52 Ancestors Week 4: Witness to History

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 4

The theme for Week 4 is "Witness to History." What historical events did your ancestor witness or live through? Don't forget that local history is just as important as world history!

It was always burning as the world's been turning.

“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” — plaque on lunar module.

    I think it's safe to say that landing on our moon was one of the most pivotal moments in our planet's long history. In the last one hundred years we've gone from looking up at the stars and dreaming about what was out there to identifying several Earth-like planets located in a solar system's "Goldilocks Zone". In the middle of all that, we fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's dream of landing on the moon by the end of the 1960s. It wasn't done because it was easy by any means. It was done because it was a challenge that we as a species was willing to accept. I'm just paraphrasing his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech here. It was just so epic. Sadly, he never saw that dream become a reality. However, a great many people did watch the moon landing on that fateful day in the summer of 1969 including several of my ancestors.

Lookin' dapper, Dad.

    In 1969, my parents were dating while history was being made. Like many Americans, they heard about the eventual moon landing thanks to newspapers, radio and television reports. While social media was in its infancy, word spread around the world that a great achievement was about to be made and so the world watched and waited in classrooms and in living rooms all around our small blue planet.

    Since they were in school at the time my parents vividly remember the teachers wheeling in a television. It didn't matter if they were in high school or college. All eyes were glued to the set as they watched Neil Armstrong say the immortal words "That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind."

   I can just picture all of the cheers. It was indeed a cause for celebration! The space race aside, humanity needed a big win after the second world war!

     I can only imagine what it must have been like for them to be in that moment. My dad has long been a fan of the really bad science fiction movies like the kind "Mystery Science Theater 3000" would riff on and various classics like "The Day the Earth Stood Still".  He also watched the first "Star Trek" series! For him science fiction became science fact (la la la). My mom was likely thinking of her father, the former pilot. He flew planes that were considerably less advanced than a rocket. He definitely had some thoughts on space exploration!

    Robert loved planes and he loved to travel. He was definitely impressed by all the innovations that had been made in his lifetime. When he was growing up during the Great Depression, space travel seemed like a fantasy. I have to admit he was probably right. It was hard living in those days and the very notion of getting off of this rock seemed like something straight out of a comic book.

    When my brother and I were growing up, he told us about where he was when man first landed on the moon. Like everyone else he was watching on television at home. He often had this twinkle in his eye whenever he told that story. I like to think he was proud of what we accomplished. By "we" I don't necessarily mean just Americans. I think he was amazed by what we as a species did. We as a species have an inate desire to push our boundries. In his lifetime we had already mastered the skies. The final frontier was the next logical step for all humanity.

    Robert Hamel was always a man who looked toward the future and beyond his years. I mean he DID have his own e-mail address! Though, his computer was just for e-mail and that was it.

    I wish I knew what the moon landing was like for my other grandfather, Marco since he passed away when I was four and I obviously never got the chance to ask him myself. I suspect he might have had the same reaction as my father and grandfather. Not to the same degree he had obviously. Considering what I know of the man, I can make some reasonable assumptions.

    Marco was known as a builder. He built a motel, a dentist's office and helped to build the house I grew up in. He was all about building the best things for people. So, it's safe to say that he was probably impressed by the space program and its innovations.

    I'm not sure what he thought about my father taking an interest in science fiction. But, he probably liked it just as much as he did. Let's face it. Those old movies were entertaining for all the wrong reasons.

    Still, I'm willing to bet he also thought it was cool. I wish I could have been able to ask him about the space shuttles which were considerably more advanced than the rockets from the 1960s. Grandpa Hamel loved them and I can only imagine Marco felt the same way. Both men did have experience with planes. Marco had been a paratrooper and Robert flew planes. It is a mystery. However, I like to think that he was watching along with grandma Ollie and her sisters at the time of the landing.

   A few months after the landing Ollie, Marco and my great-grandfather Vincenzo  went to Italy and Switzerland to attend my cousin Caterina's wedding.  It's a safe bet that they discussed the historic event over espresso.

    The moon landing was a huge deal for people all around the world and it's safe to say that it inspired generations of people to continue expanding our knowledge of the great unknown. In the years since the landing, we've landed rovers on Mars, sent probes into the farthest reaches of our solar system and even downgraded Pluto to being a dwarf planet. Sigh. We can't win them all can we?

