Last updated November 10, 2005
[Auth. note: the page for Artegna (UD) even includes an email address for the mayor.]
Lou also mentioned the Agnelli Foundation Database at
The database contains passenger list information of approximately 200,000 Italian passengers arriving at New York between 1880 and 1891. You must use MS Internet Explorer as your web browser in order to register. It also contains info about 1,020,000 Italians arriving at Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 1882 and 1920 and around 27,000 Italians arriving at Vitoria, Brazil, between 1858 and 1899. You must enter the family name in order to search, so any names which may have been misspelled when the database was created may be impossible to find.
Jerry Polizzi (#4530) is a member of the New England Hiking Club and told us of offerings of hiking trips in Tuscany.
John Di Bella has been dutifully taking his laptop computer and scanner when visiting relatives in order to acquire documentation of his heritage.
Debbie & John Ferdetta (#4930) are new members and she is in the early stages of researching her husband's ancestors.
Connie Sancetta (#4903) informed us of http://www.italy-news.net, which can provide a synopsis of Italian news via e-mail. She has been able to find 2 of 3 cousins in the U.S. of her relatives that live in Sicily.
Art Manfredi (#3414) went to the Library of Congress and got a copy of the plan of his old neighborhood from the Sanborn map collection. He also noted that one can get access to http://www.heritagequest.com via a local library card account. Art also advised that Trafford Cole's son's name [the one who's taken over the research] is Joel and his email is:
Richard Camaur (#3158) is researching in the Liguria (Genova) area. He seconded Lou's recommendation to acquire a good dictionary for simple translation of documents.
Nancy De Santi gave her favorable impressions of her NIAF sponsored trip to the Palermo (SI) area.
Donna Dengler is researching the same comune as is Connie Sancetta and is trying to get copies of photos of her grandparents from relatives, with some resistance.
Louis De Santi has taken cousins along on visits to Italian cemeteries. He has come across the abbreviation "q.m.p." and is curious as to its meaning.
[Auth. note: http://www.demauroparavia.it/89246 has it to mean Questa Memoria Pose o Posero, nelle epigrafi su lapidi funerarie o commemorative.]
Kay Torpey (#2543) said that her husband, a teacher of ESL, has lately told his students to begin now to compile their genealogy before too much information is lost. She also noted that the Daughters of the American Revolution has an exhibit listing William Paca as a probable Italian (he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence). She is also dismayed at the planned cessation of the POINT surname database directory. Mazzei members would like to see it available online, perhaps via a PIP chapter password. Kay also provided information about the password-protected Valva/Colliano genealogy website. She has arranged for chapter members to view the site via a "guest" password.
Mirella Baroni (#4215) told us that her town of origin in Trentino has nearly lost its dialect; it is only taught at the local university. She receives an e-periodical:
Dick DiBuono (#4114) has paternal ancestors in Molise and maternal ancestors in Le Marche. He has visited cousins in the town of Fano (PU).
Dick also noted the following:
1. The City of Alexandria's public library system issues a library card that enables the holder to access and utilize the Heritage Quest genealogy website, free of charge, from the holder's home computer. Alexandria's public library system has a general license agreement with HeritageQuest that provides for this service. If you are not a resident of the City of Alexandria, library privileges are extended to those who live in the following counties or cities: Arlington, District of Columbia, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, Prince George's, Prince William and Montgomery.
2. Members of the chapter whose ancestral roots lie in the Molise and Abruzzo regions may wish to consider joining the Abruzzo-Molise Heritage Society, which is very active culturally and socially in the Washington Metropolitan area. For information go to the Society's website: www.abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org The AMHS, while it focuses on Abruzzo and Molise heritage, does not limit membership to Abruzzese and Molisani. Quoting from its membership application, "People interested in the purpose and activities of this organization may join and, thus, be entitled to benefits/discounts arranged by the organization."
3. For members of Calabrian ancestry, a very interesting genealogy research project involving the development of a DNA data base is described at www.calabriadna.com
4. RootsWeb genealogy website (provided free by Ancestry.com) for a long time has had a very good hosted surname query page for the Molise Region as part of its ItalyWorldGen project, and now it also does for the Marche, Lazio, Sardegna and Sicilia regions:
Hosted surname query pages inform you by e-mail when you have received a reply to a query you posted on the site.
Bob Carrubba (#4406) has taken a respite from genealogical pursuits but continues to study "la lingua Italiana."
Lucie Vaccaro Bailey is also new to our group and reported having met a cousin, Ugo, via the Internet.
Anne Jeffery (#4345) is researching the Abruzzo region.
Mary Madeline King is stumped on her grandfather's line. An earlier manifest on the Ellis Island Website seems to have changed since she last visited the page. She succeeded in finding her mother's family in the 1920 US Census.
Elisa Ulino (#2301) offered a positive review of David Yeadon's "Season in Basilicata;" a 50-year update of Levi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli." She also showed us the results of a professional retouching/copying of an old photo that was discovered in an old trunk.
Margaret Cutino (#3538) along with husband, Joe, announced her mother's recent 93rd birthday, and that she is doing very well. (She has attended several of our meetings in the past.)
