The Archives of

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei

Part 6

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei held its latest meeting on January 22, 2000 at our usual meeting place, the Dolley Madison Public Library in McLean, Virginia. Seventeen attendees shared their research experiences and traded suggestions in furthering their research.

Bob CARRUBBA is a new PIP member whose parents immigrated in 1905, while still young. He knows their places of birth and is planning a trip. He is currently searching the Italian phone directories.

Judy TAVANO Gardner and Frank (along with wife, Marion) AZZARITA have discovered that their share the TAVANO surname in their lineage and are now trying to define the linkage.

Art MANFREDI showed us his antecedent chart with 13 generations. A Family Tree Maker CD he recently searched gave a previous marriage for one of his ancestors, that showed her going from NJ to NYC for the marriage.

Richard CAMAUR informed us of a local genealogy conference to be held in March and a genealogy course he will conduct, also in March, with the Fairfax County Adult Education Program.

Rino DIMASSO recently completed a three-week tour of Italy. He was able to discover a cousin and the birth certificate for his great-grandmother. He also showed us an index to some records of captured Italian soldiers that were of interest to the OSS during WWII.

Marie BESTUL (along with "wife driver" Alden) told us of two letters that she has sent to Italy and that one was answered with some information and the other is still unanswered.

John IACONIS told us that his search has crossed with Greek colonies in southern Italy.

James BARKER and Irene BURRUSS are also new PIP members, having found us via the WWW. James told some stories about growing up with his grandmother, who spoke a Sicilian dialect. She came to the US in 1913 and attended Holy Rosary Church in Washington, D.C.

Kay HOGAN-TORPEY is searching for a death record in NJ about 1900-05 and is dumbfounded that she and the officials cannot find it.

Margaret CUTINO (along with husband Joe PELCZAR) is searching for ship manifests for crossing from the US to Italy about the time of the US involvement in WWI.

Daniel ELSE is searching in central Italy and offered use of his access to a universities’ book database.

Jay PULLI told us that his mother is from PISA and his father from Calabria. He shared some photographs from his trip to Italy in September 1998.

Peggy NICASTRO is working on her husband’s genealogy with connections in Enna, Sicily. She told us about a book Strangers in the Land by John Higham. It is written from a sociological point of view. She and her husband are trying to get a monument repaired in a cemetery in the Bronx, NYC.

Our next meeting will take place on Saturday, April 22, 2000, at 10 am at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia. More information can be found at:

or e-mail Paul Traunero or Lou Alfano for additional information.

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei held its most recent meeting on April 22, 2000, at our usual meeting place, the Dolley Madison Public Library in McLean, Virginia. We were graced with 17 attendees, including several new members. Some brief minutes follow:

John TROMBA (2915) has been using P.I.E. and rediscovered a 'branch' of his family tree that had been reclusive since the 1940s. They plan to hold a reunion soon.

William AMATRUDA has a great-grandfather from Amalfi. William was in Italy during military service and speaks Italian. Records prior to 1943 that he is researching are written in Latin. He has also requested INS information regarding his uncle. He belongs to Fieri (www.fieri.org).

Art MANFREDI (3414) described a website, www.labo.net, which gives a histogram of surname occurrence cartografically. He is using Trafford Cole for research in Italy while hunting for military records on his maternal side.

Margaret CUTINO (3538) brought several SS-5 applications. One showed that her grandfather worked on the WPA. The records are stored at the Archives' annex in College Park, MD.

Mirella BARONI (4215) found numerous cousins in Canton, OH area. She recently view some United Mine Workers records at Indiana University, Indiana, PA.

Kay HOGAN-TORPEY (2543) announced that the LDS has begun filming in Salerno, alphabetically. Alas she is searching in Valva. She and a group of netizens have hired Giulio Salemi to visit some towns. He has already given a preliminary summary. The group is awaiting the final report.

Louis DE SANTI came along with his daughter Nancy. His father was from San Giorgio di Pesaro [PS] and only this year did they discover Louis's grandparents' names. A daughter of a cousin is doing some research for him.

Tony STRANDE has Italian and Norwegian ancestry.

Richard CAMAUR (3158) announced more runnings of his Italian Genealogy course with the Fairfax Adult Education organization. His referrals from these course runnings have provided several new Mazzei members.

Donna DENGLER, with husband Dan ELSE, is interested in Italian connections regarding Malta.

Rino DI MASSO (3721) is researching in Gessopalena[CH] in Abruzzo. Some of the records were destroyed in W.W.II. He has also found draft registration records from W.W.I for Little Italy, NYC.

Bob CARRUBBA is going to Sicily for the first time with his brother. He will be visiting relatives that he has found through phone calls. One of them is 95 years old. He found a NY state census from 1915 with his name listed as "Garribba." It helped that he was familiar with the town layout.

