52 Ancestors Week 15: Brick Wall

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Brick walls—we all have them. This would be a good week to write down what you know about your brick wall problem. (Sometimes just writing about it can help!) You could write about an ancestor who used to be a brick wall. Or get creative—maybe an ancestor who was a bricklayer?

Welcome to Atop the Brick Wall....

       I'm not going to lie. "Atop the Brick Wall" does sound like a great name for a genealogy show on YouTube. The problem is that the name sounds way too similar to that of a friend of mine's show called "Atop the Fourth Wall". Click the link and take a guess what he reviews. Though, I suppose if you really wanted to use "brick wall" in the name of your show, there are other options. 

Who are your parents, Domenica?

    Anyway, let's discuss those genealogical brick walls! We all have them. Don't lie. I can tell. Especially you back there with the "Smith" in your tree. I have a couple of brick walls myself and I've dedicated a great deal of time in trying to break down the closest one to me. Her name is Domenica Gullo and I'm pretty sure I've talked about this woman many, many times. If you're new here, here's what you need to know about her:

1. She was born in San Pietro a Maida, Italy around 1876 and died in 1959.

2. She was the wife of Antonio Tedesco. I have no clue when they were married. It would have had to have been some time before 1900.

3. They had at least three children: Tommaso, Maria and Caterina.

4. My great-aunt has a few DNA matches who point toward a "Catanzaro" family.

5. Another DNA match has a woman named "Santa Amelia Gullo" in their tree. She was born in San Pietro in 1871 and her parents were Francesco Gullo and Bettina Medaglia. The match comes in at 19 cMs. That could mean anything according to the shared cM project!

6. My great-aunt has a closer DNA match who fits in the Gullo line and she shares 94 cMs with her. No tree.

    A cousin of mine who descends from Antonio and Domenica has offered to help me break the brick wall and I haven't heard much from her on the subject. She's a lawyer who works for the commune office. So, I'm not going to press too hard. I hope she finds something. I know she didn't forget about my problem.

I'm honestly amazed at how this paper survived.

    While I await the results, there has been a slight development in the case. Remember my deep dive into the metal box last week? In the box there was a list of everyone who attended the funeral of my great-grandmother, Maria. On the list were several names I recognized from the Coppola family.

    There were several other names that caught my attention because I had seen them on a few trees. Last names like "Serratore" and "Catanzaro" were on the list and it got me wondering what the connection was. I mean sure a majority of these people were most likely friends of the family. However, it's too much of a coincidence that my great-aunt would have Serratore and Catanzaro DNA matches and these same names show up in a metal box sitting in my parents' basement.

    Using the list of names from the booklet, I've been working on a list of the Ferraiolo family's friends and neighbors. This would be their "FAN" club. It's basically everyone they knew and based on what I've found, several families lived on the same street in Haverhill.

    As you can see by the image to the left, I've started to make some real headway into the fan club. Do these people have any connection to the Gullos? I have no idea. However, through process of elimination I have discovered family members for the Ferraiolo, Coppola and Tedesco family. 

Several other names, like "Frank Ferraiolo" piqued my interest. I have GOT to look that guy up. Who was he?! That was the first I ever read that name. Back on topic. As you can see, the list is extensive and I have a long way to go before I can pinpoint where everyone is and how everyone is connected. Some are blood relatives. Some look to be friends. However, there's always a possibility of there being more than meets the eye.  

    There you have it. I'm a little bit closer to solving this puzzle. I have a list of names and potential leads. I have DNA matches and as you all know DNA does not lie. I have a cousin who is actively helping me and since Italy has been dealing with the pandemic, I'm not going to push her too hard. That would be incredibly rude. Things do look promising at least. The clues are right in front of me and some day this tree will be filled in with family members.

You can almost see the tumbleweeds....

    I do have a few brick walls on my mother's side. Don't get me wrong. But, this is the one I really want to solve because Domenica is closer to me genealogically. She's in my first 30 on the tree and that's something I really like to work on. I've done all the research I can on other branches of my family tree. It's time to finally solve this puzzle. This blog represents where I am now in the grand scheme of things. I hope that by the end of the year I'll have something to share and this blog written in April of 2021 becomes an anecdote. 

    Once I do solve the puzzle, I won't be finished. I'll still have to look up the parents and see how far I can take Domenica's tree. Here's hoping for some good news on the horizon! So, right now I can safely say this brick wall is wobbly a little bit. Just needs a wrecking ball or perhaps even the "Kool-Aid Man". Will I find the answer? Probably. I'm not giving up!

See ya next time!