52 Ancestors Week 52: Resolution

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 52's theme is "Resolution." Are you thinking about research goals for next year? Who or what are you wanting to find?

Don't you just love fan charts?

   Looking back, I'm going to think of 2020 as the year where everything came to a halt. That's probably the best way to describe one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory. Politely, anyway. Our lives were put on hold because of the pandemic and while we couldn't do many of the things we wanted to do, there were still some amazing discoveries to be had. Even though I was stuck at home for the most part here's a short list of some of the discoveries I made.

Alfred Francis Hamel

    Last summer, my aunt delivered a couple boxes from my grandfather Robert's house and inside was a veritable treasure trove of photos, medals and all kinds of great things. Not to be outdone, there were plenty of things from my grandmother Natalie's side of the family too mixed in the boxed up goodness. There were so many pictures and documents in those two boxes that I've only just begun to scratch the surface of what was inside.

    Of course that wasn't thing I discovered. Some time later someone on FamilySearch uploaded a family photo and in center of the picture was my 2x great-grandmother, Gertrude Frances Stevens! That was amazing as I never saw her picture before. Sufficed it to say I was quite excited when I saw her. I was also a bit amazed at how much she looked like my mother. Genetics, man. It's always a giveaway. Most of the time.

    

    Discoveries weren't confined to just my mother's side of the tree. I found and recorded new ancestors for Antonio Tedesco, my 2x great-grandfather after I forced a Thruline change on AncestryDNA. I talked to potential DNA matches, who are going to take a DNA test. I found and edited a better version of the Ferraiolo family photo from 1929. I even found ancestors for my 4x great-grandfather, Giuseppe Suverato who was born in Maida, Italy.

All new, All edited!

    Photographs seemed to be the theme for the last year because I found a lot of them. There are some more that I wish to find. I know it sounds greedy and I should be thankful for what I have found. But, I like putting faces to the names. It brings people who have been gone for so long back to life! So, for this next year one of my resolutions will be finding photos of my 2x great-grandparents, Antoine Legault and Lucie Cadran.

    I'll be the first one to admit that finding Antoine's picture is going to be a little difficult for a few reasons. He died in 1901 and photography was considered very expensive back in those days. It's possible. Don't get me wrong. It may end up being a tin-type photo and that's fine. I just would like to know what the man looked like. My great-aunt might have a picture of him and a second cousin did get a box of photos from her. So, my resolution would be to meet up with the second cousin (As planned last year) and see if there is a picture of him. I hope there is one!

   

                                                 Another one of my resolutions has to do with finding the time to get to the Haverhill library. This one is a no-brainer. We've all been missing libraries haven't we? I know I have. Once things get back to normal, you can bet everything that I will be one of the first to open the doors and park it at the nearest computer. One thing I'll need is a list of all the things I'll want to look up. I'll have to make multiple trips of course. There's no way I can discover everything in the space of an hour or two. I'd need more time and there just isn't enough hours in the day!

            My biggest resolution is and will be for a long time is trying to find out the identity of my 2x great-grandmother, Domenica Gullo's parents. I have yet to discover their identities and I am hopeful I will find some information. I was able to find some Tedesco info. Now I need to find more. The game plan is to ask for Antonio and Domenica's marriage document or ask cousins. Now that I have a plan I can probably, FINALLY, get this resolution taken care of. I hope! Keep those fingers crossed!

       I'm not sure what other resolutions I have at the moment. For right now, though, I just want to wish everyone a happy holiday season. I'm hopeful that next year will be light years better than this one was. Even though I made some discoveries, there's still more I wish I was able to do. My resolutions are on the relatively simple side because I want to make them more attainable. I hope I discover more and I am sure I will! See you next year!