned another child, who she is trying to find. A discussion ensued that included the fact that the child probably has a different surname, if the child’s mother was married to someone else at the time. The possible use of DNA testing was also discussed. However, if the child was never told of the situation, it would be only serendipity if the child had his/her DNA tested.
Then a discussion of the various DNA tests was recounted by several members, along with the legalities and just what you agree to when you sign up for one. A member mentioned the Legal Genealogist, a weekly DNA blog by Judy Russell. Bottom line, make sure you keep a paper trail, and ‘READ the FINE PRINT’ before signing anything.

Two members from Richmond came to the meeting, since there is no Italian genealogy group there. A discussion was held about how they could start up a group there, with suggestions about soliciting members via the Library, or becoming a sub group of an existing local organization. Bottom line, they are welcome to come to our meetings, even if they do start another group and are free to ask for our advice, too.

A member asked for suggestions on finding out what happened to a baby, who was on a Ship Manifest with his mother. The mother and baby were returned to Italy from Ellis Island due to ‘Pink Eye’. The mother came back alone to the US in 1916 and settled in Detroit. There was no death certificate for the baby. The question was asked about what happened if someone was buried at sea. The answer was that records were normally kept by the ship line. It was suggested that the Italian Embassy might be able to help. Also, check the IGG which may have links to Deaths at Ellis Island. Note: I went to the IGG site and it does have a link to Death records, but they are by location and did not include anything specifically for Ellis Island. I also checked the Ellis Island site and it does not have separate Death records.
Steve Morse website has links to Ellis Island

The joint festival, Festa-della-Repubblica, will be held on June 9th, 2018 in Burke, VA at the Nativity Catholic Church. The Festa della Repubblica Italiana (Festival of the Italian Republic) is celebrated every June 2 in Italy to commemorate the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946, when Italy changed from a Kingdom to a Republic. This year, there will be a speaker from the Italian Embassy.

Jake Sako in LA wrote a book about WWII.

There will be an Italian Car show on May 12th, 2018 in Nottoway Park,
91537 Courthouse Rd. Vienna, VA. 22181.

There will be a day trip to Ellis Island on July 25, 2018 with the Shillelaghts travel club. Cost for Seniors is $114.00. Pickup locations in VA and MD

It was suggested that we maintain a Surname/Location of origin on our website. Check our website, as it already may be there. Or send your information to our webmaster and it will be added.

A member mentioned that the data on the Passports might be wrong and agreed that all data needs to be verified. Info from priests may not be accurate.
Info on Census records may be inaccurate: I found a census record (1920) that has my uncle Emilio marked as Female.

A member suggests rechecking Family Search for information periodically. This is true of several sites, as more data is being digitized all the time.

A member has been digitizing family photos. A discussion of black and white photos, and the hand coloring of some early photos were mentioned.

A discussion of Facebook included mentioning that you can connect with family with ‘secret’ groups, so that the information is limited to your group.

It was mentioned that some towns in Sicily are very active on Facebook. Check to see if your Italian commune or region has a website.

A question was asked about doing research in Italy. A member said she has had success with having Joe De Simone, a professional Genealogist, do research for the records that have not been copied in the LDS Library. That is, the more recent records, after 1860.

A member brought in a photo that she showed us in a previous meeting of the Iwo Jima Memorial. She was trying to find out where the original location was. Another member was able to find that the original location was on Constitution Ave. in front of the old Navy Dept. Building which is now the Federal Reserve building. The current location is located in Arlington Ridge Park, near the Ord-Weitzel Gate to Arlington National Cemetery and the Netherlands Carillon.