52 Ancestors Week 51: Musical

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 51:

The theme for Week 51 is “Musical.” Band geeks, unite! Who in your family makes you think of music? Whether it’s someone who made their living through music or who just really enjoyed listening, this is the week to sing their praises. (See what I did there? 😉)

Blues riffs in "B". Watch me for the changes and try to keep up!

    

    Who in my family makes me think of music? There's a lot of people I can talk about for this week's prompt. Let me pick a name out of a hat. One moment. And the winner of the 2025 Musical blog is.....

My brother Jim? Okay. I guess I can work with that. I mean I did write a blog about his wife Kathleen earlier this year. Fair is fair, right? Let's go!

Jim, Kat and me

    My brother and I are like night and day when it comes to our hobbies. He collects records and plays guitar. I read comic books and create my own webcomics. Don't get me wrong. We have many similarities. We both grew up in the '80s and '90s and can quote whole scenes of movies if we so desired. It makes playing games like charades fun. And it kind of annoys the nephews. So, that's a bonus! That pop culture is forever ingrained in our heads.

    Jim has always had an ear for music and for as long as I can remember he was interested in music. I would be minding my own business playing with my toys and suddenly Twisted Sister became the soundtrack of the Autobots' battle with the Decepticons. I'd have gone with Stan Bush. But, that's a little on the nose.

    I didn't appreciate it back then but now I do! 

    Hair metal isn't the only genre he listened to....Thank God.  Jim has a very refined taste and tends to listen to various forms of music from every genre. I think our parents were the reason for his taste in music. When we were growing up, our dad would play various oldies on the radio to and from the marina where we had our boat. Usually it was either the Beach Boys or Elvis Presley's greatest hits. When we were in the car with our mother, she would play contemporary music. As a result we got to listen to a little bit of everything.

    Things changed a bit as we got older. He started playing the guitar and while I tried my best to mimic his play style, I never quite GOT it. Jim definitely got the music gene. I just play "Rock Band" on easy mode. It's true. He has tried to teach me how to play and sometimes it didn't turn out well.

    A family friend once gave us her electric keyboard and for years I'd "jam" with Jim using it. It was okay. I got about as far as "Stairway to Heaven". Look, we all can't be Sir Elton John! I tried my best and Jim did teach me how to play somewhat. The trick was having the patience to tickle the ivories, ya know.

Work station or music haven?

    Over time my brother began collecting records and has displayed a select few in his office at home. Whenever he visits he habitually brings his guitar case along for the ride. And no it doesn't have a machine gun in it! Those are specifically for violin cases!

    Whenever we visit, he would sometimes put a record on for our enjoyment or during a meal. If we are preparing food for Thanksgiving or some other meal, he'd toss on an Elvis record or a Beach Boys record for my father. The last time he did that I asked him if it reminded him of going down to the boat. He laughed and said "Yeah." Those songs are never leaving our heads!

    When I learned that several of our cousins in Europe were musicians, I showed him their songs and I think he was impressed by them. Their style differed from his and he tends to appreciate all forms of music. Though, I'll never forget the time I gave him a joke present for Christmas.

    He was talking about Taylor Swift and was honestly a little iffy about her music. As a joke I bought him a Taylor Swift CD. To say he was unimpressed was a bit of an understatement. Though, ironically he bought one of her more recent albums a while ago. Huh. I guess times and attitudes toward certain musicians change. However, he does have a few singers he does not like and never will like! To gift him something from someone like Pitbull would have been a cardinal sin.  Never go against the family!

    

    Jim is just one of the many musically inclined people in the family and his taste kind of influenced my own. I suppose it could have been worse.  And looking back I probably should have appreciated the soundtrack to my activities in my room. It was pretty fun to be honest.

    The next generation of musicians in our family have started to take off as one of my nephews has shown himself to be just as musically inclined as Jim. Will he collect records and play music? That's to be determined. Though, he likes playing the keyboard!

    As for Jim, he still plays his music and I do love listening to him play. And before anyone asks....yes. I have tried to play his guitar on several occasions. Even when he was playing a computer game or something. I had to try it out. Why not? Was I good? Nope. Again. this is why I do Rock Band on "easy mode".

      Our father once told us that his favorite music style was here to stay. And I agree some songs are good and stand the test of time. Other songs? Not so much. My brother and I have a very eclectic taste in music. We like a little bit of everything. I think that if you truly appreciate music you need to listen to everything that's out there. Rock, Jazz, Rap, Country. Everything. Music let's people share what they want to say and it's something to be cherished.

See ya next time!

    

P.S. This is my 350th blog! WOOHOO!

52 Ancestors Week 50: Family Heirloom

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 50:

The theme for Week 50 is “Family Heirloom.” Heirlooms don’t have to be expensive to be valuable. Grandma’s mirror that she kept on her night stand? The milk bottle from the dairy where Uncle Harold worked? This is a good week to write about it and the person it’s associated with. 