Bill MENZA (1029) found a fellow POINTer that lives locally (Manassas, VA) that has the surname, GENTEMPO, which is in Bill's lineage. They are planning a meeting.

Lou ALFANO (2114) has accepted an invitation to speak at the POINT National Conference (PNC) in October.

Paul TRAUNERO (1541) received a forwarded email from his brother that originated from Andrea Traunero in Treviso[TV]. He is starting a dialog to determine any possible relation. Mazzei members were reminded of the PNC.

As always, we invite you to our website at

for past minutes and future meetings and events.

or e-mail Paul Traunero or Lou Alfano for additional information.

Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei gathered at our usual meeting place, the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia on July 22, 2000. A reminder of the upcoming POINT National Conference was announced and members were told that a Chapter dinner is being planned for later this year.

Lou ALFANO (#2114) will be one of the speakers at the POINT National Conference. His topic is researching ships' passengers lists. He recently found a database on the Internet listing Italian emigrants to the US, Argentina and Brazil. The site is sponsored by the G. Agnelli Foundation.

Bill MENZA (#1029) continues to attend our PIP to stay motivated and learn.

Bob CARRUBBA and his brothers on a recent trip to Italy had the hotels arrange for escorts to provide transportation and translation services. They also visited with the mayor of one the cities they visited.

Art MANFREDI (#3414) is still searching for conscription records of the Italian military. He recently received the marriage certificate of his parents from the new Saint Patrick's church in New York City.

Lou DE SANTI was born in Massachusetts, but was raised in Italy until age 14. His relative, who is working for him in Italy is responding too slowly, according to Lou! He suggests doing it yourself. He is going to return for a visit to Italy next month. His daughter, Nancy, also attended.

Peggy NICASTRO (#4264) took a "best of Italy" tour to celebrate her daughter's 21st birthday. She continues to research her husband's genealogy.

Richard CAMAUR (#3158) learned that he is an Italian national, even though his father was born in Austria. His father resided in the area that was annexed to Italy after W.W.I, and thus he became an Italian citizen.

Fran WALLINGFORD was fortunate to receive copies of vital records from Italy that included the annotations in the margins.

Melissa Bossi DE HOPE has roots in Milano. She is working on a book about G. Osculati, "The Savannah Man." Osculati assisted the Americans during the Revolutionary War.

James BARKER and Irene BURRUSS have used the Italian surname density web site to assist them in their research.

John IACONIS (#2953) is currently studying about the origins of surnames as part of his genealogical endeavors.

Donna DENGLER is involved in some research about her great-grandmother, who traversed back and forth across the Atlantic on several occasions and had many children with multiple fathers. Her current task is researching the last child and where she died.

Dan ELSE continues with his interest about his relatives from Montella, east of Napoli.

Elisa ULINO (#2301) is working on the Ulino side of her family. She thinks that there was a name change somewhere. She recently read a book, "Past Imperfect" by Carol Daus, about tracing medical history. Some genealogical software will create specific output regarding this topic.

Margaret CUTINO (#3538) attended with her mother, Rose NAZARRO CUTINO. Rose's mother died when Rose was 3 and one half years old. Any new genealogical discoveries are special to both of them. Margaret expressed her fascination with the PBS television show, 1900 House, in which a family has to live within the conditions at the turn of the (last) century.

Marie BESTUL (#1025) along with her husband, Alden, has been 'visiting' with a cousin in San Diego via telephone. He visited the family in Philadelphia back in 1946 and has been away since.

Mirella BARONI (#4215) is tracing the medical history of all Baroni in a town in Trentino. Many of the deaths were attributed to stomach ailments, likely due to poor water quality.

Kay HOGAN-TORPEY (#2543) is awaiting the source documents to support a GEDCOM file that she has received from a researcher in Italy. The documents are from Valva, near Salerno.

Paul TRAUNERO (#1541) is confronted with changing genealogical software due to a discontinuance, which was the result of several company acquisitions.

Our next scheduled meeting is on October 21, 2000 at our usual place and time.

As always, we invite you to our website at

for past minutes and future meetings and events.

or e-mail Paul Traunero or Lou Alfano for additional information.

MEETING OF OCTOBER 28, 2000

By Lou Alfano (#2114)

Due to a scheduling mixup, the Il Circolo Filippo Mazzei meeting originally scheduled for October 21 took place instead on October 28, 2000 at our usual meeting place, the Dolley Madison Public Library in McLean, Virginia. Fifteen attendees shared their research experiences and traded suggestions in furthering their research. Since Chairman Paul Traunero (#1541) could not attend, the meeting was chaired by Lou Alfano.