    As far as my ancestors who watched Armstrong and Aldren are concerned, they were pretty much glued to the television set at the time. They all had great memories watching the event in class or at home with their loved ones. The moon landing proves that not all historic events needed to be disasterous. Some can help a generation feel like the future won't be so bad after all. There are endless possibilities when you witness a historic event that brings people together. You get a sense of hope and accomplishment knowing that your world will be in good hands when you leave it. The moon landing will always been one of those events where you remember exactly where you were that day and it gives people positive feelings and stories to share.

    Who knows what the next major historic event like the moon landing will be. What event will inspire us like landing on the moon in 1969 did? Time will tell. The future really is the undiscovered country and I can't wait to see what comes next.

See ya next time!

"A whole world looks to see what we shall do.We cannot fail that trust and we cannot fail to try." -- John F Kennedy's "New Frontier" speech, set to Darwyn Cooke's "Justice League: The New Frontier".

52 Ancestors Week 3: Favorite Photo

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 3

The theme for Week 3 is "Favorite Photo." This is one of my favorite prompts. Yes, I've used it in previous years, but it's too good to not use again! Tell the story of a favorite photo: Who is in it, when and where it was taken, and why it was taken. (That last part is often left out!)

I swear Henrietta gives me Italian grandma vibes here.

    Another year another 52 Ancestors blog about a favorite photograph of mine! It's a good thing I have a wide variety of photos to choose from. I have photos of every occasion from weddings, birthday parties and Christmas eve parties to general family gatherings. You name it. I've got it. I probably won't run out of photos any time soon. So, let's talk about one you may have seen in the blog a few times. BEHOLD!

The Felker clan circa 1949 

   This photograph of the Felker clan has been spotted in the blog since day one and it's one of my all-time favorites. I think it was taken in the early fall of 1949 because the adorable baby on the couch being held by my grandmother Natalie is none other than my mother, Diane Hamel. She told me this herself when she dug it out of her files back in 2017 when I had asked for a picture of my great-grandparents Austin Felker and Henrietta Legault..

Austin had swagger.

    My mother went on to tell me how Austin had the bluest blue eyes ever. It's a shame that this picture couldn't capture them as it was taken in the late 1940s. But, I can definitely see them in later color photos of his son, Austin. Dude had some serious blue eyes. The sad thing is I don't really remember my great-uncle as he moved to Florida when I was little and rarely made it back to New England.

    Austin Junior is right behind his father with his arm around is first wife, Isabelle Noon.  Fun fact:  Austin's daughter, Nancy was in the same homeroom as my father at Haverhill High. Cue Disney's "It's a Small World"! I wonder why she wasn't in the photo. She'd have been three years old. Don't say she was taking the picture! I know better!!

    Standing tall to Isabelle's right we have my grandfather, Robert. I don't know why part of his head was cut off. If only the person held the camera up a little more. Then again the kids in front probably would have been cut off. The only other option would have been to back up a wee bit. I'm surprised Robert wasn't telling everyone how to frame this shot!

Where have I seen those 
radar dishes before?

    Next to Austin we have my great-aunt Dot (Dorothea), my great-uncle Norman's wife Norma Auclair and Norman Felker. Growing up, I think I've seen Dot a few times in my life. I'm not really sure because she passed away in the late 1990s. I remember seeing her children quite a bit, though. In fact, I'm Facebook friends with one of them!

    As for Norman? I wish I could say I remember him because he passed away in 1985 when I was little. Norma and Norman had two children, Judy and Norman Junior. Judy's actually in this photo and is the kid in the front row on the far right giving her cousins the side-eye. I want to ask her what was going through her mind there. I don't think she remembers because it was so long ago.

    Rounding out the back row is my great-aunt Elaine and her husband, Richard Dupré. Out of all my mother's aunts and uncles, I saw Elaine the most. I think it was because my mother was closer in age to the Dupré kids. I'm not really sure. But, she was definitely at family events like my grandfather's birthday and my grandparents' anniversary parties. The thing with aunt Elaine is that even though she is a small woman, she is VERY LOUD.  She would call your name from across the house to get your attention. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she was a little old Italian lady. Then again she was born in Massachusetts so the loudness is already in her genetic makeup.

Gotta be that stern to handle that bunch.

    Sitting next to my great-grandparents is their daughter Eleanor Felker. As the oldest Felker sibling, she had to wrangle the rowdy bunch of siblings she had. I honestly think that's where my mother learned how to deal with her siblings. My mother is the oldest of six and Eleanor was too.

