52 Ancestors Week 52: You

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 52
Week 52's theme is "You." I've often said that we need to remember that we are a part of our own family history. What do want future generations to know about you?

*record scratch* That's me...sitting in a restaurant
waiting for my burger.

The year 2019 is rapidly coming to a close and I look forward to Amy Johnson Crow's New 52. I know it'll be better received than DC Comics' New 52 from 2011! That was....a mess. But, you aren't here to listen to me ramble about DC's editorial mandates or other comic issues that make my head hurt. That's for my sister blog, Starbolt Productions to deal with. Even then I focused mainly on Marvel Comics over there.

Onto this week's prompt! Writing about myself has never really been my strongest suit. I'm always afraid I'll come off as bit egotistical or something. It's just how I am. I've gotten better at it with these blogs because they serve a purpose. You're writing about yourself in a different way with these entries. You're writing your family history and that's really about you and your family.

What do I want future generations to know about me, huh? Well, for starters they WILL come across this blog, eventually. There's no question about that. The Internet is forever. You may not think so, but, with Archive.org keeping track of all websites, you can bet that this site will be joining the archive some day. Unfortunately this means that websites like Hamsterdance will ALSO be on there. No, I'm not going to link it. It's just a bunch of gifs of hamsters dancing. What a waste of bandwidth.

Sites like WikiTree will also be archived.

I suppose that if the sites weren't easily accessible I would like future generations, like my nephews, to know the following things:

1. Genealogy at this point in time is very different from what you're probably used to. Less records are online and people still went to libraries. Shocking! Take advantage of what you can learn about your heritage and talk to your older relatives! A gold mine of info awaits! USE IT!

2. You have family still living in Italy. It'd be a great idea to contact them and learn all you can from them too. In my experience, they love hearing from their cousins in America. Contact them. You'd be glad you did. Trust me!

3. If you take a DNA test, don't be surprised by anything that comes your way. The Italian peninsula was populated by many, many people over the course of many centuries!

4. Speaking of DNA tests, Always go with the biggest database and as of 2019, Ancestry is still king of the proverbial hill.

5. Our family history isn't as clean-cut as you'd like it to be. Drama existed then just like it does now. Our ancestors were people like you and me and it's important to realize that because a part of them lives on in you. In order to best deal with it, just accept it as a fact of life and move on. That's really all you can do.

You're going to find drama. Hopefully, my blog will help you sort through it all.

Lastly, I would like future generations to know that family is whatever you make of it. Blood or not. If you are interested in looking up family history you should know that a lot of work went into finding all of this information. It's out there and as of December 2019 there's still more to to be discovered. You will likely find stuff I haven't found. Feel free to add it to the family history and make changes if they are needed. 

Genealogy now is different than genealogy of the future. To quote Howard Stark in the Iron Man movies "I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world."

Who knows what will be discovered!

See you in 2020!

52 Ancestors Week 51: Future

From Amy Johnson Crow:

Week 51:

Although we spend most of our genealogy time looking back, we should also look ahead. Week 51's theme is "Future." Who or what do you want to find next year? Which family member do you think will pick up the family history and carry it forward? Another way to think of it is to think of an ancestor who seemed to be "ahead of their time."

Please don't drive 88.

We are just a few short weeks away from the end of 2019! What are we going to do? Well, we aren't going to panic. Everything'll be just fine! I have some genealogical plans for 2020 and I hope that something comes from these in the next year because they are definitely worth looking into. There are so many things I want to find next year. Perhaps my future self will write about it in a future blog. Wow. Got a little 4th dimensional there.

This year I made some great strides in my research into my father's paternal side. I found my 2x great-grandmother, Caterina Coppola's birth certificate from San Pietro a Maida in my own basement. Using Thrulines on Ancestry, I made connections I never thought possible. I've also helped a number of people with their own genealogical trips through time and space. So, what should I do in 2020?

Antonio Tedesco and Domenica Gullo

Well, as it happens I have a wish list. If you're like me, you plan out things and here is what I plan to do in 2020.

1. Break the brick wall that is my 2x great-grandmother,  Domenica Gullo. 

It's time to break down this brick wall and in 2020 I might just be able to finally do it. Last week, I mailed a card and a letter to cousins in Italy. Aside from the holiday greetings, I asked them if they could help me figure out Domenica's story. We know she was born in the 1870s in San Pietro and died in 1959. There's so much that I do not know like....