For further information on our chapter, visit:
for past minutes and future meetings and events.
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Debbie Ferdetta (#4930) has been researching the genealogy of her husband John Ferdetta. She has located a fourth or fifth cousin in Florida and they are exchanging charts and information. Debbie passed around a copy of a death certificate which she was having some trouble in translating.
Richard Camaur (#3158) alerted us to possible problems in obtaining information from Italy because of conflicts with EU privacy laws; under EU law personal documents are sealed for 150 years, but under Italian law people are entitled to access such records. Richard noted that if you receive no reply to letters, as has happened to him twice, this may be the explanation.
Art Manfredi (#3414) noted that Ancestry.com has the capability to search for approximate spelling of names, and as a result he has found several naturalization records he had been looking for, with different spellings. He also told us about a CD available from myfamilysoftware.com with photographs of New York City in the 19th century, including the Italian sections. Also, HHS has a free software package with forms for your family health history (http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory.order.html). He was also pleased to find an old NY Times article about an ancestor of his wife.
Bob Carrubba (#4406) reported that the old Brooklyn Standard Union had a lot of articles relevant to Italian residents, and much of it has been transcribed at http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com. He has found several things on his father's life at this site. Aside from that, he has been collecting photographs from other members of the family.
Van Caffo, a new member, is just getting started on genealogy. Two of his relatives had changed their name to Caffi and he asked for tips on finding out when the changed might have occurrred. Others suggested checking census records and naturalization papers. Marie Melchiori noted that for the moment all genealogy requests for naturalization C-Files from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) [one of the "successor" agencies to the old Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)] should be requested under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). Remember, these are records of naturalizations granted after Sept 26, 1906. Requesters should:
1. Print or download the request form G-639 from the web:
http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/g-639.htm (click the link at bottom)
2. Complete the form with their own info, then the immigrant's
Full name, and alternate names/spellings, aliases
Date (or year) of birth
Place (or country) of birth
Any additional info concerning when/where they arrived, or when/where they
naturalized
NOTE that if the immigrant's birthdate is less than 100 years ago, they
will have to provide some proof of death
3. Mail or fax the request to:
FOIA/PA
111 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., 2nd Floor
ULLICO Building
Washington, D.C. 20529
Fax: (202) 272-8269
If you want information prior to September 26, 1906, you must go to a local courthouse where your ancestor lived.
Nancy DeSanti commented that the day of this meeting is the feast-day of San Giorgio, patron saint of her father Louis' home town (San Giorgio, Pesaro, Le Marche). At a previous meeting Louis had asked about the Q.E.P. found on some tombstones; hew has now learned that it stands for "Qui gli Eiri (or Eredi) lo Posero" ("here his heirs laid him [to rest]" or, "this is where his heirs buried him").
Bob DeConnick (#4993), a new member is tracing the lineage of his mother's family in Piraino (Messina province), He visited there last year, met relatives, andhad a wonderful time. His grandfather Ettore, who died in a train accident, hailed from north Italy and he has been unable to find any documents about him. Suggestions included looking under both the first and last name, church records, and train records of the accident report. Another ancestor was a stowaway, and Lou Alfano noted that these people should be reported on the bottom of the customs or immigration lists.
Anne Jeffery (#4845) is busy scanning very old photographs of her four grandparents' relatives from their hometown in the Province of Teramo, in the Abruzzo Region.
Marie Melchiori (#2828) alerted us that the NHPRC (National
Historical Publications and Records Commission), a branch of the
National Archives, is targeted for funding reduction under the 2006
federal budget and urged everyone to write to their Congress members.
Information is available on the Society of American Archivists' Website
- http://www.archivists.org.
She also handed out some information about the Landmarks Citation
Machine, which provides forms for various types of citations. It's
available at
http://www.landmark-project.com/citation_machine?index.psp
Bob Melchiori showed a scrap booking article done by his daughter, Mary Anne Walters, in "Memory Makers, Family Tree page ideas for Scrapbookers." She used the title "Saints and Sinners" and showed the relationship between 2 of her Italian relatives, Saint Pauline and Adam Richetti. Saint Pauline was canonized on the 19th of May 2002 by Pope John Paul II. Adam Richetti was put to death in the gas chamber in the state penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri, on October 17, 1938. Along with "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Adam participated in the Kansas City Massacre, June 17, 1933.
Kay Torpey (#2543) has been contacted by a third cousin in Philadelphia who knows Italian and is very involved in genealogy. They are happily sharing information, filling in each other's gaps, such as some death certificates that Kay hadn't been able to find. Kay also advised us that the LDS are now involved in negotiations with Salerno to microfilm their records; if negotiations are successful, the filming will be done with a digital camera, and may eventually be posted on the LDS Family History website. There is NO "target date" for this at the moment.
Connie Sancetta (#4903) is translating a page from the 1601 census sent by a Sicilian cousin and having some trouble with archaic Italian. Her ancestor apparently was involved in buying and selling cattle, if boi is an old form of bue. [NOTE: Fran Wallingford advises via e-mail that "...boi is a dialect word, and it does mean cattle; usually goats."]