    She married a man named Reinhardt Gallipeau and my mother remembers calling him "Uncle Reinie" whenever she visited her cousins. Out of all of Reinie and Eleanor's kids, my mother was closest to Sheila who passed away in 2023. She's still sadly missed. =(

Fun Fact: Sheila lived in Seabrook, New Hampshire and one of her rooms faces the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. She called that room the "Nuclear Room" for obvious reasons. You can see why I was close to her. =)

    The kids in the front row pointing at the camera from left to right are Dorothea's daughter, Brenda Welch, Austin Felker III, Barbara Welch and the aformentioned Judy Felker.

    Wow. That's quite the cast of characters, isn't it?  Keep in mind that this is just a fraction of my mother's first cousins. There are a ton more out there.

    So, let's get down to brass tacks. Why was everyone gathered in one spot? It's not Christmas. Everyone's dressed for warm weather by the looks of things. After consulting with my mother, we agreed that this photograph was likely taken at either Austin or Henrietta's birthday party. Let's take a look at the evidence.

1. My mother was about maybe six months old when the picture was taken. She was born in the March of 1949 and looked to be about six months old here. That means the photo was taken in September or October.

2. Austin was born on September 25th, 1892 and Henrietta was born on November 20th, 1892. In late November in New England you wouldn't be wearing short sleeves unless you were crazy. The chances of this picture being from Austin's birthday party just increased a thousandfold.

    After looking at the evidence, your honor, I'm willing to bet that this photograph was taken in late September, 1949 at Austin's birthday party. The defense rests.  If only there was a date on the back of the actual photo to confirm this...

    Either way this is one of my favorite photographs because it shows the Felker clan celebrating what appears to be my great-grandfather's birthday. I can only imagine why the kids were all pointing at the camera. Did the cameraperson say something funny? Who knows. Kids are gonna be kids regardless of when the picture was taken. I'm just surprised that they were sitting still. Getting everyone together like this is like herding cats. It really is a good picture and I'm glad we have it in our archives because so many stories can be told just by looking at one photo of one group. That's why I like photographs so much!

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 2: Origins

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 2

The theme for Week 2 is "Origins." Genealogists often get the question, "Where is your family from?" With this week's theme, you could explore an immigrant ancestor, but you could also think about the origin of other aspects of your family. Who was the first person in your family to settle in a particular town? If you have a long line of people with the same occupation, talent, etc, who was the first person you know who did it?

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state....

    Truer words were never spoken. Growing up I was always asked "Where is your family from?" "What does your last name mean?" "How do you even PRONOUNCE it?" With a last name like "Ferraiolo", you're bound to get a lot of questions regardless if you're a genealogist or not. There are just so many vowels next to each other along with the "rs" that you have to roll. Ironically, it's not even the most difficult to pronounce last name found in the Calabrian town of San Pietro a Maida where my grandfather Marco was born. Looking at you, Iellamo and Iuele. 

Such an adorable baby. ;)

    Before we delve too deeply into the origin of my last name, let's first discuss how to pronounce it. Thankfully, there's an easy to follow guide on YouTube that I may have put on my profile on WikiTree. Hey. I can put whatever I want on my profile as long as it aheres to the Honor Code. Besides....I have a reputation to uphold.

    Pronouncing "Ferraiolo" is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The "a" is actually silent and when you look at documents in San Pietro from the early 1800s, you'll find that "Ferraiolo" is spelled without the a and is instead spelled "Ferriolo". Weird, huh?

    Well, today it has many spelling variations like "Ferraiuolo" because we needed to get ALL of the vowels in the alphabet in there! I like to keep things simple and spell it like my father and my grandfather have always spelled the name.

    Right. So, how do you pronounce it? Well, it's like this "Fehr-e-oh-low" as explained in this video. It's not exactly "Rumpelstiltskin". Learning how to pronounce it won't make me disappear or anything. But, it is interesting how several families that came to America changed the name. And no. It wasn't at Ellis Island. Get out of here with that noise.

    For unknown reasons my second great grandfather Marco's brothers, Giovanni and Giuseppe decided to change the family name to "Ferriola". I'm not sure why that is and DNA matches who connect to those two haven't been able to tell me anything about the change. Maybe they changed their names in order to assimilate when they settled in New Jersey and Pennsylvania? Who can say? The secret of the name change sadly died with them.