When did she and Antonio get married?

Who were Antonio's brothers and sisters for that matter?

There's so much that I want to figure out and I really hope my cousins can help. All I really need is an exact date of birth. Once I do that, I can ask the commune office for information on her parents and go from there.

2. Research the family of Caterina Coppola.

The Coppola family, also from San Pietro, is another semi brick wall. I say this because I already know her parents were Paolo Coppola and Rosa Suverato. That's really all I know about the Coppolas aside from Paolo having a sister named Caterina. I always found it interesting that Paolo named his daughter after his sister. That goes against normal Italian naming conventions....unless Paolo's mother was ALSO named Caterina! This is another Italian mystery I intend to solve in 2020.

3. The Tedescos

As you can see here, Antonio's family tree needs to be worked on. I'm taking this one step at a time. But, I would like to see it worked on more in 2020. Will it happen? That remains to be seen! The main thing I want to check out is Angela Gatto.

That about does it for my dad's side of the tree. His maternal side is well documented thanks to awesome cousins and the availability of records in Gesualdo. What about my mother's side? Surely her side needs some love and attention in 2020. Don't worry. I have plans.....

4. The Descendants of Jean Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche. 

Jean Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche were my 4x great-grandparents and were from Quebec. They had many, many, many kids. Most of them settled in Minnesota except for my 3x great-grandmother, Eulalie Bibeau and her husband, Pierre Cadran. They moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts in the late 1870s. So....I kind of want to know what compelled them to move there. Minnesota and Massachusetts aren't exactly next door! Did Pierre see more opportunity in the mills along the Merrimack River? Who knows?

I also want to document the DNA matches who descend from these two because there are a LOT of them. Like over 60 for my mother and half of that for me. No wonder there was a DNA circle for these two back when Ancestry did DNA circles.

There have been serious rabbit holes with the family as each child of Jean Baptiste and Therese have had many kids and they had many kids. And so on. And so on. And so on....

They're all documented. It's just a matter of PUTTING them all in there!

5. Antione Legault's final resting place.

I'm interested in finding out the final resting place of my 2x great-grandfather, Antoine Legault. No one on my mother's side seems to know where he was buried. His wife, Lucie, was buried in Saint Joseph's Cemetery in Haverhill along with her second husband, Paul. 

So, where is Antoine buried? I have a feeling he may be in Walnut Cemetery in Haverhill along with other members of the Legault family like my great-grandmother, Henrietta. My great-aunt on my mother's side has offered to take me to Walnut to check things out and I am definitely taking her up on that!

6. Wilfred Felker's exact date of death

For now my 2x great-grandfather's death date is just 1951. That doesn't really tell me much. I hope to find out more. Perhaps he was also buried in Walnut along with the other Felkers. The answers lay there. I know they do!

The only surefire way I can answer a few questions is by going to the Haverhill Public Library. Time had prevented me from doing so before. There's never enough hours in the day. So, I have to set aside some time and knock out a few of these questions in 2020. Will I do it? You bet I will. 2020 will be a year I get to answer a few questions. Knowing me....a few more questions will pop up.

I hope I get a chance to answer these and all the others I have. This is just a small checklist of things to do and is basically the tip of the genealogical iceberg.

What does the future hold? Well, to quote Doctor Emmett L. Brown.....

The future hasn't been written yet! No one's has! The future is whatever you make of it. So, make it a good one!

52 Ancestors Week 50: Tradition

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 50:

This is the time of year when many families celebrate various traditions that they have. Several days from now, I'll serve pork chops and sauerkraut, the traditional New Year's Day dinner on both my paternal and maternal lines. Do you know the origin of any of your ancestors? Or, taken another way, what's a genealogy tradition in you family that you've had to dispute (or proven)?

The Eight Greats!

How are there only two weeks left in the year already? It seems like yesterday that I was telling everyone about my grandfather Marco Ferraiolo and his para-trooping exploits. Two more weeks, huh? Better make them count! I will be back in 2020 of course. Doing #52Ancestors has proven to be really fun and I'm sure Amy will continue to do these for years to come. If not, I could always make something up for these blog entries.

Amy is right. During this time of year people celebrate various traditions based on their ethnic origins. So, it shouldn't come to any surprise that I eat a lot of pasta on Christmas Eve. Shocking, right? The Italian guy eats pasta. What's next? Baguettes? Yes, I've had those, too. Great for dipping in sauce and making subs.

