52 Ancestors Week 21: Brick Wall

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 21

The theme for Week 21 is "Brick Wall." Do you have an ancestor (or 4) who you can't seem to make any progress on in your research? This would be a good week to write about that ancestor and really think about what you know about that ancestor, how you know it, and where you might look to fill in the gaps. Writing is part of the research process!

Welcome to Atop the Brick Wall....

    "Atop the Brick Wall" would be a fantastic name for a genealogy blog, wouldn't it? However, it's far too close to the name of my friend Lewis's webshow, "Atop the FOURTH Wall", where he reviews comics, the occasional television show and all things nerdy and awesome. I think the name "All Roads Lead to Haverhill" works just as well because it's a play on "All roads lead to Rome". Besides, it's not like I haven't done anything nerdy and awesome in this blog, right? That and calling my blog "Atop the Brick Wall" would just confuse people into thinking I was Lewis....again.

    Anyway, brick walls are an annoying part of the genealogical adventure. For a while my 2nd great-grandmother, Maria Domenica Gullo was a brick wall made of solid titanium until I did some genealogical jiggery pokery to sort out who her parents were. Once that was solved, there was peace in the valley. Little did I know that a simple trip to Haverhill city hall would change my family tree and inadvertently break down another brick wall.

La famiglia di Coppola

    It started simple enough. I had a list of people I wanted to find the exact death dates for and on that list was Giovanni Coppola. You may have seen me mention him a few dozen times in the blog. He was the guy responsisble for bringing most of San Pietro a Maida to Haverhill back in the day. For a long time I just assumed that he was a brother to Paolo, Caterina and Concetta because of various factors here and there. Yeah....life has a way of throwing a wrench into the works, doesn't it? Fear not, true believers. This story has a happy ending!

    Giovanni passed away on October 4th, 1960 in the city of Haverhill and his parents weren't Paolo Coppola and Rosa Suverato as I originally assumed. Instead, they were Giovanni Coppola and Angela Suverato. I was a little annoyed at first. I then realized that several of my great-aunt's DNA matches who descend from him were a little on the low side. There was only one match of hers who decended from Giovanni who was in the triple digits range at 137 cMs. Curious, right? Well, it's about to get a lot more curious because I've actually seen the names of Giovanni's parents before!

1860 births, #73

    This is the birth record for Francesco Coppola, born in San Pietro a Maida on November 10th 1860 to Giovanni and Angela. Could Francesco be an older brother to our friend Giovanni? It's possible. There's only a fifteen year gap between the two births as Giovanni was born in 1875. Italain families back then tended to be huge. So, it's certainly possible that the 1875 Giovanni is this kid's brother. I hope that makes sense because I'm getting cross-eyed trying to explain the logistics.

    At any rate, Italian naming conventions come into play here because of the name "Giovanni". A lot of Italian families named their children after grandparents and even after themselves once they run out of parents. Speaking of grandparents, note how Giovanni's father Francesco was mentioned. Put a pin in that. We'll be going back to that one. 

    Now, I know what you're thinking. "Chris! Coppola is a very common Italian name! You can't jump to conclusions like this!!" Ordinarily, I would agree with you. "Coppola" is a very common Italian last name much like "Tedesco". Just hear me out because I've been researching the records in San Pietro and to date I've only found TWO Coppolas in the town. One was the wife of a guy named Nicola Mazza and the other was this family.  There may be a connection to Nicola Mazza as the woman's name was Caterina. The jury's still out on that one. Let's just focus on this story for now, shall we?

This must have been some party....

    Once I put Giovanni with his family, I started to think about a few things. He HAD to be related to me somehow. You can't fake a 137 cM match can you? That's a solid match because that's right smack dab in the middle of the 2nd to 3rd cousin range. The odds seemed pretty good, my friends.

    So, I got to thinking. What if Giovanni was a first cousin to Concetta, Caterina and Paolo? He was already a confirmed first cousin to Rosa and Marianna Stella. He paid the way for his cousins to come to America. What if he did the same for Concetta or Paolo? Why else would my great-grandparents, Vincenzo and Maria go to his house just after arriving in America in 1929? Why else would Concetta have been at that anniversary party in this photograph? Because she was his first cousin.

    I don't think this is as big a stretch as you might think. I'm not Marvel's "Mister Fantastic" after all. Many people paid for their family's trip across the Atlantic and it stands to reason that the Concetta had some help from her dear cousin as well like Marianna and Rosa. Were Paolo, Concetta and Caterina really first cousins with Giovanni? It's a distinct possibility when you consider desecendants of the three siblings are all DNA matches with my great-aunt's 137 cM match. The descendants of Rosa and Marianna are also DNA matches with her. Even if you take endogamy into account, this does seem to be the most logical conclusion.