Vincenzo's just chillin'

    Let's get back on topic, gang. There are actually two definitions of "Ferraiolo" out there. The first being a sort of garment like a cape worn by Cardinals and other members of the clergy. Makes sense. Italy is a predominently Catholic country. So, it would make perfect sense that some last names have religious origins. This next definition makes everything do a complete 180.

    The other definition of "Ferraiolo" is "iron worker".  That's the definition I go with more than anything. It's the one Ancestry and Familysearch give me whenever I check out what my name actually means.

    My father told me a long time ago that it meant "iron worker" and it got me thinking about how it could have come about. Milennia ago last names were originally created based on peoples' jobs, locations or physical characteristics. Could the last name "Ferraiolo" have been started by some blacksmith who lived in what we now call Italy? That's the most likely answer and to date I haven't found any "Ferraiolo" who was a blacksmith.

     Most of the Ferraiolos I have encountered in my travels have been laborers, farmers, seamstresses and at least one midwife. I'm thinking that I would have to go a bit further back in time than the archives will allow me at this time. Records for San Pietro go back as far as 1809 when civil registrations began. Before 1809, you'd have to look at church records and those are not online.

    That doesn't mean I stopped at 1809. Nope. If there's a will, there's a way and I managed to push the Ferraiolo line back to 1725 with the birth of Giovanni Ferraiolo, my 6th great-grandfather. Unfortunately, he was not a blacksmith. All that is known about him came from death records and the Processetti in San Pietro. So, chances are good that the true origin of my last name go back way further than the 1700s.

    I did a little digging and found a helpful website which could answer my question. The website "House of Names" claimed the name "Ferraiolo" was first seen in the ancient Roman town of Padua. Unfortunately, the town was sacked twice. Once by Alaric in 409 AD and then by Atilla the Hun in 459 AD before being given to the Lombards. Could some records pertaining to the last name's origin  have been lost to time? It's possible. 

    In ancient times, only people of a certain class were ever recorded. Apparently, being recorded in those days was indicitive of noble blood. Wow. Good thing times changed, huh? 

    So, does that mean I come from noble blood? I don't know and honestly I don't really need to know. Sure it's cool and all. But, you guys all know how I feel about being connected to royalty: We've all got connections!

    Finding the origin of a last name is pretty interesting. It gives you a greater understanding of the people who bestowed that name upon you at birth. It also can connect you to a culture far from your own if you happen to have recent immigrant ancestors or even if your family has been in the same area for centuries. Names have that kind of power and it's great to see what they actually mean.

        Obviously I like the iron worker definition of the name more than one with the religious connotations. It just seems to fit with the name more. The Latin word for "iron" is "ferrum" and Latin plays a huge role in the origins of many Italian last names. I mean....they were in the center of the Roman Empire. Adaptations were going to be made. Now, I wonder if I descend from a guy who created a sword for some gladiator. You never know. 

    My last name is pretty popular as you can see from this map from Cognomix. It's easy to see how widespread it became until it was ultimately adopted by my ancestors in San Pietro a Maida. This is just the current families with that last name, by the way and as you can see there are still quite a few Ferraiolos in Calabria. Very interesting. I wonder if I'm related to them. Spoilers. I probably am! It shouldn't surprise you in the slightest!

    So, that's the secret origin of my last name. There's honestly not a lot to it. Other Italian last names have similar meanings. "Capobianco" means "White head". Tedesco means "German". I suggest going out and find what your last name means. The answer may surprise you. As for me, I'm off to build a suit of armor in a cave with a bunch of scraps. Why? Because at the end of the day....I am Iron Man.

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 1: Family Lore

From Amy Johnson Crow Week 1

The theme for Week 1 is "Family Lore." Many of us have heard stories from our grandparents about incredible feats our ancestors did or a famous person we're related to. What's a tale that has been passed down in your family? Did it end up being true or did it turn out to just be a good story?

If anyone actually buys this story. I have some ocean front
property in Arizona to sell you.

    We're starting off this year's 52 Ancestors with a bang aren't we? I'm sure every family has a story that's been twisted and misinterpreted in many ways. Telling a story is a lot like playing the "telephone game" isn't it? By the time the story gets to you, the details would have undoubtedly been twisted thanks to bias or someone just not remembering the details correctly. It happens. Sometimes family lore can prove to be true. Sometimes they aren't true in the slightest. As a genealogist, it's your job to sort out the fact from fiction like a certain dark knight. 