Melons wrapped in prosciutto! Mmm!

Word of caution before you continue reading. This blog might actually make you hungry. =)

Ever since I was little, we would have a huge get-together on Christmas eve. It was a multi-generational affair with all of our Italian friends and relatives. It was started by my Grandpa Marco and Grandma Ollie. A lot of people would come over from all over the Merrimack valley and beyond. When I was a kid, we'd pick up my grandmother, Ollie, and she'd stay with us until after the holidays.

That wasn't all. We would have a feast that night like you wouldn't believe. It's usually customary for Italians to serve fish on Christmas eve. So, that's what we did and still do to this day. We would eat pasta, haddock, shrimp and calamari. Calamari is of course squid. My dad would prepare the calamari in many different ways such as:

* Fried
* Stuffed
* In sauce
* Squid salad

We would also serve haddock and gnocchi if the person didn't much care for squid and still wanted some pasta.

Baked stuffed calamari!

My parents tried to accommodate everyone's tastes and be gracious hosts. We never really had anything French-Canadian that night and it was fine. My mother embraced cooking Italian goodies to the point where she did a really good job preparing a lot of the dishes I'm showing in this blog! Though, I was often in charge of wrapping the melons in prosciutto and cutting the rest of the antipasto dishes like cheese.

People brought many treats as well. My great-aunts would bring cookies that they baked. My dad's cousins would be in charge of desserts. They'd bring cannolis, tiramisu and other desserts. It was fantastic!

Not to be outdone, people on my mom's side of the family would bring treats too like shrimp cocktails and various dips. One time one of my parents' friends brought shrimp dip. It was pureed shrimp as a dip and you'd put it on crackers. It was okay. I still tried it despite having many, many reservations! You should always try something at least once in your life. And if you don't like it, then that's fine. A notable exception is liver and onions. That stuff is gross and is considered a war crime by the International War Tribunal of the Hague.

The food wasn't the only thing on the menu of course. Being with family meant that we would talk about the old days. In some cases, it was the really old days. Christmas eve when I was a kid was one of the times where I would learn the most about my family history when I wasn't with either set of grandparents. I would walk around and listen to conversations and ask questions should the opportunity present itself.

I can remember another time where we'd bring out the old film projector and watch old home movies. It was nice to see my grandparents in their much younger days. I remember seeing Giuseppe and Clementina the most.  We definitely had a lot of good times watching the film reels. It would be a very good idea to preserve them. Film reels don't last forever. Just look at the lengths people have gone to preserve old reels containing things from world events to classic episodes of Doctor Who.

Aside from the meals and learning family history, my first cousins and I would always hang out and we'd have a good time while the adults talked. We'd play the then latest video game consoles and just catch up. Those were always good times!

Now that I'm older, my relatives tend to ask me if I could look into something. Last Christmas eve, my dad's cousins were talking about another Carrabs child Giuseppe and Clementina had. When I had free time, I did some digging in the archives for Gesualdo and found that they did indeed had another child. Her name was Olimpia like my grandmother.

I guess you could say that the "circle is now complete". I join in the discussions about family and say what I found out online. Everyone is usually impressed. I guess they remember how curious I used to be. I still am and I will always cherish the Christmas eve get-togethers because they were fun and probably a little educational!

Christmas eve parties still continue and now our tree has ornaments that have ornaments that once belonged to my grandparents on there. The parties may have gotten smaller in recent years due to people passing, but, they are still memorable. And they're never really gone as long as you remember them.

See you next time!

52 Ancestors Week 49: Craft

From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 49 is "Craft." Do you have an ancestor who was a craftsman? How about a tradition of crafting in your family? (I come from a line of crafters and I have always enjoyed doing crafts of all kinds. I've also started quilting, a craft that both my grandmother and my aunt spent countless hours doing.) Do you have a handmade craft that's been passed down?

Natalie Felker-Hamel

A Marco Ferraiolo original.

Crafting is the name of the game this week, huh? Let's see. I could talk about how my grandfather, Marco and my dad built the house I grew up in and my dad's dental practice. He also did a fair amount of oil painting, too. He did some landscapes and even painted a picture of his father and his second wife, Fortuna. That painting currently resides in the break room of my father's office. I used to look at it and wonder if that's where I got my artistic ideas  from. Then again, I can't draw people well. Animals? Sure! Landscapes? Yeah. Ordinary objects? Not that hard. People? NOPE!

