The Archives of

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei

Part 3

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei (Metro DC) held a meeting on January 25, 1997 at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia. Thirteen researchers (including one new) attended and shared their search endeavors and results. Queries to other PIPs for a possible Northeast Regional PIP have gone unanswered as of this time. We will continue to pursue it. John TROMBA updated us via e-mail. Other POINTers can visit our homepage, courtesy of Luigi ALFANO:

John TROMBA (#2915) is still waiting for a response to his FOIA request to the FBI. He also found another branch of his family recently and was able to attend their family reunion--meeting 40+ new relatives!

Lou ALFANO (#2114) brought his usual supply of reference books for members to peruse. March 29th marks the centennial of the immigration of his DENATALE ancestors on his father's mother's side. Since he has been sharing genealogical research with members of his family, they are planning a reunion at a restaurant on Mulberry Street in Manhattan, where his great-grandfather had his original jewelry store. Another DENATALE noted Lou's family story on the internet and since then Lou has discovered 10 more cousins. And through his Vasto homepage on the Internet, honoring his maternal grandparents, he has been contacted by several cousins. Revelation of a name change led to a branch of one family that had lost contact with the rest of the family.

Richard CAMAUR (#3158) related of his recent research in Sonoma County, California, which led to his viewing the citizenship documents for a relative.

Kay HOGAN-TORPEY (#2543) has sent a letter to Argentina inquiring about her great-grandfather, Giuseppe QUARESIMA and his brother, Vincenzo both going to Buenos Aires in 1884.

John IACONIS (#2953) is new member.

JoAnn HOLMES (#2580) continues to search through ship passenger lists.

Vince BONZAGNI (#1893) continues to attend law school at night.

Marie & Alden BESTUL (#1025) continue to peruse the FHC microfilms.

John MAFODDA (#2585) and his family are corresponding with possible relatives in Australia and Sicilia.

Stephen J. CARFORA (#1279) is trying to get photographs from the historical society of the Bronx of houses where his relatives lived. He was advised of a NYC gocernment source for these photos.

Bill MENZA (#1029) told about a recent letter from a Franco MENZA of Roma, Italia, to whom he had written using the Italian Assistant. Franco's reply was a very friendly one and included some of his research on Menza's in Sicilia. He said that the Menza's are likely from Catania and from there migrated to other parts of Italy including Salerno, Milan, and Roma. A search on the Internet also turned up some interesting "hits" for Menza. Don MENZA, a leading jazz saxophonist, Nick MENZA the drummer of the Megadeth metal rock group, and others, he plans to write to. Bill also passed out information on various genealogical web sites and on genealogy computer programs.

Thomas FUSCO (#2292) brought along his new son of a few months, thus limiting his available time for research pursuits!

Our next meeting will be on April 19, 1997 at the same location, but a new time of 1:00-3:30 pm.

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei (Metro DC) gathered at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia on April 19, 1997. We numbered 13, along with two visitors, and updated everyone on our research pursuits.

Marie and Alden BESTUL (#1025) brought their daughter and granddaughter, Nina and Kate AUGUSTINE. They recently completed a BESTUL family book to take along on their upcoming trip to 'Norvegia.'

Dave NATELLA (#1073) was informed that his response regarding his Italian citizenship may not come for a year, due to the large number of applications.

John TROMBA (#2915) and Hope CASTAGNOLA-BOGORAD (#1629) share a four-star name TROMBA listed in the Spring 1997 POINTers.

Al SANTOS (soon to be a POINTer) reported that his great-grandparents from Campobasso settled in Chester, PA. He is currently researching tombstones and census information.

Linda MORAN (#3235) and Earl JONES are researching BIONDO from Nicosia, Sicilia. They have found a 'RIONDO' arriving on a ship a week later than expected and that he is also a calzolaio (shoemaker) as was her BIONDO. It likely is a match.

Kay HOGAN-TORPEY (#2543) received a response from the Center of Studies of Migration of Latin Americans in Buenos Aires that listed information on QUARESIMA people.

John IACONIS (#2953) and Richard CAMAUR (#3158) are still active in their research.

Lou ALFANO (#2114) reported that 130 relatives of his DeNATALE line came to a reunion to mark the 100th anniversary of his great-grandparents' arrival in America. He has updated his web sites with newly-acquired pictures and continues to host our Mazzei web site.

