From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 46 is "Birthdays." Do you have any fun birthday memories with an ancestor? Do you share a birthday with an ancestor?
Having a birthday in December can be a little annoying. Trust me. I know. I have a December birthday and when I was growing up I rarely had a birthday party. I still received presents from my friends and family. However, to this day I am convinced the presents I got from my parents I ended up getting was carefully selected from my Christmas list. According to my parents, the list was often extensive and complex with varying degrees of difficulty. Hey. I was selective! That and I wanted to make sure the Autobots had worthy foes to vanquish. Prime needed troops and Megatron needed cannon fodder.
December 14th, 1900 to Antonio Tedesco and Domenica Gullo.
Getting that juicy tidbit of information was a bit of a challenge because my great-aunt Nicolina had a bit of trouble remembering the exact birthdate. Her stone in St. Patrick’s cemetery in Haverhill only listed her birth and death as 1900 and 1943. So, how did I solve it? Well, I do have connections in San Pietro a Maida and they flat out told me Maria was born on that day. I thought that was cool. Literally and figuratively. This meant that she was born seventy-eight years and fourteen days before I was! That was pretty exciting to think about because the stone didn’t have any details.
As you can see, there’s just basic information there. It’s helpful. Don’t get me wrong. But, in the end Italian clerks require exact dates for when you want them to look something up for you. I can’t say I blame them. I thank my cousins in San Pietro for finding the information for me because it might have been a while before I actually found the date.
Alternatively, I could have just gone to the Haverhill library or the town hall to see if I could look at her death certificate. This way was a lot easier and let’s face it more personable because I got the chance to talk to a cousin or two in Italy and I love talking to them!
So, What does sharing a birth month with her mean to me? Well, it means other people in the family were also born in the same month I was. She is also the closest genealogically because even though Lucie Cadran was also born in December, she was a second great-grandmother. Don’t get me wrong. I love that I have two December births in the first thirty people in my tree. It’s just that Maria is closer and that family in Italy clearly remembered stories of their great-aunt in America. They descended from her sister, Caterina. Plus her birth was a bit closer to mine. Sorry, Lucie! you still rock, though!
Right. Let’s now turn to some late breaking news about the Tedesco family. Today I received an email from the commune office in San Pietro a Maida. I am now a step closer to breaking stubborn the brick wall that is Domenica Gullo. How? Well, I asked for the marriage of Antonio Tedesco and Domenica Gullo. Get this. The day they got married was November 18th, 1899!
This blog was published on November 18th, 2021! This is exactly one hundred and twenty-one years to the day! Happy anniversary, Antonio and Domenica! The sad part is that I may have Antonio’s parents wrong again. They vex me so much considering there is ample Dna evidence and everything. I am beginning to suspect a non parental event. But, that’s a story for another time. In the mean time, I am one step closer to solving this brick wall! Next step is asking for Dominica’s birth and parents! If I get that info on my birthday this year….
See ya next time!
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