![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Ever since watching the "Roots" miniseries in 1977, and reading Alex Haley's novel later that year, I've had a desire to research my family tree. And it's something I've thought about doing, and talked about doing, for many years. Conversations with my parents about ancestry over the year gave me a sketchy oral history of their families. All four of my grandparents were deceased before my sister and I were born, so I obviously couldn't ask them for information. But I have surviving relatives in my extended family. Many of them still reside in the Buffalo, NY area.
Here is an abbreviated family history as I knew it, with last names omitted for security purposes.
My father had three sisters (Anna, Josephine, and Angeline). His father, Salvatore, died in 1932. His mother, Josephine, died in 1954. My grandfather had a brother, Leonardo (Leo or Leonard for short), who wanted to go to Florida, but got as far as Lorain, OH -- about 30 miles west of Cleveland. That is where their family and descendants settled. My grandmother had four sisters (Frances, Vita, Mary, Concetta) and two brothers (Veneard and James). I was close to my grandmother's extended family and descendants as they all lived in the Buffalo area, and we visited with them often. As for great-grandparents, all I had was a first name for my grandfather's father (Joseph), and a last name or maiden name for one of the two grandmothers. I don't know if that was my grandfather's mother, or my grandmother's mother. I also had bits and pieces of information -- my father grew up on Dante Place, my grandfather was a concrete worker, my grandfather's family came from Augusta, Sicily, and that my grandfather had a sister who went to Argentina.
My mother had six brothers (Stanley, Ted, Joe, John, Walter, Henry) and one sister (Frances). Her mother, Rose, died in 1940. Her father, Peter, died in 1949. Walter, Henry, and Frances passed away as children, as far as I know. John passed away a few years before I was born. He was in the Army, and moved around often. Joe never married and passed away in 1989. Stanley's family and Ted's family were also in the Buffalo area, and we visited with them occasionally. In 1971, we had a visit from John's widow, who had since remarried, and brought along her two daughters (Donna and Theresa). I think John had a son, also named John but goes by Joe, who lives in West Chester, OH -- about a half hour's drive away from me. I have no information on any of my great-grandparents, except for my grandmother's maiden name.
In the fall of 2009, I finally visited my relatives in Lorain. Leo and Carmela had 7 children. I met with my aunt Clara (Sebastian's widow), Josephine and her husband, Ann (whose husband Jim recently passed away), and Sam. We had a great conversation, and I'd love to see them again soon.
One of the things I wanted to do on my most recent trip to Buffalo this past weekend was to go to my parents' and grandparents' gravesites, take pictures, and record the GPS coordinates of the gravesites. Going to my dad's parents' gravesite was easy -- I was there last year, and both my parents and my dad's parents are buried in the same family burial plot. I sat down and had small conversations with them. I also watered the flowers that my sister planted there last month. But going to my mom's parents' graves were a little more challenging. While they're buried in the same cemetery -- a different cemetery than my dad's parents -- they're in individual lots about 20 rows apart. (The family couldn't afford a family plot at the time, so they were buried in separate individual lots.) I had a vague memory of the section they were in, and the approximate location. Due to years of neglect by the cemetery's caretakers, the grandparents' stones were flush against the ground, instead of upright. After walking up and down each of the 20 rows, I managed to find both gravesites. As I did with my parents and dad's parents, I sat down and had small conversations with both of them. I know they're all watching over me, like a legion of guardian angels.
After leaving the cemetery, I went back to my hotel room to cool off. I started putting together a spreadsheet of people in my extended family, for eventual inclusion into a family tre. I was hoping to visit with the few surviving relatives I have in the area, but only heard back from two of them. One wasn't available to visit, and the other was also out of town, traveling. So I started searching online -- recent obituaries in the local newspaper, the 1940 Census site, and the Ellis Island site. Through these sites, I've been able to add some more data -- and rows -- to my spreadsheet. I found out that my great-grandfather wasn't named Joseph -- he was named Giuseppe (which is Italian for "Joseph"). Giuseppe and his son Salvatore came from Augusta, Sicily (in Italy) to the US in 1911. But I couldn't find Giuseppe's wife's name, when (or if) Leonardo crossed the ocean, or any other siblings. I also found my grandmother's father's name: Nicolas.
And I uncovered a small mystery in the process. In my searching for people with my last name on findagrave.com, I came across a gravesite for a Vincenzo James, and his wife Splendora. Both were burined in Lorain Cemetery around 1900. This was a name I hadn't heard before, and I have no idea how they fit into my family tree. Was Vincenzo Guiseppe's brother, and Leonardo's uncle? I'm aware of two small pockets of people that share my last name -- one around Paoli, PA, and one in California. If we're related, it's rather distantly so (at least 3rd cousin).
