52 Ancestors Week 41: Passed Down

 From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 41 is "Passed Down." We can pass down lots of things: stories, clothes, special items. What is something that has been passed down to you or that you've passed down to someone else?

This belongs in a museum!!

    I originally intended to write a blog about my grandpa Marco's sword, which was passed down to me by my grandmother in 2002. However, I got some sad news this week and it kind of derailed my blogging plans. My great-aunt Nicolina passed away on September 17th, 2022 at the age of 99 and a half. My dad's cousin Cathie informed us a few days ago of her passing and a lot of feelings came bubbling to the surface. Of course I was sadden by her loss. Who wouldn't be? My cousin Caterina said it best when I told her the news. "Ninety-nine is a good age. She lived a long and hopefully happy life." That, we can definitely agree on! She did live a long life and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that she passed down some amazing things to me whether she realized it or not.

    It's often said that the older generations are like a library of information waiting to be checked out and that's why it's a good idea to respect your elders. To me, Nicolina was an older generation connection to my grandfather. Sure I had my father who could have told me anything I wanted to know about him. However, Nicolina had the inside scoop about what her brother was like growing up in Haverhill in the 1930s. Talking to her was like talking to my grandfather--something I never really got the chance to do.

    From her, I learned about that story where she and her brother answered the door and spoke Italian to some random guy who probably thought he had the wrong house! That story stuck with me because I can just imagine the two of them deliberately trolling a strange man who dared to knock at the door while their parents weren't home! I'm not saying I would have done the same thing. Who am I kidding? You readers know I would have done something similar. I had to have gotten my silly/sarcastic streak somewhere. Though, knowing me I'd have gone that extra mile and told the man to visit "Al Fresco" down the street.

    Funny stories aside, Nicolina also provided me with a love of genealogy without ever really telling me it WAS genealogy. That's the best way for some people to learn! She would share photos with me with no prompting whatsoever and I just ate it up!

    Take this photograph for example! Over Thanksgiving one year she sent this fantastic photo of her family to me. It shows her parents Vincenzo, Maria and her brother shortly after their arrival in 1929. While we do have a copy of this photograph, it still meant a lot that she would pass down a very important piece of family history. I told her "Thank you!" so many times I think she got tired of it after a while! Can you blame me? It's a great picture! I call it the "Coming to America" photograph. 

    Over the course of many years, I've gotten so many photos from her and I think I like this one the most mainly because it's one of only two photos I have of Maria. It's also nice to see my grandfather so young and with hair! That's another rare sight. Trust me! 

    This photo was also the first of many I was given over the course of maybe an hour. I was getting a ton of e-mails in such a short period of time that I hadn't had time to really process everything. Apparently, Cathie was taking pictures of them with her phone and sending them that way. I eventually clipped out the unnecessary bits.

    As I continued on my genealogical adventure, I ended up sharing pictures I found with her. 

I think I know who some of these people are!
My grandparents are easy to spot on the left!
Vincenzo is near the middle.

    When Caterina sent me this photograph from her wedding, I sent it to Cathie to share with Nicolina. The response I got was what I expected. They loved the photograph and wanted more! Additionally, they both wanted to contact Caterina so I exchanged e-mails with them so that they could talk to one another.

More photos were eventually exchanged along with a story that had been passed down in the family. Don't worry. This doesn't have anything to do with lost Italian gold buried in the floorboards of the house they grew up in. Wouldn't that be amazing? Yeah, I don't think the current residents would like it if I showed up in Haverhill with a pickax and a miner's hat....

    Photographs are just some of the many things that have been passed down in my family over the years and I've been fortunate to have a veritable library of photos and items. My house could be a museum if I wanted it to be. One room alone could be dedicated to toys from the 1980s and 1990s. I can't guarantee they'd be in MINT condition.

    As far as Aunt Nickie goes, I'll always remember she did more than just pass down various photographs. She passed down some great memories and stories that I'll always remember. In fact, I should probably share more of them here, right! Nicolina was always willing to share because she saw her family in New England so rarely. She passed down a love of genealogy without saying it was genealogy. Her approach was always more "Here's a story about so and so" and she never really stuck to specific dates unless asked. That's how I learned to appreciate the stories she told. And I will definitely continue to tell those stories here in this blog! I hope you enjoy them because I sure did!

See ya next time!

RIP Nicolina Caterina Ferraiolo (1923-2022).