Do stick figures count?

I've also already talked about my great-grandfather, Alfred Francis Hamel who was known as "Mr. Fix-it" in Newburyport. Sufficed it to say, crafting has been and still is a huge part of the family on both sides. Who should I focus on this week? Who's left? Well.....

There's still one person I need to talk about who really, really was into crafting. The person I'm referring to is my maternal grandmother, Natalie Florence Felker. She did most of the crafting for everyone in the family. Like Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter series, she would knit sweaters for all ten of us grandkids. They were hot, itchy and didn't fit too well to be honest. There's more to it than that and way more to her story than just a grandmother who loved to embroider, knit and crochet.

Natalie was born on April 20th, 1927 to Austin Felker and Henrietta Legault. Growing up, she was the second youngest child out of six children and for as long as I could remember, she was into creating all kinds of arts and crafts projects! If my grandfather was the typical grandfather, then I think my grandmother was the typical grandmother! Every time I visited, I don't think I ever saw her without some kind of sewing equipment out. She was ALWAYS working on something!

The Hamel clan in the groovy '60s!

In June of 1948, she married my grandfather, Robert Hamel and had six children including my mother. Natalie tended to make matching outfits for her two youngest daughters, my aunts Linda and Peggy. Having seen the pictures on Facebook for "Throwback Thursday", all I can say is that they were definitely yellow. Look at the pic. Linda is the tall girl in yellow and wow doesn't she look happy?! =D

When I was younger, she made even an afghan for my brother and I. I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons wrapped up in it on cold winter mornings. It was especially helpful after coming in from shoveling snow. Gotta love those New England winters! Her quilt also came in handy, too! Sadly, it wasn't one of those genealogy quilts I've seen around the Internet. It was just your typical colorful quilt that could keep you nice and warm. Or make a neat roof for a fort.

Time goes on.

That wasn't all she made. She was also quite adept at needlepoint and crochet work, too. Check out this picture. I was visiting my brother and his family for Thanksgiving and I needed to get a picture of this clock in preparation for this blog. Yes, I plan these in advance. Surprised? You should see the backlog of comic scripts I have at the ready.

The clock was made in 1989 and for the longest time it resided in the den at my parents' house. It was special to us not just because it had our last name on it. It meant a lot to the family because my grandmother made it and when my brother moved away, the clock went with him. I bet he has told his kids a lot about the woman who made this clock!

Now that's a cool anniversary present!

Don't worry. We still have PLENTY of her crochet work laying around. This one she made in 1996 for my parents' wedding anniversary. It's pretty cool. I mean, I'm not a needlepoint critic. I'm just a guy sharing the cool arts and crafts stuff my grandmother made over the years. It's interesting to be honest. Each one of my aunts and uncles received crochet work tailored to them and their own families. She took a lot of time to make these works of art for everyone and they're still loved to this day.

Since Christmas is coming up, there's one last creation my grandmother made that I want to share. We bring it out every Christmas and each one of the Hamel kids also has one of these works of art.

 This angel was one of the last things my grandmother made before she passed away in January of 2004. Ever since then, we've used it to top the Christmas tree. If there was no room, we would put it on the mantle next to other decorations. All of my aunts and uncles has a version of the angel and it's a nice piece to remember her by.

Don't get me wrong. The needlepoint and everything else is great, too! We have a lot of memories and I like to think that things that our ancestors left behind ensures that a piece of them will always be with us, forever. This includes photos, needlepoint projects, quilts, paintings and whatever else you can think of. It makes them tangible and more real and not just some name you put in your favorite tree creation software.

I've often wondered why she did all this work. It was clearly a hobby and she was great at it. Look at all the stuff I've shared. That's just a small sample of her work! Every single member of the immediate family has something of hers. Perhaps she wanted something for people to remember her by? Nah. Too selfish. Perhaps she just liked working on things and sharing them with her family. I like that explanation.

Ancestors leave behind great things that should be cherished by family members. The creations my grandmother made over the years definitely will! What they leave behind will always be with you. All ten of us have something of our grandmother and you can be sure we appreciate it.....Weasley sweaters and all!

See you next time!

P.S. I should note that my aunt Linda went on to make crafts as well. She make me a Superman cape and a Spider-Man costume back in the day. She is now designing doggie beds for all her friends and family. Cats also like it, too!