Bill MENZA (#1029) stated that what he enjoys most about our meetings is how we all share our experiences. Bill advised us that the American Association of Retired Persons is offering its members the Family Tree Maker genealogy program at a discounted price. He also mentioned that the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is sponsoring trips to Italy for students, with details at the NIAF Web site (http://www.niaf.org),

Bob CARRUBBA indicated that our meetings have been helpful to him. In particular, he mentioned the Agnelli Foundation Web site ("http://www.italians-world.org/Italy/BancaDatiGb.htm), which he used to locate passenger list information for two aunts who emigrated from Italy to Argentina in 1908. Bob also wrote to the Social Security Administration for some SS5’s, including those of his wife’s grandparents. This information enabled him to trace herfamily back one more generation. He also stated that the LDS had recently filmed the records of Menfi, among which he found the marriage record of his great-grandparents.

Art MANFREDI (#3414) stated that he had also used the Agnelli Foundation Web site. He also advised us of the Global Gazetteer Web site - http://www.calle.com/world which provides latitude and longitude information for any town whose name you enter.

Lou DeSANTI advised us that he had been in Italy last month. He went to his ancestral comune, San Giorgio di Pesaro, in the Marche Region, which was formerly part of the Papal States. Lou visited the cemetery and found the crypt where his mother’s remains are kept. He also found family information in the records of the local parish. Lou told us that in the former Papal States there are no pre-Italian unification civil records at the comunes, as their equivalent was kept at the parish churches. He brought some pictures to share with us.

Nancy DeSANTI, Lou’s daughter, reminded us that the Festa Italiana, sponsored by the Washington Chapter of FIERI, would be taking place on October 29 at Holy Rosary Church and the Casa Italiana in Washington, D.C. Several chapter members indicated that they were attending. She also told us that some of her cousins who went to Italy with Lou are now interested in family genealogy and that the family’s house in San Giorgio di Pesaro goes back to at least the middle ages.

Ruchard CAMAUR (#3158) is now a grandfather. His first grandchild, David Crampton, was born on October 14, 2000. Congratulations Grandpa! He also advised us that a family picture and story appeared in the Autumn 2000 issue of POINTers. Richard had written to an Archivio Notarile for a copy of a deed to some property which had been sold by one of his ancestors. After about a year, he got the copy, but it came from the Archivio di Stato, not the Archivio Notarile, illustrating that records are not always where they are supposed to be.

Donna DENGLER, whose family’s Italian roots are in Messina and Palermo, visited one of her mother's cousins. She was able to rescue several old family photos from Italy from an old photo album.

Dan ELSE, whose Italian ancestors are mainly from Benevento told us that a second cousin had found that one of his family names, Viggiano, was also the name of a comune in Basilicata. When Dan asked his mother about this, she indicated that "…oh, yes, some of the family did come from there." This proves the rule that when you find a "new" piece of information it may refresh old memories.

Margaret CUTINO (#3538) brought along her mother Rose CUTINO. They also brought a family picture showing Margaret’s maternal grandparents and three of their children. Rose was not in the picture because her mother was pregnant with her at the time the picture was taken.

Elisa ULINO (#2301) reported that she had obtained a copy of a photograph of the La Touraine, the ship that brought her grandfather to America.

Paul PINOCCI (#4193) had traced his ancestry back seven generations in the comune of Gagliano, in Lucca Province. Last Christmas he received a piece of a family tree from a cousin in Italy which took the family back three more generations. He recently returned from Italy, where the town’s volunteer historian was able to trace the Pinocci family back to the 1500s in church records, so Paul’s family tree now goes back 16 generations – awesome!!!

Mirella BARONI (#4215) has traced the Baroni family in the comune of Tenno, in Trento Province back to 1703. She told us that the Province of Trento is planning a reunion of its emigrants and their descendants in 2002.

Will AMATRUDA sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for Naturalization records of his father and his uncle. From this he ascertained that his uncle immigrated into Boston. Checking passenger lists he discovered that his uncle had come with HIS uncle and aunt (brother and sister). He’s still searching for a record of his grandmother’s arrival.

Lou ALFANO (#2114) reported on the POINT Conference in Austin. He advised us that Chapter members Earl JONES and Linda MORAN (#3235) had also attended. Among the information he passed along was the fact that the LDS has NOT yet begun filming records in the Province of Salerno. According to Keith ROSE of the Family History Library, when the LDS was ready, the Archivio di Stato was not, and vice-versa. They are still hoping to begin filming soon, but a number of cameras have been diverted from Italy to Eastern Europe (where the LDS had practically NO records on film), so there are less resources available in Italy at present. He also told us that the next POINT Conference will be in Salt Lake City in October of 2002, and advised us to set the dates aside from now.

Our next meeting will take place on Saturday, February 2, 2001, at 10 am at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia.

As always, we invite you to our website at

for past minutes and future meetings and events.

or e-mail Paul Traunero or Lou Alfano for additional information.