    In my case, I've had quite a few tall tales that proved to be both true and false. The false ones are infinitely more entertaining. Apparently, I have a connection to Queen Isabella of Spain on my dad's maternal side. Try working out the logistics there. It'll make your head hurt. Sadly, that's not the only tall tale on my dad's side of the family. This next one comes courtesy of my great-grandfather, Vincenzo Ferraiolo.

Vincenzo and Nicolina in
the 1960s.

    Vincenzo was known for his frequent trips to and from his Calabrian hometown of San Pietro a Maida. After one such trip, he told my great-aunt Nicolina, my father and my grandparents that he paid to have a statue put in the town's square. He never told anyone what the statue was *OF* or his reason for purchasing the item. That should have been the first red flag.  He told everyone about the statue and everyone sort of accepted it at face value because he tended to be quite the charmer.

    Years went by and I heard the story about the supposed statue from Nicolina herself. My father had accepted the story and we just went about our lives wondering about this thing. Was it a marble statue of some Ferraiolo from centuries ago? Was it an obelisk with peoples' names engraved on it? I had a ton of questions when I heard about the thing and neither Nicolina nor my father had an answer for me. Red flag number two! At this point, I got mildly annoyed. One more strike and this story is out of the game.

    I was beginning to have my doubts as no one had pictures of the statue. Everyone just talked about how great and awesome the thing was. No one except me ever thought to ask questions. Though, my mother and brother were kind of skeptical, too! I'm pretty skeptical of many things until I see the truth dancing in front of me. Call me jaded. I don't care.

    My dad even suggested that maybe it was placed at the church or at the cemetery in honor of his first wife, Maria Tedesco. One small problem. Maria was buried at Saint Patrick's Cemetery in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1943 and he allegedly bought the statue in the 1960s. Why buy a statue for your first wife and put it in a cemetery halfway across the planet?

    Once I started on my genealogical adventure, I came into contact with cousins in San Pietro. In the back of my mind, I remembered the tale of this supposed statue and I asked my cousins about it quite nicely because I had no idea how to best ask the question. As you can imagine.....there was never any statue!

    You all saw this coming a mile away didn't you? Vincenzo went by himself to San Pietro and supposedly paid to have a statue put in the town No one ever took pictures and sent it. If it existed, I would have seen it by now. Trust me. No one ever knew what the statue was OF. And the worst part is there has never been a TOWN SQUARE IN SAN PIETRO A MAIDA!!!

    Eventually, my cousin Caterina went to the town cemetery and took some pictures for me as I was curious about where Maria's parents Antonio Tedesco and Domenica Gullo were buried.

    She never mentioned any statue being there. I would think she would have as her grandmother was Maria's sister. There were just nearby memorials. The only decorations I can see are flowers and candle holders. No statues to be found at all.

     Oh, man. I can only imagine what kind of reaction the family in San Pietro had when I asked them about Vincenzo's "present". The first being "Is this American crazy?"  Well, we are but that's beside the point. At least they were nice and told me the truth. They never heard or such a memorial. There are no statues anywhere in San Pietro.

No town square to be seen.

    I later confirmed all of this with my digital stroll through San Pietro a Maida on Google Maps. I "walked" around and while I saw a nice picturesque Calabrian town, I didn't see any statues of any kind. There was no town square.

     Now, I could play devil's advocate and say that there was a plaza when Vincenzo last visited and the statue had long since been removed. But, that's extremely unlikely. Nicolina went to and from San Pietro as late as the early 1980s. She really raked up the frequent flier miles working as an antiques dealer.

    It's a shame that this story turned out to be a wild goose chase because I would have loved to have seen the statue. At least some of Vincenzo's other tales turned out to be true.  For example, we have photographs depicting his trip to his cousin Caterina's wedding in Switzerland in 1970. We have pictures of her brother Marco's wedding, too. Photos definitely help determine if a story is true or not unless they've been doctored.

    Family lore can be entertaining and for the most part my grandparents never really bought into any wild stories because they always spoke the truth. Only rarely would I hear something outlandish as say a "statue" or something like that. I'm not saying my family's boring. If you've been reading long, you'd know that's not the case. No one's family story is boring. Sometimes the truth can be stretched to fit a narrative and honestly this statue business is not the wildest "family lore" I've heard. It is, however, one that was easily proven false by the good citizens of San Pietro a Maida. God, I hope they didn't think I was crazy for asking them about the statue.

See ya next time! 52 Ancestors 2024 starts now!