I would ask Amy "Who keeps a milk bottle around?".  However, we still have my grandfather Robert's copy of "Golf Funniest Moments" in our archive. Who am I to judge? It's still in a box in the basement and I still don't have a device to play it on. I really don't need it and I honestly don't think it would fetch a decent price on eBay unless there are some seriously hardcore golf fans out there who wanted to see people crash out on the golf course.

    I can't say everything my grandfather left behind has been bad or suspect. He's left behind some pretty cool things and it honestly got me wondering what kind of stuff I'll leave behind. I have a ton of collectibles, comics and all that stuff. I shouldn't judge someone based on a VHS tape. Then again, perhaps it's a cover and he really recorded something awesome over it like some movie! Nah. My grandfather wouldn't have done anything that cool. Or did he? Hmmm....

    One of the cool things we do have in the box is this pair of stylish glasses that were once worn by my great-grandfather Alfred Hamel. My mother found them in a pouch near the bottom of the box and to our surprise the lenses were popped out. The ear hooks were also really sharp.

    As someone who wears glasses regularly, these old timey glasses were a surprise. I know glasses designs have changed over the years. But, those things could NOT have been that comfortable. At least to me. I suppose Alfred got used to them over time. There is a question I have to ask. How did my grandfather get them?

    I think the answer to that is pretty obvious. His father passed away in 1962 and those glasses were in his possession ever since. That's a pretty open and shut case right there. I think I understand why the lenses were removed, too. Glasses break and in my great-grandfather's day they were a lot more fragile than the ones we have these days. Then again not everyone has lenses that are very thick like mine are.

    The sad thing is that the ear hooks are out of alignment. It makes me wonder if I can get them fixed at a present day office. I'm sure they wouldn't mind fixing up antique glasses. 

    I also wonder when he got the glasses. Obviously he got them when he was much older. Every picture I've ever seen of Alfred had him without glasses and he was a young man at the time. He's the odd one out though because virtually every ancestor of mine on my mother's side had glasses at one point.

    My mother explained to me that it came with old age and she has a point. When you get older, your eyesight tends to go south and you need a way to correct your vision. 

    With that in mind, those glasses look very uncomfortable. At least they're in decent shape and can likely be repaired. Once repaired, I might see about putting them in a special case. I'm not sure about getting lenses for them. They'd have to be specially made and lenses can cost a pretty penny these days.

    I do have to wonder what he looked like with his glasses on. I'm almost positive Alfred would have had the same swagger as he does in the the picture in the blog. 

    That kind of swagger doesn't go away when you put on glasses! It's all about attitude and confidence! Alfred definitely had that in spades!

    Alfred's glasses are just one example of a few personal effects we have around the house. We have so much stuff like this it's not even funny. I should open a museum and charge admission!! I picked the glasses to talk about because not only do we see what glasses were like in ye olden times. We get an item that he actually used throughout his life. Picture it! Through those lenses he could have fixed engines on boats! If those glasses could talk, they'd definitely tell stories. Then again if your glasses talked, they might be the sign of a bigger problem!!

     As far as the glasses go, they're in a safe place  in a pouch next to pictures of my Italian great-grandparents. I have a little display called "The great eight" and it seems to fit in there. The next step is to print out the pic of Alfred to go with it. That'd be a nice touch! It's cool to have personal effects on display so you can admire them. Though, I still draw the line at "Golf's Funniest Moments".

See ya next time! Heh. See what I did there? =D Come on! You all knew a glasses joke was coming!!

52 Ancestors Week 49: Written

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 49:

The theme for Week 49 is “Written.” Who is the writer in your family (besides you 😉)? Did they write books, keep a diary, or have a habit of sending letters to the editor? What about someone who had lovely handwriting? This is their week. 

Sounds better coming from Samuel L Jackson.

     Long time readers have always said that I should write a book about my family history. The only problem is finding a place to start. I have stories from all of the branches of my family tree and I feel like if I ever wanted to do it justice I'd have to put out at least three to four books or focus on one branch at a time. There's a lot of stories to tell and to be honest a blog is a easy way to get those stories out there!

    Thankfully, a cousin of mine is a ahead of the game since she has published quite a few books in the last year. Her name is Caterina Aleardi and she has written a book about her family recipes, a book about wine, a book about the history of Calabria and a few other books.  That is very impressive and naturally I grabbed one of the books the first chance I got. 

Caterina's mother, Concetta.

        You remember me talking about Caterina, right? I may have mentioned her a few times!  Let me bring you up to speed if you don't. She is a niece of my great-grandfather Vincenzo Ferraiolo. Her mother Concetta was his sister. I met her back in 2021 when she emailed me on Myheritage. 

    We exchanged stories back and forth and she even showed me a letter her mother received from a cousin in Argentina.  For details on that letter, please check out this blog and be sure to grab some tissues. 