    Eventually, I put in my great-aunt's DNA matches into "What are the Odds" on DNApainter to see where she would fit into the puzzle and if my theory held water. I ran the simulation and here's what I came up with once all the facts were in place.

    I eliminated the impossible and used the Pallaria DNA matches as a sort of anchor for everything I'm about to say. I really hope this makes sense! One of the Pallaria DNA matches, a 96 cM match, is a known 3rd cousin and I used that as a basis for my theory. He descends from a woman named Caterini Coppola who was a sister to my 3rd great-grandfather, Paolo.

    Using what I know, I scrolled down the page and saw that the 96 cM match appeared as a third cousin in two places. Which one is accurate? It's hard to say. I lean more toward hypothesis six given what I know of the family and everything. There isn't proof of a half-relationship as shown in hypothesis 2. 

Either way, two very strong DNA matches were holding this tree together. It couldn't be denied that there was a connection. After all DNA does not lie and at the end of all of this, the 137 cM match became a third cousin just like the 96 match. 

By the way, my father and I also match the same woman! I match her at 56 cMs and my father at 104 cMs.

    With that in mind, I've been able to deduce that the previously unknown father of my 3td great-grandfather was Francesco Coppola based on DNA evidence, family history and simple deductive reasoning. There can be no doubt that Francesco was the father of Paolo, Caterini and Giovanni. That brick wall was solved. However, I still had a problem. Ummm....Who was his wife?! I can't keep calling her "Unknown Unkown"! That doesn't sit well with me and that puzzle will have to be solved another time.

One of two Angela Suveratos.

    Another puzzle that will have to wait is the identity of Giovanni's mother, Angela Suverato. There were in fact two Angelas born in San Pietro who could have been his mother. One Angela Suverato was the daughter of my 4th great-grandparents, Giuseppe Suverato and Concetta Nistico. The other one was the daughter of Marcantonio Suverato and Elisabetta Desando. An entire year seperated the births of the two girls. So, either one of them could be Giovanni's mother! More research is clearly needed.

    Her identity probably wouldn't change anything other than the most recent common ancestor. This is just on one branch of the family tree and on this branch Giovanni's descendant who holds everything together appears to be a third cousin to my great-aunt. Was she Rosa Suverato's sister? Maybe. One set of brothers sometimes marry a set of sisters. That was a pretty common practice.

    It doesn't change the fact that I have potentially identified a 4th great-grandfather in the middle of all these genealogical gymnastics and that makes me pretty darn happy. I don't like calling people "Unknown". They had names!!! To solve that puzzle, I think a call to the commune office is in order.

    Brick walls are an annoying part to genealogy. I can't deny that it feels good breaking through one like the "Kool-Aid Man". This case wasn't so much breaking it down as it was going around it using the genealogical tricks of the trade, common sense and what I already knew about the family. Is this accurate? It's hard to say. You honestly cannot deny the facts once they've been presented. 

    That said, I did have to change a few things in the blog. Every post where I mentioned Giovanni as a brother to Caterina and the others had to have a notice attached that mentioned how things had changed since I posted the blog. I don't mind correcting mistakes because everyone makes them from time to time. No one is perfect. 

    Time will tell if this theory of mine proves to be accurate. The movie I had in mind for "Italians in Haverhill" may have changed a little. But, the plot is still the same. Giovanni is still an important member of the family and a key factor in the immigration story. Nothing about that has changed even if his position in the family tree did.

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 20: Bearded

 From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 20 is "Bearded." This week, record something about a relative who sported a beard (or maybe someone who struggled in that department). Of course, feel free to interpret the theme however you'd like!

It's been three years since I last talked about beards and I
STILL can't grow a ZZ Top beard. Sigh....

    In the three years since I've last posted a blog about men with magnificent facial shrubbery, I have discovered one more ancestor who had a mighty beard and that brings my bearded man roster to a grand total of three! My paternal second great-grandfather, Marco Ferraiolo joins my third great-grandfather, Jeremiah Smart Felker and my fourth great-grandfather, John Sargent Fisher as the bearded few who dared to say "no" to the Norelco razor. Could there be more bearded men in my tree? I have no idea because cameras weren't invented until 1826 and even then getting your picture back then was very cost-prohibitive. You'd have been better off paying someone to paint your picture back in those days.

So dignified!

    Marco was born in the Calabrian town of San Pietro a Maida in 1868 and though his beard wasn't as long as Jeremiah's or John's, it still counts! If anything, that beard reminds me of Sigmund Freud's for some reason. It's a nice one, that's for sure! It's clean, short and commands respect and projects thoughtfulness and dignity. Yes, I quoted  Data from "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Leave me alone!

