52 Ancestors Week #36: Exploration

 From Amy Johnson Crow:

The theme for Week 36 and September is "Exploration." Where did your ancestors explore? Who moved around a lot? You could also share records, libraries, or archives that you've explored in. Remember, there's no wrong way to interpret the theme!

It's a big world out there. Let's go exploring!

"We are all explorers, driven to know what's over the horizon, what's beyond our own shores. And yet... the more I've experienced, the more I've learned... that no matter how far we travel, or how fast we get there... the most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond that next star. They're within us - woven into the threads that bind us - all of us - to each other. The final frontier begins in this hall. Let's explore it together."-- Captain Johnathan Archer, "Star Trek: Enterprise: Terra Prime"

    You know, I really need to give "Star Trek: Enterprise" some credit. The writers REALLY did try to make it a great show during its last two seasons. They worked with what they could and gave us some pretty good episodes. Back on our planet and in the really real world, the quote from Scott Bakula's Captain Archer has some resonance with me. When we're doing genealogy, we are all essentially explorers. We're not seeking out strange new worlds and exploring space or anything like that. We're really just exploring our past and perhaps even our own identities.

Birth records or time capsule? BOTH!

     This is especially true in my case. As you all know, I've been digging into the records in San Pietro a Maida in the hopes of finding my ancestors who were born there. I have found a good chunk of my father's paternal side hidden within centuries old documents. I started a one place study on the town, too! I've even found relatives and stories that seem to tell me more about the town where my grandfather Marco was born and the story of the people who lived there.

     In essence, the birth records have become a history of San Pietro a Maida from the early 1800s to 1861. Over time, I see the same families pop up time and time again. I've seen families grow and sadly lose loved ones. It's amazing because these records are in fact a window into the past! I know that the same could certainly be said for any town in Italy and elsewhere around the world. Maybe I just feel a connection because my ancestors were born there? It's a bit hard to explain. Maybe I should share some examples of why that might be the case.   

   When I started to look at the records, I looked for the last names on my father's paternal side. The names "Ferraiolo", "Coppola", "Tedesco" and "Gullo" were my top priority because those were the last names of my 2nd great-grandparents who were all born in the town. Naturally, I needed to find their families and their stories because those were my direct ancestors. In looking for those names, I've found a bit more than I bargained for. In a good way!!

Gullo family #1

    Of all the names that kept popping up in my exhaustive searches, this guy ,Domenico Gullo, showed up more times than I care to count.  Domenico here represents one of the many Gullo families I found living in San Pietro in the middle of the 19th century. From what I've been able to piece together, he married a woman named Elisabetta DeVito some time before 1850 and had at least five children with her that I know of. By itself this doesn't seem too remarkable. There are a ton of large families in the town! Look at the name again. Seems pretty close to my 2nd great-grandmother's name doesn't it?

    It gets better, my friends! Domenico worked at the commune office as a "civico" and on some other birth documents a "Domenico Gullo" was the mayor people presented their child to at ye old commune office. Coincidence? Eh....I don't know. It might be the same guy. It might not be. I'd have to do some more research. He might be the same guy! We don't know! There are ways to find out! Ask the commune office for a list of every single mayor the town ever had.

    Chances are good he is a relative of Domenica, though. He could potentially be the father of Domenica's father, Francesco. That would be amazing because I'd have a 4th great-grandfather who was a mayor! We can only hope.

Gullo family #2.

     Francesco's father could even possibly be this man, Nicola Gullo. That's to be determined. I'm not one to say "Hey! This guy might be your ancestor. Pick him and attach him to your tree! No one'll notice!" They'll notice on WikiTree. Trust me. We have "Source-a-Thons" for this reason.

    Since there are so many Gullo families in San Pietro, I decided to put many of them on WikiTree because I thought I might find the connection to them all one day. You never know. I may be connected to both families. Look at one of Nicola's children. See the name Domenico? Curious. Very curious. 

    That Domenico was born in December of 1857, a good nineteen years before my second great-grandmother was born. Could he be a relative too? It's possible when you consider Italian naming conventions.