    Caterina also confirmed a few old family stories of my own. I could honestly write a book about how my grandfather, grandmother, Vincenzo and my great-aunt went to Italy and eventually went to Switzerland to attend her wedding. The story was not only confirmed, but, I got a picture or two to go with it. That is awesome and it's a gift I'll always treasure!

    One day Caterina told me that she was planning on writing a book. She told me she wanted to write down her family's recipes and talk about a few things that were near and dear to her heart. Naturally, I supported her endeavors since I have no Calabrian recipes and I want to learn as much as I can about Calabria. You can only learn so much online. It means more when you hear the stories from the people themselves.

Book one!

    In no time at all Caterina published her first book in Italian. I told her about my plan to purchase it on Amazon. She told me to wait for her to translate it into English so that I could understand everything better. You got to love how she was looking out for me. She knew Italian isn't my first language and that I wanted this book.

    So, I waited and waited. Eventually, the book was released in English and my parents purchased the book. Inside, I found a lot more than I expected! Not only were there great Calabrian recipes inside. There were a few stories in the book, too. To say that this book is a jewel in my collection is an understatement.

    Caterina did an amazing job with her first book. My father wants to try out her recipes some day. I can't wait to try them because the food looks so good! Of course, now I have a dilemma. Do I buy her other books once they come out in English? That's a silly question. Of course I should! Just as long as I have shelf space. Then again space may be limited. I might have to make a bookcase just for her books!

    In any case, her books are definitely a must-have. Why? Because not only do they have Calabrian recipes that I lack, they provide a history of the region my Calabrian ancestors came from. The next book I intend to purchase is likely going to be her history of Calabrian towns. I'm certain her home town of San Pietro a Maida will be mentioned in those pages!

Marco and Caterina

    Caterina dedicated her books to "All Calabrese across the ocean whose hearts still beat to the rhythm of the waves that caress our shores. Though distances may divide us, memories and tradition unites us."

That is a powerful statement right there and it's true. The food of your ancestors will put you in touch with your heritage. It doesn't matter if it's homemade or from some random restaurant. Though, I do prefer homemade food over certain restaurants that will remain nameless.

     No matter how much time as passed you still have ties to the countries of your ancestors.

    Looking through the book now, I can see how amazing the food looks. It's not all just various types of pasta. There are other dishes like fried dough that I'd love to try. Some of these dishes you would not be able to order at a restaurant in America and that's why I am anxious to try these recipes out! 

    Caterina is an excellent writer and she too has said that I should write a book myself. Perhaps I will one day. I just need to figure out where to begin. Though, I'm sure she'd say the beginning is a very good place to start. I could start in San Pietro, Gesualdo, Newburyport or Haverhill. The possibilities are endless. For a writer like me it's tough to decide just where to start! That's why this blog comes in handy. I can organize my thoughts and tell stories whenever the moment arrives.

    I'm forever grateful to Caterina and her books as they give me an insight into Calabria that I probably wouldn't have gotten from an article on Wikipedia. Because of her I have a greater understanding of what life was like in Calabria when she was growing up and what life is like there today. As long as she keeps on writing, I'll be there cheering her on! Those books are awesome and are a definite must-have for anyone interested in Calabria! You can buy them now on Amazon's Italian and US websites. Check them out!

See you next time!

 "Sapori e profumi di Calabria" is property of Caterina Aleardi.

In italiano:

Da Amy Johnson Crow: Settimana 49:

Il tema della settimana 49 è "Scritto". Chi è lo scrittore nella tua famiglia (oltre a te 😉)? Scriveva libri, teneva un diario o aveva l'abitudine di mandare lettere al direttore? E qualcuno con una bella calligrafia? Questa è la sua settimana.

I lettori di lunga data mi hanno sempre detto che avrei dovuto scrivere un libro sulla storia della mia famiglia. L'unico problema è trovare un punto di partenza. Ho storie da tutti i rami del mio albero genealogico e sento che se volessi rendergli giustizia dovrei pubblicare almeno tre o quattro libri o concentrarmi su un ramo alla volta. Ci sono molte storie da raccontare e, a dire il vero, un blog è un modo semplice per farle conoscere!

Per fortuna, una mia cugina è un passo avanti, visto che ha pubblicato diversi libri nell'ultimo anno. Si chiama Caterina Aleardi e ha scritto un libro sulle ricette di famiglia, un libro sul vino, un libro sulla storia della Calabria e altri ancora. È davvero impressionante e naturalmente ne ho preso uno alla prima occasione.

Ti ricordi che ho parlato di Caterina, vero? Potrei averla menzionata un paio di volte! Lascia che ti aggiornerò se non te ne sei accorto. È una nipote del mio bisnonno Vincenzo Ferraiolo. Sua madre Concetta era sua sorella. L'ho incontrata nel 2021 quando mi ha scritto un'email su Myheritage.