    When my cousin Caterina gave me this photo of her grandparents, Marco and Caterina in February of 2021, I tried to figure out when the picture was taken. Marco passed away in 1958 and Caterina in 1962. So, clearly the picture had to have been taken before 1958. That narrows it down, doesn't it?

    The answer actually lies with the little girl standing in front of Marco and Caterina. Who is that? Well, that's actually my 1st cousin 2x removed, Adriana Serrao, daughter of my great-grandfather Vincenzo's sister, Rosa. I talked to her on Facebook about the picture and she said she was about three years old when the photo was taken. She was born in 1947. So, then this picture would have been taken some time in 1950.

   

    That was a quick and easy mystery to solve, wasn't it. I should have asked for more information like "Do you know if there are any more pictures of these two?" Or "What was the occasion?" I'm not sure if Adriana would have remembered the specifics. Give her a break. She was three! Do you remember anything that happened when YOU were three?!

Pasquale is in the middle.

    Marco probably would have bern pleased that at least one of his descendants is currently rocking a beard. Check out actor Pasquale Aleardi's awesome beard of awesomeness. My second cousin once removed descends from Vincenzo's sister, Concetta. For those of you keeping score at home, Concetta was my cousin Caterina's mother and that makes Pasquale her nephew. I think I need a scorecard or a bigger family tree....

    ANYWAY! To date he is the only relative on that side of the family who currently has a beard. Lord knows I can't grow a decent one. I can't even grow a moustache.

That doesn't stop anyone else in the family from trying....

Clean-shaven and an ad for Lenscrafters.

     When my brother got married in August of 2002, my father was sporting a beard of his own. I'm not sure why he decided to grow one. Back in the day he had a moustache and then he shaved that off. Then one day he decided to go with a full beard. It honestly did not last long AT ALL!

    Still, his beard is forever immortalized in all of Jim and Kathleen's wedding pictures. I bring this up with him from time to time and some days he says he wants to grow it back and some days he says it's better to be clean-shaven.  I guess it depends on his mood.

    Beards seem to be a rarity in my family. I can see why because growing them can be a bit itchy and caring for one can be a hassle. Some people can work wearing facial shrubbery. Me? I definitely can't. But, it is fun to see friends and family sporting beards and wondering if they've now become the "evil twin"since most "evil twins" have beards.

Hey, it worked in "Star Trek"....

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 19: Bald

 From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 19 is "Bald." Bald people. Bald eagle. Night on Bald Mountain. Those are just a few way you can explore the theme!

See also: Hairless and clean-shaven

    Baldness is a trait that's often passed down on the mother's side of the family and for centuries men everywhere have tried to hide their folically challenged heads in many ways through wigs, shaving it all off and by even joining the "Hair Club for Men". At fourty-four years old at the time of this blog, I haven't had to worry about doing any of those things. That isn't to say I don't have bald guys in my family tree. I totally do and prior to posting this week's blog I sat with my parents to discuss the issue. We talked about where the history of baldness in the family started and it went about as well as you might expect.

Dr. James Ferraiolo D.M.D.

    My father, Doctor James Ferraiolo, started going bald before my parents met in the late 1960s. My mother has said time and time again that she never knew him with hair. That's interesting because his high school graduation picture showed that he was little thinning at the top. Not much but maybe the arrival of two spunky rapscallions pushed him over the edge. =D

    He never seemed to let baldness bother him and he never wore a hairpiece or anything to cover up his lack of hair. So, the question is how did he get so bald so fast? To answer that question, we'd have to look at his grandfathers. Vincenzo had a full head of hair up until he passed away in 1970. He went from dark brown to silver by the time my mother met him. Vincenzo’s father, Marco, was not bald as far as I can tell. We'll be circling back to the Ferraiolo family in a bit. Just hold that thought for now!

    With one grandfather out of the running, logic dictates that you'd have to pick the other one, right? Right! We're looking for the maternal side, remember. That just leaves one man....

He looks like he's waiting for the bus.

    Giuseppe Carrabs started going bald probably after his daughters were born or during their childhood. I've never really seen that many pictures of him as a young man. Just one. You can imagine raising six girls would be enough for any man to tear his hair out. Either that or stress at the bank got to him.

    I don't think it honestly came down to either of those things! Does that picture to the left tell you he was stressed out over his daughters? No. I didn't think so. It was the gardening that did it. It's such a dangerous hobby.