So the next steps are as follows: Gather information from my surviving relatives. Return to Buffalo and visit the Erie County Records building(s). Consider subscribing to ancestry.com, at least for a short while. and just keep digging.
Here is an abbreviated family history as I knew it, with last names omitted for security purposes.
My father had three sisters (Anna, Josephine, and Angeline). His father, Salvatore, died in 1932. His mother, Josephine, died in 1954. My grandfather had a brother, Leonardo (Leo or Leonard for short), who wanted to go to Florida, but got as far as Lorain, OH -- about 30 miles west of Cleveland. That is where their family and descendants settled. My grandmother had four sisters (Frances, Vita, Mary, Concetta) and two brothers (Veneard and James). I was close to my grandmother's extended family and descendants as they all lived in the Buffalo area, and we visited with them often. As for great-grandparents, all I had was a first name for my grandfather's father (Joseph), and a last name or maiden name for one of the two grandmothers. I don't know if that was my grandfather's mother, or my grandmother's mother. I also had bits and pieces of information -- my father grew up on Dante Place, my grandfather was a concrete worker, my grandfather's family came from Augusta, Sicily, and that my grandfather had a sister who went to Argentina.
My mother had six brothers (Stanley, Ted, Joe, John, Walter, Henry) and one sister (Frances). Her mother, Rose, died in 1940. Her father, Peter, died in 1949. Walter, Henry, and Frances passed away as children, as far as I know. John passed away a few years before I was born. He was in the Army, and moved around often. Joe never married and passed away in 1989. Stanley's family and Ted's family were also in the Buffalo area, and we visited with them occasionally. In 1971, we had a visit from John's widow, who had since remarried, and brought along her two daughters (Donna and Theresa). I think John had a son, also named John but goes by Joe, who lives in West Chester, OH -- about a half hour's drive away from me. I have no information on any of my great-grandparents, except for my grandmother's maiden name.
In the fall of 2009, I finally visited my relatives in Lorain. Leo and Carmela had 7 children. I met with my aunt Clara (Sebastian's widow), Josephine and her husband, Ann (whose husband Jim recently passed away), and Sam. We had a great conversation, and I'd love to see them again soon.
One of the things I wanted to do on my most recent trip to Buffalo this past weekend was to go to my parents' and grandparents' gravesites, take pictures, and record the GPS coordinates of the gravesites. Going to my dad's parents' gravesite was easy -- I was there last year, and both my parents and my dad's parents are buried in the same family burial plot. I sat down and had small conversations with them. I also watered the flowers that my sister planted there last month. But going to my mom's parents' graves were a little more challenging. While they're buried in the same cemetery -- a different cemetery than my dad's parents -- they're in individual lots about 20 rows apart. (The family couldn't afford a family plot at the time, so they were buried in separate individual lots.) I had a vague memory of the section they were in, and the approximate location. Due to years of neglect by the cemetery's caretakers, the grandparents' stones were flush against the ground, instead of upright. After walking up and down each of the 20 rows, I managed to find both gravesites. As I did with my parents and dad's parents, I sat down and had small conversations with both of them. I know they're all watching over me, like a legion of guardian angels.
After leaving the cemetery, I went back to my hotel room to cool off. I started putting together a spreadsheet of people in my extended family, for eventual inclusion into a family tre. I was hoping to visit with the few surviving relatives I have in the area, but only heard back from two of them. One wasn't available to visit, and the other was also out of town, traveling. So I started searching online -- recent obituaries in the local newspaper, the 1940 Census site, and the Ellis Island site. Through these sites, I've been able to add some more data -- and rows -- to my spreadsheet. I found out that my great-grandfather wasn't named Joseph -- he was named Giuseppe (which is Italian for "Joseph"). Giuseppe and his son Salvatore came from Augusta, Sicily (in Italy) to the US in 1911. But I couldn't find Giuseppe's wife's name, when (or if) Leonardo crossed the ocean, or any other siblings. I also found my grandmother's father's name: Nicolas.
And I uncovered a small mystery in the process. In my searching for people with my last name on findagrave.com, I came across a gravesite for a Vincenzo James, and his wife Splendora. Both were burined in Lorain Cemetery around 1900. This was a name I hadn't heard before, and I have no idea how they fit into my family tree. Was Vincenzo Guiseppe's brother, and Leonardo's uncle? I'm aware of two small pockets of people that share my last name -- one around Paoli, PA, and one in California. If we're related, it's rather distantly so (at least 3rd cousin).
So the next steps are as follows: Gather information from my surviving relatives. Return to Buffalo and visit the Erie County Records building(s). Consider subscribing to ancestry.com, at least for a short while. and just keep digging.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-01 07:00 am (UTC)