Ci siamo scambiati storie e mi ha persino mostrato una lettera che sua madre ha ricevuto da un cugino in Argentina. Per i dettagli su quella lettera, consulta questo blog e assicurati di prendere dei fazzoletti.

Caterina ha anche confermato alcune mie vecchie storie di famiglia. Potrei davvero scrivere un libro su come mio nonno, mia nonna, Vincenzo e la mia prozia siano andati in Italia e alla fine siano andati in Svizzera per partecipare al suo matrimonio. La storia non solo è stata confermata, ma ho anche scattato un paio di foto a corredo. È fantastico ed è un regalo che custodirò per sempre!

Un giorno Caterina mi disse che aveva intenzione di scrivere un libro. Mi disse che voleva scrivere le ricette della sua famiglia e parlare di alcune cose che le stavano a cuore. Naturalmente, ho sostenuto la sua iniziativa, dato che non ho ricette calabresi e voglio imparare il più possibile sulla Calabria. Online si può imparare solo fino a un certo punto. È ancora più significativo ascoltare le storie delle persone stesse.

Primo libro!

In pochissimo tempo Caterina ha pubblicato il suo primo libro in italiano. Le ho parlato della mia intenzione di acquistarlo su Amazon. Mi ha detto di aspettare che lo traducesse in inglese così da poter capire meglio tutto. È stato fantastico come si è presa cura di me. Sapeva che l'italiano non è la mia lingua madre e che volevo questo libro.

Così ho aspettato e aspettato. Alla fine, il libro è uscito in inglese e i miei genitori l'hanno acquistato. Dentro, ho trovato molto più di quanto mi aspettassi! Non solo c'erano delle fantastiche ricette calabresi, ma c'erano anche alcune storie. Dire che questo libro è un gioiello nella mia collezione è un eufemismo.

Caterina ha fatto un lavoro straordinario con il suo primo libro. Mio padre vuole provare le sue ricette un giorno. Non vedo l'ora di provarle perché il cibo sembra così buono! Certo, ora ho un dilemma. Compro gli altri suoi libri quando usciranno in inglese? È una domanda stupida. Certo che dovrei! Finché avrò spazio sugli scaffali. D'altronde lo spazio potrebbe essere limitato. Potrei dover costruire una libreria solo per i suoi libri!

In ogni caso, i suoi libri sono decisamente un must. Perché? Perché non solo contengono ricette calabresi che a me mancano, ma forniscono anche una storia della regione da cui provengono i miei antenati calabresi. Il prossimo libro che intendo acquistare sarà probabilmente la sua storia delle città calabresi. Sono certa che la sua città natale, San Pietro a Maida, sarà menzionata in quelle pagine!

Marco e Caterina

Caterina ha dedicato i suoi libri a "Tutti i calabresi d'oltreoceano, i cui cuori battono ancora al ritmo delle onde che accarezzano le nostre coste. Anche se le distanze ci dividono, i ricordi e la tradizione ci uniscono".

È un'affermazione potente, ed è vera. Il cibo dei tuoi antenati ti metterà in contatto con le tue radici. Non importa se è fatto in casa o di qualche ristorante qualsiasi. Tuttavia, preferisco il cibo fatto in casa a certi ristoranti che rimarranno senza nome.

Non importa quanto tempo sia passato, hai ancora legami con i paesi dei tuoi antenati.

Sfogliando il libro ora, mi rendo conto di quanto sia straordinario il cibo. Non si tratta solo di vari tipi di pasta. Ci sono altri piatti, come la pasta fritta, che mi piacerebbe provare. Alcuni di questi piatti non si potrebbero ordinare in un ristorante in America ed è per questo che non vedo l'ora di provare queste ricette!

    Caterina è un'eccellente scrittrice e anche lei ha detto che dovrei scrivere un libro anch'io. Forse un giorno lo farò. Devo solo capire da dove cominciare. Anche se sono sicura che direbbe che l'inizio è un ottimo punto di partenza. Potrei iniziare da San Pietro, Gesualdo, Newburyport o Haverhill. Le possibilità sono infinite. Per una scrittrice come me è difficile decidere da dove cominciare! Ecco perché questo blog mi è utile. Posso organizzare i miei pensieri e raccontare storie ogni volta che arriva il momento.

Sarò eternamente grata a Caterina e ai suoi libri perché mi hanno dato una visione della Calabria che probabilmente non avrei ricavato da un articolo su Wikipedia. Grazie a lei ho una comprensione maggiore di com'era la vita in Calabria quando lei era bambina e di com'è la vita lì oggi. Finché continuerà a scrivere, sarò lì a fare il tifo per lei! Questi libri sono fantastici e sono assolutamente un must per chiunque sia interessato alla Calabria! Potete acquistarli ora sui siti web di Amazon in italiano e negli Stati Uniti. Dategli un'occhiata!

Alla prossima! 

"Sapori e profumi di Calabria" è di proprietà di Caterina Aleardi.