    You would've thought that the conversation ended here. You’d think that my father would have accepted that his baldness was inherited through grandma Ollie who got the gene from her father. Hmmm....not so fast, readers!  While Giuseppe was indeed bald, there was one other man who was probably more hairless up top than he was!

Italian man or British butlet? 
YOU decide.

    Giuseppe's father, Vincenzo, looked like he had some thinning hair in this picture to the right, doesn't he? It's a little hard to tell, I admit because of how bright his head looks. I'm also not a fan of the glare on the picture. But, beggers can't be choosers when one has a rare picture of their second great-grandfather who lived his entire life in the Campanian town of Gesualdo. I wonder if I can remove that in Photoshop. I probably can! Or I could just do a simple edit. Hmm....The glare isn't too bad.

    I digress. If you look close enough, you can sort of make out a receding hairline. Baldness here must have been inherited by the Carrabs clan in Gesualdo. 

    So, that's it, right? Has the mystery behind the history of male-pattern baldness in my family been solved? Can we put the issue to rest? Eh....I would.but it's time to circle back to the Ferraiolo side of the tree. 

      I know that baldness is inherited through the mother's side of the tree. However, when I tried to explain everything to my father he quickly pointed out that grandpa Marco  was just as bald as he was! That's true. In almost every picture I have of grandpa Marco, the man is just as bald as my dad. That's kinda spooky now that I think about it. 

That shirt is so 1970s.

   As you can see Grandpa Marco here was just as bald as my father. How did he get so bald?! Well, we know Vincenzo wasn't bald. What about his mother Maria's parents?

    Maria's parents were Antonio Tedesco and Maria Domenica Gullo of the Calabrian town of San Pietro a Maida. As I only have one picture of both of them in my collection, I can plainly see that Antonio's hair was thinning a bit at the top.

    It's okay. Both he and my other second great-grandfather both made up for their lack of hair in the form of trademark old Italian man moustaches. 

 Once I told my father about Antonio's thinning hair, I suddenly came to a realization. Dad was doomed from the start since baldness was on BOTH sides of the tree! 

    I guess all that answered the mystery of my father's bald head. Now, wait a minute. What about me? I think at this point I'm probably not going to lose my hair. My chances here are pretty good. My grandfather Robert had a full head of hair up until he passed away. None of the men on my maternal side seemed to go bald or anything. My father was quick to mention how my mother's brother, Bob was bald. That was a choice. Sometimes guys like to shave their heads!

    Baldness isn't anything to be ashamed of and a lot of celebrities rock the look from Sir Patrick Stewart to Vin Disel. In today's society, we really shouldn't be obsessed with losing our lochs. Hair loss is natural and the sooner we accept that it's in our genes, the better. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to go out and shave my head. No. I live in New England. Who wants their head to be cold in the winter?! There's a reason why my dad wears a hat when he shovels. At least he has an answer for who to blame for his baldness. Everyone!!

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 18: Pets

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 18

The theme for Week 18 is "Pets." Any tales of ancestors owning pets? How about someone with a "pet name" or who was "teacher's pet"? Record that story this week.

Cara, the most exploited cat on the Internet.

    I don't think there's anyone alive who doesn't like an animal of some kind be they furry, scaly, feathered or eight-legged. If someone doesn't like animals, I'm not sure if I could trust them. If an animal doesn't like a person, I KNOW I can't trust them! They can sense evil, you know. Then again some animals could just be trolling us for all we know. Our furry friends have their own way of doing things and the animals I've known in my life have been the same way. Join me as we follow the pawprints through time!

Cammy: Why is the human larvae squirming?

  I suppose my fascination with dogs all started when I was very little. My grandparents, Marco and Ollie, had a poodle named Cammy who only liked Marco for some strange reason. It was probably the musky aroma my father said he had. Let's go with that! Did Cammy like kids? I have no idea. She seems kind of suspicious of my brother in this picture. I would be, too. Let's be honest.

    At home, my parents had two Alaskan malamutes who for the life of me I can't find pictures of. That's okay. Just picture two big husky-like dogs chilling out in the backyard making all kinds of noise!

    That isn't to say I don't have stories about Naki and Tumi. I do. Tumi was the kind of dog who just hated being inside. It didn't matter if we had her in the garage during a blizzard or what. She would howl like a wolf if we kept her in there. The dog never liked going inside her dog house, either. Her daughter, Naki was pretty much the same way. You'd look out the window after a blizzard and see these mounds of snow move and then see these two big dogs emerge. I so need to find their pictures. They were amazing dogs!

    Tumi weighed a little over one hundred pounds and was a good sled dog from what I've been told. In the winter, she would pull my brother and I around on a sled. I obviously don't remember those trips. However, I've been told that it was quite adorable. That was just the beginning of my canine adventure!