Paul TRAUNERO (#1541) reported on his submission of a family sketch to be published in the upcoming "History of Seneca County Ohio." The sketch recounts his great-grandparents' arrival to the US and their first generation of Italo-Americani.

We invite all to visit our web site at:

Our next meeting will be on July 26, 1997 at the same location and regular time of 10:00 am. Contact Paul TRAUNERO (#1541) (traunero@ix.netcom.com) for more information.

Return to "Page Guide"

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei (Metro DC) met again on July 26, 1997 at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia. There were 18 attendees which included four new members and two returning members from our inaugural meeting in November 1993. Research was shared and tips and addresses were exchanged from some of the source material available at the meeting. Additionally, a copy of a book about Columbus was presented as a door prize, courtesy of Lou ALFANO. We invite all to visit our website at:

Our next meeting is scheduled for October 25, 1997 at the same location and time of 10:00 am. Contact Paul TRAUNERO (#1541) (traunero@ix.netcom.com) or our homepage for more information.

Lou ROSSO (new) is the youngest of ten children and lost his parents at an early age. He is now researching and has started with their marriage certificate. He was advised to get the marriage license application for possible further information.

Bill MENZA (#1029) in June, attended the 17th Annual Cousins Reunion in Andover, MA with Menza, Manganiello, Merola, Guerino, Fiorillo, and cousins from other family lines. Finding Menzas, Dipesas, and Delofanos through Internet searches and corresponding with them. Letter from a Frank Menza in Roma says Menza originally came from Taranto, Sicilia. Frank said he met a Marjory Menza from Buffalo who was researching the Menza line in Accadia.

John IACONIS (#2953) has finished for now with his father's side and has begun working on his mother's side. This is more arduous due to some missing maiden names!

Tom BRIGGS (#1383) has returned from his job in Germany and is an original member of the Metro DC PIP. He recounted his very successful trip to Sicilia in May. He made some pretrip contacts via P-I-E for his destinations and now has several people that will assist him locally in some research!

Maureen RAINES (#2275) is researching Northern Italy. Her grandmother lost her U.S. citizenship when she married an Italian citizen. She is trying to make the connection between ARGENTA families from Arten and Pedavena (BL).

Carol BASILE (#1950) under the Freedom of Information Act has obtained her grandfather's request for naturalization from the INS.

Marie and Alden BESTUL (#1025) recounted from their trip to 'Norvegia.'

Earl JONES reported that Linda MORAN (#3235) is beginning to write to addresses obtained from Italian phone books. She was visiting her parents and took along her scanner to save available documents.

Jean EVANS (#1607) has traced his VEDOVELLI line from his grandmother to great-grandfather in France. Jean wants to know if there are emigration records from Italy.

Marie (ZASO) POTTER (#1147) is reviving her research in Sicilia after taking a break. She is getting started on the Internet, and hopes that her son can help her out in that area.

Arthur MANFREDI (#3414) has researched five generations in the U.S. and has received military conscription records from Italy. Through 411 on the Internet he has found a cousin who knows where the great-grandparents are buried. Most of his research is focused on Northern Italy.

John MAFODDA (#2585) is in the process of contacting hits from 411 and has found a distant cousin in Australia.

Richard CAMAUR (#3158) recounted his trip to the NGS Conference in the States held in Valley Forge, PA this May. He had praise for many of the presentations. He is giving a local presentation in September regarding methodologies of research in the U.S. and Italy. He finally received a photocopy of a marriage record that gives a different first name of a grandparent. Transcriptions of the record that he already has are in error.

James and Jane FERRIGNO (new) have results of their research from 1800-1915 using the Family History Center materials. They have found a sixth cousin living in the comune of Alcamo (TP). They would like to know if anyone has knowledge of where in Napoli the Spanish may have settled.

Lou ALFANO (#2114) continues to make contacts via the Internet. He has new materials that he will post to his various websites. His reference books regarding ships and surnames get repeated use during our meetings.

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei (Metro DC) met on October 25, 1997 at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia. Among the 16 attendees were four new members, one a long-time POINTer who finally caught up with us.

Several research tips and anecdotes were shared. A new volume of Italians to America is showing up at various research facilities and helped to correct the arrival year of one member's progenitor. In another case the discovery of a name change led to finding other earlier records. Other advice given was to begin at once to interview relatives and be persistent in your search of genealogical materials. Cemetery records should not be overlooked during research and can provide additional information on family groups. WPA work records have also be used as a secondary source. At the close of the meeting an Italian language workbook was given as a door prize.