52 Ancestors Week 48: Family Recipe

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 48:

The theme for Week 48 is “Family Recipe.” Who made the dish that made holiday meals “complete”? Who was the best cook in the family? (Or who was the worst?) This would also be a good week to write about a favorite family recipe and the memories you have surrounding it. 

I think you can see where this is going.

I’m not about to throw anyone who has ever cooked for me under the bus. Why would I? Everyone in my life has been a great cook! Even my dad! Though, he has experimented with a few oddities over the years. I still can’t stomach liver and onions and I’d like to meet someone who can eat that dish!

My mother has always been the one who made holiday meals complete. She would make lasagna for us for Thanksgiving and the dish just makes the holiday meal complete. I honestly can’t imagine Thanksgiving without it, meatballs, sausage and braciole. I usually have that after a little bit of a turkey appetizer. Sure it’s heavy, but, the food coma is so worth it!

I bet you’re all stuffed looking at that image to your left. The recipe is prettily simple. You take the noodles and add layers of sauce, mozzarella and ricotta cheese and bake it in the oven. Many Italian families usually put in meat in between the layers of pasta. For some reason we’ve never used meat. This is probably because we had meatballs and sausages as a side dish.

Seeing pans of lasagna now often brings back memories of prior Thanksgiving feasts. Long before we ever had Thanksgiving in Virginia with my brother and his family we would have Thanksgiving at our house in Salem and our guests of honor would be my grandma Ollie and her sisters from time to time. Usually it was just Ollie because she lived in the next town over in Haverhill. Can you say convenient? It sure was! I loved having grandma Ollie nearby since my other grandparents were far away.

Now, you might think Ollie would be skeptical of someone who wasn’t Italian making lasagna. She never said anything bad about the cooking. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Ollie would give you the shirt off of her back! She would comment on my mom’s cooking and maybe offer a tip or two. I’m not even sure what prompted my mother to start making it all those years ago. Perhaps she just wanted to try it out.

The “worst” thing she probably ever did was talk to my mom about her mom Clementina’s cooking and how she prepared certain dishes. I remember asking her about certain recipes and she always smiled and said “It was always a pinch of this or a pinch of that. We used whatever was available.” That was true. I mean the Carrabs clan had five daughters to feed. Who had time to write things down? Don’t worry. She did! Some recipes are in the family. They’re just with various cousins at the moment.

While cousins had the recipes, we had Clementina’s rolling pin and ravioli cutter. My father once put both to good use when he made cheese ravioli. They turned out so good! The only problem was that it took so long to make! I know good food takes time to make. I just wouldn’t use it for Thanksgiving unless you start making it that Tuesday!

Anyway, seeing the dishes bring back a lot of memories of previous holiday dinners with the family. Ollie and my dad would talk about her parents, who he and his cousins called Nonmie and Nona. Oddly, they never really talked about Thanksgiving at their house.  Believe me, I’ve tried asking how they celebrated Thanksgiving and I never really got a solid answer from anyone. Maybe some things are best left to the imagination.

I do recall someone saying that  Giuseppe would use the holiday to test out his homemade wine. Giuseppe and his brothers Rocco and Pasquale had their own wine cellars and would make wine from the grapes they grew in their yards. My father and his cousins always told me Giuseppe’s wine was very sweet and that his brothers had very strong wine. I wonder if that was because my great-grandfather grew his grapes in the lush Merrimack valley. Or maybe he just picked them at a better time.

Either way, Thanksgiving was usually a time where we’d swap a lot of the family stories. My brother and I would just eat the lasagna and listen to our parents and grandma entertain us with stories from their youth or something Ollie remembered from the past.

The one thing she never did was criticize my mom’s cooking. Before we started eating she’d say “This looks so good, Diane!” She then looked to my brother and I tell us to “mangia”. 

She didn’t have to tell us twice! We were more than happy to dig in. My favorite part has always been the middle side. My brother on the other hand preferred the corners and the crunchy pasta. You can tell a lot about a person from which part of the lasagna they take!

Even today seeing a pan of lasagna brings those memories back to me. I close my eyes and picture my grandmother cooking alongside my mom in the kitchen. They’d be laughing and swapping stories and I’d come in for a visit. For the record, I was never hit by a wooden spoon for sneaking a peek or getting a snack. I wasn’t that naughty! I did, however, try to sample the banana crème pie a few times. Hey! It was good! It’s the perfect dessert to go with a meal like this!

Though, you won’t be able to move after eating. 

See ya next time! And if you’re in America, have a great Thanksgiving!

52 Ancestors Week 47: The Name's the Same

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 47:

The theme for Week 47 is “The Name’s the Same.” Chances are there are some people in your tree who have the same name as someone else. This is a good week to write about the people who carry a family name or a time when you’ve had to sort out two unrelated people who happen to have the same name. 

That’s a lot of James.