This third Gullo family is where things really start getting interesting!

Gullo family #3!

    Smeraldo Gullo was born around 1816 and so far he has the largest number of children I have seen in any of the Gullo families in Sam Pietro and I've cataloged maybe five of them for my one place study. It seems Gullo is a very popular last name and I wonder if Smeraldo, Nicola and Domenico all had the same father. They could be brothers. You never know. More research is clearly needed because now I could make a one name study about these Gullos.  There's over one hundred of them now on the site!

    Smeraldo's father was a man named Giuseppe. I learned this from his son, Smeraldo Giuseppe's birth record. On it, it lists Smeraldo's father. It seemed to be a custom in the mid 1850s to list the father's grandfather on the document. That comes in real handy!! Going forward, the San Pietro a Maida records from 1855 onward all listed the grandfather of the man who is presenting the child.

    The reason why I feel a connection to these families is simple. They are probably all related to my second great-grandmother somehow and it's kind of obvious. They share her last name and in some cases some of the children have the name "Domenico". Like I said before this really can't be a coincidence! There has to be something connecting Domenica to these families. What I need to do is find Francesco Gullo's birth. That, my friends is where things get complicated.

  

     As you might imagine I've found several Francecso Gullos born in San Pietro like this guy.  Other Francesco Gullos appeared to have died young. However, this Francesco was born on March 25th, 1855 to Nicola Gullo and Vincenza Sonetto (See Gullo family #2). Could he be the father of Domenica? It's possible. Francesco was twenty-one when Domenica was born and that's assuming he survived childhood. 

    It's a possibility because Domenica could have been named after her uncle Domenico. I know it seems like wishful thinking. Cut me some slack. It's possible. I was actually all set to add him as a father to Domenica when I thought I found someone else with the same name.

    You can never be too sure about these things. I want to make sure I have the right one even though all of the signs are there. If I really want to be sure, I am going to have to ask the commune office for the marriage of Francesco Gullo and Caterina Butruce. Unfortunately there are many Caterina Butruces in San Pietro. I can't just pick one. That would be lame. So lame.

    So far I have a Caterina Butruce born on November 13th, 1857 making her nineteen when Domenica was born. One Caterina was born on November 26th, 1848 making her twenty-eight in 1876. A third Caterina was born on December 28th, 1853. That's quite a lot of Caterinas, huh? Each one had different parents! It makes my head spin!

        The Caterina Butruce who has an Azzarito for a mother is a bit of an interest to me because my great-aunt has DNA matches who has Azzaritos in their tree. Many Azzaritos moved to Haverhill in the early 20th century and many attended my great-grandmother Maria Tedesco's funeral. Hmm....Curious, no?

    With all the stories I can come up with, I would like some hard facts backing up the stories. You can't really blame me for that. Still, the more I look at these records, I'm finding more information about the town than I ever thought possible. For example, I've found one guy who was fathering children in his seventies! There's a story there and it's one that's just begging to be told.

    The whole Butruce/Gullo chapter in the San Pietro records is just one part of a greater story of the town. I've found other stories from possible relatives who share the names on my tree. For example, there's a Ferraiolo who worked as a nurse and delivered babies in the 1830s. I haven't found my connection to her, yet. But, it'd be cool to see if there is one!

    If you have the means, I highly suggest exploring birth records in the town of your choice. It'll transform you and you will undoubtedly become engrossed in the epic tales of tragedy and triumph. We really are just explorers of the past and learning about it can really help you understand more about it as you study your family's history. So, go out there and explore! You might like what you find. You might not. The point is you go out there. But, before I go, let me leave you with these inspirational quotes from Starfleet's finest.

"Let's see what's out there. Engage."--Captain Jean Luc Picard, "Encounter at Farpoint."

"It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers. We explore our lives, day by day, and we explore the galaxy, trying to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. And that is why I am here. Not to conquer you either with weapons or with ideas, but to co-exist and learn."-- Captain Benjamin Sisko, "Emissary".

"Set a course. For home."-- Captain Kathryn Janeway, "Caretaker".

See you....out there.

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