Saturday, May 29, 2010

Písečný - Surname Saturday

Been out enjoying the weather that last week and doing some much needed gardening and repairs around the house. The heat and humidity have been brutal but honestly, I prefer it over winter any day. I have been doing a bit of research on my husband`s paternal side of the family this week. My father in law passed away at 33, when his wife was only a few months pregnant with my husband so we know very little about him or his Slovakian family but with the help of facebook I have been able to connect with some of his relatives and have learned the names of my husband`s Slovakian grandparents, Anton Pisecny and Ann Skanderova and their dates of birth. I also learned that my father in law first visited Chicago when he arrived to the US at about 18 years old and lived with an Aunt before he moved to Ontario. Now to find the ship manifest which is proving to be quite difficult since I believe he was a stowaway.
I am also grateful that many of my husband`s distant cousin do read and write English so communication has not been so much of a problem as I first thought.
I have nothing much to share at this point but as I learn more I will post it.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Follow Friday - Fine Artist at Heirloom Art Studio

This is a post from my other blog, Gente di Mare Italian Genealogy that I thought worth repeating here.

Last fall while attending the First Annual Festa dei Nonni in Windsor Ontario, sponsored by the Italian Genealogy and Heraldry Society of Canada, I was fortunate enough to meet with a very special and amazing artist, Kathryn Rutherford from Heirloom Art Studio. Kathryn has not only received several awards for her outstanding work but has restored many family portraits over the years. She showcased some of her work at the Festa last Fall and I was amazed with her award winning SPIRIT PAINTINGS in which she adds the spirits of her great grandparents into her portraits.

Kathryn’s studio is located at 2616 Wears Valley Rd, Sevierville, TN. You can also view her blog at Fine Artist at Heirloom Art Studio for updates on her latest works.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

It's All about The Sweet Table

My sister's oldest son celebrated his Confirmation on Saturday night which is one of the seven sacraments through which Catholics pass in the process of their religious upbringing. According to Catholic doctrine, in this sacrament they receive the Holy Spirit in which some can get closer to the Holy Spirit and God.
The receiving of a Sacrament is usually followed by some type of party where family and closest friends all decked out in their finest, get together and celebrate the occasion with a full meal, open bar and complete sweet table. Usually everyone pitches in and spends the week before the party baking. At one time, it didn't matter how good the meal was, if the sweet table or cake was not complete, then the party was a failure!
Being the procrastinator that I am, I spend most of Friday evening (and well into Saturday morning) and part of Saturday baking of few things with my daughter. Usually people only sample the sweets during the party. Most of the time they are given to guests to take home as sort of a thank you for attending and for sharing with co workers the following work day. As a child, I remember some of the older Italian women trying to stash a few of these cookies - discreetly of course - in their handbags.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - My Matrilineal Line

I should have posted this Saturday Night but since I haven't really been around too much this weekend it is a few days late. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is presented over at Genea-Musings. So here goes...

Me...
Mom (1932 to Present)
Erminia Polito (30 Mar 1912 Las Animas, Colorado - 12 Oct 1974 Yonkers, Westchester County, New York
Vincenza Macchione (21 Jan 1883 Malito, Cosenza, Italy - 1959 Malito, Cosenza Italy)
Rosa Nucci ( Abt 1855 Malito, Cosenza, Italy - After 1908 Malito, Cosenza Italy)
Francesca Pirozzo (21 Jan 1811 Malito, Cosenza, Italy - 29 Jan 1888 Malito, Cosenza, Italy)
Orsola Bombini ( Abt. 1780, Grimaldi, Cosenza, Italy - Bef. 1889, Cosenza, Italy)

Looking through this list I realize that I still need to source a few things and firm up some dates. I have never had a mitochondrial DNA test or any DNA testing done but it is something that I have been thinking about for a while. Perhaps this year I will have one done.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #19

Challenge #19 is all about exploring the Military Archives of the country you are researching so since this is one of my favourite resources to use, I had to post about it. If you remember the post about my Great Uncle Giuseppe Macchione, I mentioned the Albo dei Caduti della Grande Guerra . This site lists all Italian WW1 Fatal Causalities.

The original records for these persons and for adult males, can be found in the Provincial or State Archives in Italy. After 1865, all Italian males had to register for military service upon turning 18 and these records can be especially helpful if you are still searching for your ancestors place of birth. This is the link to the National Archive site. The site is in Italian but you can view it in English as well.

Enrico Angilletta WW1 Draft Registration
Military records and draft registration cards in Italy are a great resource. Page one of the draft registration cards provide the name of the person, his parents names, birthdate, and where he lived - the town and district.
Enrico WW1 Draft Registration Page 2
Page two of the draft card provides a physical description of the person, the date he registered and the Military station he was assigned. Unfortunately, this particular Uncle of mine did not survive the war but I have not been able to find his actual Military records to date. For more information this article on using Military and Conscription Records is definitely worth a read.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Data Backup Day -

Today is Data Back Up Day and not only did I back up my blog (which by the way took all of 10 seconds) but I once again back up copies of my Family Tree Files and a few other important files. To back up my blog I used the Settings tabs and exported the files to my external hard drive.

But why stop there? Surfing the internet as much as I do, I thought it important to run a full scan of my PC and clean out any unneeded files as well.

Today's other activities will include updating the Surname Database (I've been at it for hours but I'm crossed eyed at the moment to do any more), organizing and labeling more photos and files, and buying a new mouse for my computer.

Now for a nice cup of espresso....

Surname Saturday - Gioffre

A friend and co worker asked me to give him a hand with trying to locate his grandfather a few days ago. He has very little information on the man or his wife so this has been an interesting search for me but I *think* I've located him so today I will let my friend know what I've found and see if he can confirm any of it.

What I learned through this surname is that I always *assumed* that it was most common in the province of Cosenza Italy but I didn't realize that the name is also common in the province of Reggio Calabria - so is he Reggitano or Cosentino? Will keep you posted once I know.

First Name: Bruno
Last Name: Gioffri
Ethnicity: So. Italian, Latin
Last Place of Residence: Scilbo
Date of Arrival: Sep 10, 1903
Age at Arrival: 21y Gender: M Marital Status: S
Ship of Travel: Prinzess Irene
Port of Departure: Naples
Manifest Line Number: 0026



Information found on Ellis Island Website.