 What’s in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Would a name like “Anthony” be passed down through the generations because an ancestor was named Antonio or Antoine? In my family tree, of course they would. Names have been passed down for centuries. The last time this topic came up I talked about all the people named “Robert” in my tree. Admittedly , that was quite a wild ride. This week will be all about Paolo!

 When I first heard the name Paolo, the name honestly reminded me of a character in “The Godfather” or something. There’s always a mob guy named Paolo or “Paulie”. Not every mobster is going to be called “Nicky the Nose”, you know. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that my third great- grandfather was named Paolo. It gets better. His last name was “Coppola”.  Of course I would have two of the most common Italian last names in my tree! For those of you keeping track, the other one is “Tedesco”.

 I don’t really have a lot on Paolo to be honest due to record availability and everything. Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together. He was the son of Francesco Coppola and an unknown woman and was born around 1843. He had a brother named Giovanni and a sister named Caterina. Both names were also passed down through the generations, by the way. The Coppola family is a textbook case of Italian naming conventions where someone in the family is named after a parent or grandparent in a specific pattern. The first masculine child would be named after the paternal grandfather and so on.

 Paolo married Rosa Suverato and had my second great-grandmother, Caterina and her siblings Paolo and Concetta. I don’t know if they had any more children. Chances are they did because Italians tended to have large families in those days. Some names would even be repeated in case a child unfortunately passed away before their first birthday. When you do research in Italy, you should keep track of the names used more than once!

 Anyway, Caterina, Paolo and Concetta all had children who had the same name as their grandfather. Caterina, though, was the only one of her siblings who stayed in Italy. She and her husband Marco had a son named Paolo in August 1896. Concetta and Paolo moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts and started having children named Paul, which is the anglicized version of the name Paolo. Here’s where research gets a little tricky….especially when the father and the son have the same name.

When Paolo came to America, he went by the name “Paul” in order to assimilate. His son Paul was born in 1909 in the city of Haverhill to Paolo and his first wife, Lena. He was the oldest of sixteen children and even he had a son named Paul! It’s nice to see the naming tradition continue on another continent! Too bad this can also lead to headaches if you aren’t a careful researcher.

I’m not going to say I’ve never made a mistake. However, when you look at documents like draft cards you always need to check when someone was born if they have the same name. Older men had old men’s draft cards and sometimes they look similar to the regular cards. Censuses can at least help you figure out who is who and which Paolo/Paul is who.

Thankfully,  birth records can really help you figure out people who have the same names. It can be really tricky when someone has the name Paul and a common Italian last name. At least a common name isn’t always common in one area.

Thankfully, Concetta’s son Paul was a lot easier to research! He was the son of Concetta and her husband Vincenzo Papatolo and was born in Haverhill in 1916.  It was easier researching him because the last name isn’t very common in Haverhill. The only thing that confuses me is how some members of the family spell the last name “Papatola” when documents in Italy spell it like “Papatolo”. It might have been a personal choice since no last names were changed at Ellis Island. 

Paul and Lorraine

Paul married Lorraine Pouliot in 1942 and they had a large family including a daughter that they named Paula. I don’t think that counts as a “Paul”. But it was so close! Paula is a DNA match and sadly she passed away in 2023. She went by the screen name “the great nana” and according to cousins who knew her, she really was a great nana!

She was also an avid Patriots fan and an education assistant. Can’t go wrong with that. Her obituary is really well written. Check it out: https://www.seacoastonline.com/obituaries/pprt0631672

I really wish I was able to talk  with Paula. I sent her a message or two on Ancestry when she showed up as a match to my father, great-aunt and I. To each their own, I guess. There’s no sense in dwelling on something you can’t control. I do talk to other relatives of Paula and they all said nice things about her! That’s good enough!

That’s pretty much all I can say about all of the people named Paolo/Paul in my tree. Like Giuseppe, Concetta, Maria and Giovanni, the names were passed down through time and anglicized once they arrived in America. If you study Italian records, the same names are going to pop up every once in a while. When that happens, you should be mindful of the dates, places and circumstances because a Paul Coppola on a death record could easily be the son or the father. You never know.

See ya next time!

P.s. As for the original Paolo from the early 19th century, I still need to figure out who his mother was. I think I’d need his marriage record. I’m 100% sure his father was Francesco thanks to dna evidence. 

52 Ancestors Week 46: Wartime

From Amy Johnson Crow Week 46:

The theme for Week 46 is “Wartime.” Who in your family has served in the military? Alternatively, do you have someone who couldn’t or wouldn’t serve? Have you had any breakthroughs using military records?

War. War never changes

     Who in my family has served, huh? Talking about everyone who served in the armed forces in any capacity would take a long, long time and I do like to keep these blogs short. There isn't anyone who hasn't served aside from my father. Both of my grandfathers were veterans of World War II. All four great-grandfathers served in World War I. I have three confirmed veterans of the American Civil War and about a dozen or so Soldiers of the American Revolution. It's a good thing I listed them all on a free space page on WikiTree for just these occasions! You need a scorecard to keep them all straight!

