Computer Woes

Looking at this blog I just realized I haven't posted since February!  Didn't seem like that long but so much has happened I guess time just slipped away from me.  My PC has been acting up so I bravely attempted to reinstall VISTA - keep in mind I have never done an install before nor did I later realize was it really needed but hey, that's me.  Of course the computer, although  working was not perfect.  I sort of put files where they shouldn't be and quite a few of my programs no longer worked as they should so last week I enlisted the help of a friend and decided to have him do another clean install for me.  But why stop at VISTA?  Why not install WIN7?  So he did.

A few problems I have since encountered..I didn't have enough RAM to really run WIN7 correctly so number 1 son went out and purchased me some.  While this did speed up my system a hell of a lot my SKYPE, Google Talk, audio and webcam still don't work.  And they keep freezing my computer. In fact, last night for one session I actually got the 'blue screen' telling me windows shut down to protect my operating system.  If this continues I'll be definitely looking for a new PC in a short while.

Not all is lost though --- I was smart enough to back everything, including all my genealogy files onto my server and external hard drive so yay me!

Lots going on..been extracting records from several comuni in Reggio Calabria over the past few months.  At some point I hope to get them all online.  I'm thinking of hiring an assistant or enlist some volunteers to help.  There are so many records but not enough time to do it all myself.  If anyone is interested shoot me a message.  I'd be happy to have the help!

Missing Mom and Dad

My parents left for Italy last Wednesday as they celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. I'm not used to not calling my mother at least once a day or stopping by her house for coffee so naturally I have manged to call her almost every day since she's been gone. Thankfully I have downloaded Skype so I am able to call her for almost next to nothing. I purchased 10 Euros of credits on my credit card and can call any house or mobile phone for perhaps 25 cents per eight minutes. If I call a computer it costs nothing and we can use our webcams as well.

My parents have been staying in Locri mainly and going to the mare often which is only about 500 m from Dad's family's home. I remember waking up early when I was visiting and heading out to watch the fishermen and sunrise. Here is a view of what the sea looks likes

Today they went to mom's hometown of Malito in Cosenza to visit with one of her aunts. She also visited the cemetery where most of her family is buried. Tomorrow they will be visiting Reggio Calabria to see dad's oldest sister who is 94 years old.

So far it sounds like they're having a great time.

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.

Nicola and Josephine Angilletta - Philadelphia

It's been a relatively slow week for me in terms of my research. I haven't really been able to accomplish much of anything which has been frustrating. I have been working mainly on helping a family with my surname from Caulonia, Reggio Calabria trace their roots for the last few months. This has been an absolutely wonderful experience for me and although I have not established a direct blood relationship with them yet I feel like I have discovered a whole new family. We have shared pictures, phone calls and family stories. Through this, and with the help of Facebook, the family has reconnected with each other and with relatives in Italy. Together we have managed to source quite a bit of the stories they heard while growing up about their mutual relative, Nicola Angilletta and his wife Rosina Ceraso (A.K.A. Josephine France). Presenting it online for them to all share has been a challenge. Since I have chosen to use a very simple format on all of my websites, I needed to create some basic extraction forms in a html format. Nothing too fancy or fussy - it's all about the content here. And so, I came up with a simple Family Group Sheet format to list the family members and a Manifest Extraction form to pull the ship details and make reading easier. I'd be interested in knowing what you think or if you have any other ideas. Please, drop me a comment if you do.