Good doggo.

    Naki and Tumi weren't the only top dogs back in the day. There was one dog who has a very special place in my heart because he was pretty much my bodyguard. His name was Triumphant's War Boy aka Gunner and he was a very good boy.

    My Aunt Linda breeds and used to show Britannys for the longest time. When she was living with us, we had the distinct pleasure of having the thundering herd (TM) around and leading the pack was Gunner. That dog liked me and if you were a jerk, he'd probably take you down. It kinda makes me wish the malamutes were the same way. I mean they WERE bigger animals! You'd think they'd be good guard dogs and not a 40 pound bird dog.

    Even though my brother and I had dogs around us all of our lives at that point, they weren't really *OUR* dogs. They were technically my aunt's dogs. This was the case until Aunt Linda gave us one of the puppies she bred. How many people can say they had their own dog born in their house?

Rocking a "Darkwing Duck" t-shirt like
 it was 1992. (Because it was.)

    Enter Triumphant's Formal Attire aka Tux. Tux was probably the most chill and fearless dog ever. That made sense because he was descended from Gunner. We actually have his pedigree chart that proved the connection! I don't think we need sources! I mean....he was born in my house like I said.

    That dog endured the choppy waters of the Merrimack river when we went out on the boat. Then again, I don't think he was that fond of the engines because he would always nuzzle close to me as you can see in the picture.

       Beneath that cuddly veener, though, beat the heat of a champion show dog and hunter. 

    I've never actually seen Tux hunt a bird in my life. But, I've been told that he was indeed a mighty warrior.....who then calmly asked for liver snaps after a job well done. There was also this one time he stole an entire steak fillet from the counter and scarfed it down like there was no tomorrow. Hey, a dog's gotta eat, right? He was a champion show dog and yes he sired many puppies--one of whp, we kept.

Tie standing still for once in his life.

    Triumphant's Black Tie aka Tie. Ahh, this dog was the eternal puppy. He didn't have the patience for dog shows.  He never pointed out a bird. He had a permanent case of the zoomies. Whenever we had him out, he'd run around like a crazy dog. 

    He had his good points, though. He was very patient with the cat who invaded the bastion of dogdom. Though, he did get too close to him once and the cat smacked him across the nose. Tie then ran back into his kennel. Heart of a wolf, right?

   Tie had a sister, Lacie who was a bit more chill and a cousin Travis who was probably more like Tux than any of the other dogs he sired. We watched the two every once in a while and it was kind of fun watching Tux grumble at his puppies. I once said to him. "Hey. You started it."

    The dogs were all amazing and great companions. But, then came the invasion of the cats! Tie then quickly found out who really ran the house in the early 2000s. Cats invaded the bastion of dogdom and there was nothing he could do about it!

WAKANDA FOREVER!!!

      Cocoa's story is a bit of a strange one. We found him at our doorstep when he was just a kitten. He was so tiny and he apparently wandered up our driveway. He wasn't a feral kitten because he was friendly toward people and he took to using a litter box right away. 

    As far as we knew, no one in the neighborhood was missing a kitten. So, Cocoa stayed with us for a good decade. While he was here, he made sure everyone knew whose house it was. He was especially close with my mom and me. For some reason he was always skittish around my father. If animals could tell stories, I kind of wonder which stories Cocoa would tell because of the way we found him.

    Cocoa grew up and was a big kitty. We've never been able to figure out what breed of cat he was. We just knew that he was the perfect Halloween cat with his dark fur coat and green eyes. His fur wasn't completely black, though. There was a dark brown underfur. Still, he was a good boy. In fact, all of our pets have been boys until 2012!

ROAARRR!!!

    Cara is the latest furry resident of the house and like Tux and Tie she has her own pedigree. She is, as far as we know, 100% Maine coon. Noone is 100% anything. However, it would be cool to send her DNA off to a company that does DNA testing for animals. Would she go for it? Uhh....It takes two people to brush her. What do you think? Four paws become eight. 

    In retrospect, she and Cocoa were very much like the dogs I've mentioned. Both tended to be very loyal and friendly. They also never bothered the Christmas tree at all. Strange, I know. You always hear about cats knocking over the tree and yet Cocoa and Cara would just sleep under there for hours. 

    Animals definitely make for great companions regardless if they're feathered, furry or scaly. They are indeed an important part of your family history because in the end they are family. They may not talk like you and me. However, they certainly do communicate and have attitudes all their own. So. here's to the furry friends in our lives both past and present. They may not speak, but, they definitely add a lot to your family history! 

See ya next time!