    Ironically, with all the men who served in my family, I only know about my grandfather Robert's service during World War II. He served in the Air Corps, the organization that eventually became the U.S. Air Force. He flew planes and the birth of my mother clipped his wings. He also traveled quite extensively to bases in Japan after the war. He was also well-decorated with tons of medals. Not bad for a kid from Brooklyn....er....Newburyport. Come on. Humor me. He was like Captain America to me! 

Fun Fact: He did chuckle a few times when I showed him some comics with Captain America. He said...and I quote "Hey! I remember that guy!" Now that's staying power for the leader of Earth's mightiest heroes!

    While I may have had heroes who served overseas, I would think that guarding America's shores is just as important as serving in Europe and in the Pacific. Enter my great-grandfather Giuseppe Carrabs. While both of my grandfathers were in Europe giving the Nazis what-for, he was stationed in Massachusetts as an air raid warden.

    Now, I already knew he served the country during World War I. I have a picture of him in his uniform that I'll be sharing in a bit. I just find it interesting that he was called into service once again.

    Giuseppe was born in 1882 and by the second world war he was in his sixties. Clearly, his draft card was one of those "Old men's draft cards".

    Nevertheless, he served and his service was noted in his obituary in 1974.  My dad's cousins make it a point to leave military markers and American flags at his grave in Haverhill. Not all heroes are on the front lines, you know. Some people have the daunting task of protecting the nation when a bulk of the fighting force is overseas. Their job is just as important as anyone else. While his time in World War II was admirable, let's go back in time a bit to the first World War and imagine what it must have been like for him.

The only pic I have of him with hair!

    On September 2nd, 1918, Giuseppe was drafted and served the U.S. army during the first world war at the age of thirty-three.  I honestly don't know much about his service during that time. However, I can tell you that it seems like he was the only Carrabs brother who served in that conflict since I can't find any record stating Pasquale or Rocco served with him.

    This isn't to say that they never served. Rocco and Pasquale both have old mens' draft cards from the 1940s. It's curious that they don't have World War I draft cards. Were they already too old to serve at that point? I'm not sure about that. Giuseppe was the oldest of the three since he was born in 1882. Rocco was born in 1887 and Pasquale was born in 1894. It's curious that he had a draft card and his brother's don't.

    I wonder if they did have cards and the cards were never digitized. Or perhaps it was because Rocco didn't speak much English or something. The possibilities are endless.

    In any case, Giuseppe clearly served toward the end of the war. My dad's cousin Dennis gave me the picture of Giuseppe in his uniform after asking him if he knew anything about his grandfather's time in the army He sadly didn't. He just told me that there was a picture of him in his uniform. He sent it to me and the weird thing was that when I saw it, I felt like I've seen it before.

  In my travels, I've seen many pictures and my grandmother Ollie and her sisters  had in their homes. I suspect that picture was at my great-aunt Louise's house. Louise was Dennis's mother and I must have seen the picture there along with many other photos. 

    Anyway, it must have been tough for Giuseppe being the only one of his brothers to serve in World War I. Sadly, I have no idea what unit he served in or what he actually did during the war. That's okay, though. Sometimes it's enough to know that he served.

    Still, I bet there is something on Fold3 about his service in that era. Then again, there may not be much considering he was discharged following year when the war ended. A lot can happen in a year. It remains to be seen what he was doing during that year. Uncle Sam called him back into service twenty years later as an air raid warden at least. I just wonder what he was doing in that year during the 1910s.

    I have a feeling he stayed in America since his daughters were very young during those days, My great-aunt Louise was born a month after the war ended in December of 1918. Because of his family situation, he likely opted to serve in the national guard and that's fine. It also syncs up with him being an air raid warden some twenty years later. Then again he may have volunteered for that service.

    In any case, Giuseppe clearly served the United States and was one of a few Italian immigrants in my tree to do so. That's pretty awesome in my book. He might not have been Captain America like my grandfather Robert. But, he was still pretty awesome. 'Nuff said!

See ya next time!

    

52 Ancestors Week 45: Multiple

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 45:

The theme for Week 45 is “Multiple.” Any twins or triplets in the family? What about someone with multiple names? Or, thinking a bit more creatively, what about a math teacher?

I still say this banner looks like a painting.

    When you work on your family tree chances are you're going to find someone with multiple spouses, twins and multiple siblings. I have them all! My 2nd great-grandmother Gertrude Stevens  had three spouses: Wilfred Felker, Walter Senter and Charles Berry. Her mother Evaline was a twin and sadly her twin brother didn't survive to adulthood. If he did, you can bet I'd be writing about him. Alas poor Edward Fisher. We'll never know if you were the evil twin or not. For more on Gertrude and her story, check out this blog from 2021.