Lu Bailey is working on the village records of her material grandmother, taking notes on the entire village of Torre de Passeri, Pescara, Abruzzo. She noted that the LDS are also working on getting microfilms from Naples.
Elisa Ulino (#2301) is trying to find information on her paternal great grandfather's (Vito Ulino), second wife, Rocca Marie Spaziante. Rocca Marie came from the same town in Italy, Pietrapertosa, as my great grandfather and his first wife (Carmela Taddio/Taddie) did. My great grandmother Carmela Taddio/Taddie died in New York in 1899 leaving Vito with 3 children. Vito married Rocca Marie in 1900. Elisa also noted that NIAF (www.niaf.org) has helpful information about obtaining Italian citizenship.
Bob Baldassari (#4994) is another new member. His family members know very little about their ancestors, but Bob found a mention of his grandparents' home town in an old newletter from Seneca Falls, NY and has now been there to visit several times. He doesn't know when they immigrated; members advised going to the National Archives, or the Virginia Room at the regional library, which has a copy of Italians to America.
David Ciummo (#4638) had hoped to contribute his father's letters from WWII to the Veteran's History Project, but was told they are now winding it up. He showed us a document given to him by an Italian cousin purporting to be a family crest and history of the name, but was having some trouble translating it. It turns out to be mostly boilerplate, with a guess that the name Tartaglione is probably derived from a town, and some description of the crest. David is trying to find the wedding date of his grandparents; members suggested diocesan records, and explained about the difference between civil and church marriage records; many Italians were married in the church but did not get a civil record until long after the marriage, if ever.
Brad Jansen, another new member, wants to put together a CD "book" combining information from all his cousins, and would welcome any suggestions. He visited the home town Fuscaldo in Calabria last year and Montoro Inferiore in Avellino and was warmly welcomed. One branch of his family came from San Benedetto Ullano in a Calabrian valley dominated by Albanians and he would appreciate any help with translating Albanian. He has just begun using the LDS microfilms of the Stato Civile and is having some problems with the old handwriting and language.
One of the members mentioned a web site that allows you to add photos for free...
http://www.IAAF-Gallery.com.
Meetings for the rest of the 2005 are scheduled for:
For further information on our chapter, visit:
or via POINT Homepage at:
for past minutes and future meetings and events.
We numbered 17 and shared our recent research and travel recollections.
John Oliva is a new member and has a second cousin in New York who has been doing research. This cousin had left a note in a plastic bag at a tombstone. It was found by a relative of John and they were able to communicate about their lineage.
John DiBella showed us a family tree quilt, on which his wife had sewn in family pictures. The pictures had been printed on cotton fabric by a t-shirt store.
Bob DeConnick knows that his grandfather's name was misspelled on Army records from WWI. Bob is still searching for the ancestral town.
Bill Menza continues attending Mazzei to keep motivated! He has recently received a letter from a cousin, who wants information on the Venori line.
Rosemarie Foley found us via POINTers and she has copies of records prior to 1850 and they are difficult to read. Her great-grandfather came from near Campania in the early 1900's.
Paul Traunero has been cross referencing secondary names in his database with other names being researched by relatives to form other linkages.
Anne Jeffery described their annual family bocce tournament that is held in Delaware each August. Her uncles have manicured fields for the event.
Kay Hill hired Trafford Cole to research "Abatti." There are "Abati" in the town of Collio that could be related. She received a CD of images of the records that were found by Joel Cole during his recent research. She had them printed and bound by Kodak. She needs to have Mr. Cole document the book volumes from which the records came.
Elisa Ulino is in the process of prioritizing her next research endeavors.
Robert and Marie Melchiori told of experiences going through boxes of photographs. Marie announced an Italian Heritage conference to be held in Pittsburgh in July 2006. She also received an e-mail from a cousin in California; they visited at a high school reunion on Long Island.
Richard Camaur told us that his surname used to be longer but has evolved over generations. He is embarking on a pleasure and research trip along the Adriatic and Venezia-Giulia area. He noted that the National Genealogical Society has formed an Italian forum for NGS memebers, akin to the British/Irish one begun in 2003: www.ngsgenealogy.org/forums.htm.
Connie Sancetta found cousins in Cleveland that descend from one of two sons of Carmello Sancetta. Her family group is from Roma and Sicily. She has had success in recording distant family relationships.
Earl Jones and Linda Moran have recently joined the OSIA in Fairfax, Virginia and are practicing Italian. They enjoyed their trip to western Sicily, arranged by NIAF. Their hotel had a view of Mt. Etna.
Louis and Nancy DeSanti were planning to attend a local Italian Festival in the D.C. Area on July 17th.
Our next gathering is scheduled for October 22, 2005, again at the Dolley Madison Library in McLean, Virginia at 10:00 am.
For further information on our chapter, visit:
for past minutes and future meetings and events.
Anne Jeffery (#4845) has been busy scanning photographs from her mother into a genealogy program.
John DeBella lamented about some church records in NY state that had been disposed.
For further information on our chapter, visit:
for past minutes and future meetings and events.