    This week I've decided to take a look at someone who had multiple children and I have quite a few of them. Pun intended. I come from a mixed Italian and French-Canadian family. Large families come with the territory and getting every single one of the children in the same tree (let alone the same room) is a lot like herding cats. With that in mind, let me pick a couple of ancestors at random and let's talk about their many children.

Vincenzo Carrabis, looking like
Alfred Pennyworth.

    Vincenzo Carrabs and Maria Giovanna Capobianco are a couple of ancestors of mine who I don't really discuss that often in the blog.  I'm sure I have mentioned their children on more than one occasion. However, I don't really know as much about them as people as I'd have liked. I know more about my other Italian second great-grandparents and what they were like. Vincenzo and Maria on the other hand are a complete mystery to me. All I have are their pictures and sometimes pictures aren't enough.

    That isn't to say I don't know anything about them. I know they were both born in Gesualdo, Italy and that they got married in October 1880 in the Campanian town of Frigento. A cousin of mine did a lot of work researching the family and they had many children together. Not just the ones who went to America.

    Vincenzo and Maria ended up having nine children together and as far as I can tell only one of them died young. His name was Pasquale Antonio and had a younger brother who shared his name. It's a common practice in Italy to name a child after a sibling who unfortunately died young.

    

    As far as I can tell, Vincenzo and Maria's other children all lived exceptional lives. I only know of the four that ended up in America. My great-grandfather Giuseppe, his brothers Rocco and Pasquale and their sister Rosina sailed across the Atlantic in the early 1900s along with a few other Carrabis cousins who ended up near Worcester, Mass. If you've heard about the story where three brothers go to America, you might think that was a made up story. In my case it's true. Giuseppe went to Haverhill, Mass and the others ended up in Everett and Melrose. Sometimes those farfetched stories are true!

    The other children are a bit of a mystery to me. Angiola was born in 1881 and married a man named Francesco Pascucci and they had three children between 1907 and 1914. Maria Antonia was born in 1883 and passed away in 1904. Michele was born in 1885 and not much is currently out there about him. Raffaele was born in 1899 and he married Eugenia Finamore in 1921. I wish I knew more about what happened to the children who got married. I might have cousins still living in the Gesualdo area! You never know!

Rocco on the far left and Pasquale on the far right.

    I admit it's a dream of mine to come into contact with cousins living in Gesualdo, Frigento and Grottaminarda. I have cousins in San Pietro a Maida. It stands to reason that I have cousins in Gesualdo! Seems logical.

    Anyway, of all the Carrabis kids who lived in America Rocco was the one who had the most children. He and his wife Caterina d'Avino had eleven children between 1913 and 1934. To list them all would probably require a whole new blog and I have a feeling this blog will go on for quite a while

.

    To sum up many of Rocco's children had descendants who took DNA tests and I DNA confirmed six of the children on WikiTree. Many of the grandchildren have told me about how Rocco never spoke English and how he always made Italian ices for them. My father confirmed the stories as Rocco and his family would visit his grandfather Giuseppe in Haverhill many times. He was also an accomplished architect and built the houses on Windsor street in Melrose. Those houses still stand today!

    While Rocco and Caterina had their hands full with their children, Giuseppe and his wife Clementina had six children including my grandmother Olympia. I hope someone is making note of all of this. There'll be a quiz later.

    Pasquale and his wife Raffaela had four children and lived in nearby Everett and like Rocco's family they visited Giuseppe in Haverhill on many occasions. It's safe to say that the Carrabs brothers were very close to one another and it makes sense given how they were all strangers in a strange land. 

    Curiously, the odd one out of all the Carrabis siblings is Rosina. To date, I do not have a single picture of her. She lived near Pasquale in Everett and yet I've never seen a picture of her. It's so weird.

    This isn't to say I don't know anything about Rosina. I do. I know she got married twice. She married Antonio Pascucci in 1913 and Vincenzo d'Avino in 1923. Last year, I wrote a blog about how the family sort of lost touch with hers after she passed away in the early 1960s. She had one child with Antonio who died young and two with her second husband. Those two children had pretty big families as far as I can tell. I would love to get in touch with them. Maybe they have a picture of her! Dare to dream, Chris. Dare to dream. Maybe they'll show up as DNA matches on Ancestry! Fingers and toes are crossed.

    As you can see from this week's blog Italian families often have multiple children. Sometimes those kids share the same name. Sometimes people lose touch with one another. It's an unfortunate part of life. It tends to happen when you have large families. Keeping track of everyone is a full-time job and thankfully I have my online trees documenting everyone. I hope that those trees entice people to contact me because I'd love to know more about the Carrabis family. I'd especially would love to talk to descendants of Rosina and descendants of Vincenzo and Maria who are still living in Gesualdo. One way or another, I want to get the band back together! Dare to dream!!

See ya next time!

Edit: I discovered Vincenzo and Maria had a son named Carmine who was born in 1896. Will be researching him!