52 Ancestors Week 28: Trains

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 28

The theme for Week 28 is "Trains." Trains opened up the world to more people than anything that had come before. Who is someone in your family tree with a connection to trains?

Time to ride the rail!

    Long before planes were used to get a person from point a to point b, trains were used to get people where they needed to go. My parents and I think this was how my great-grandmother Maria Tedesco and her children, Nicolina and Marco traveled once they arrived in New York and headed to Haverhill, Massachusetts to meet up with my great-grandfather Vincenzo. They weren't going to be driving the four hours to Massachusetts by car I can tell you that much! Not with two young children in the backseat and definitely not in 1929 when kids didn't have iPads or even portable Nintendo consoles!

    Speaking of Vincenzo. He was definitely no stranger to the rail. He, like many Italian immigrants, often used trains as laborers working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Shoutout to the poor Italian railworker named Giuseppe Barberio who unfortunately had his Naturalization papers stolen from him in Montana, by the way.  Poor guy. Check out his profile on WikiTree if you want to read his story.

Vincenzo and Maria

    Vincenzo didn't just use the rail for business ventures. Toward the end of his life, he used a train to get from Rome, Italy to Switzerland where his cousin Caterina Aleardi was going to marry her then boyfriend, Giuseppe Casarrubea.

    When I was growing up, I heard this story from my parents, my grandma Ollie, my great-aunt Nicolina and so many other family members. At the time I thought it was just one of those stories people told their kids when they asked about their grandparents. I never imagined that the story would turn out to not only be true, but, that I would  eventually get in touch with the person whose wedding Vincenzo and the others attended! That is pretty darn awesome if you ask me. The pictures she sent me are amazing!

    Now, hold on. I said Vincenzo went with other people, right? Yes, I did. In the September of 1969, Vincenzo went to Switzerland with my grandparents Marco and Ollie, my great-aunt, his brother Paolo, and his sister, Rosa. During this time, my parents were in college and dating and weren't invited to the wedding. However, they obviously heard about the happy occasion because the invitations arrived during the summer and of course the people involved were discussed as travel plans were made.

Vincenzo, Nicolina, Cathie and an adorable little 
doggo.

   Vincenzo and the other Ferraiolos left Boston for Italy by plane and naturally my great-grandfather
wanted to start the journey to Switzerland in his hometown of San Pietro a Maida. Nicolina's husband Walter rented a car in Rome and they drove to San Pietro before taking the train north to pick up relatives. It is a bit odd how they went to San Pietro from Rome by car and then BACK to Rome by train. Did they just leave the rental car behind?! It certainly looks that way to me and it makes sense because Italy is a large country and they'd be traveling more than twelve hours by car. That's a lot to deal with even today!

    The family took in the sights along the way and looking back I can only imagine what my grandmother thought of the trip. Along the way north, you can't help but notice the Apennine Mountains

that go down the Italian penninsula from the Alps like a spine. That had to have been a breathtaking sight for sure! 

    Ollie's parents, Giuseppe and Clementina, were from Gesualdo in Campania and it's quite far from San Pietro. In fact, it's 98 kilometers outside of Naples. I wonder if she wanted to visit family there. Then again most of her family was already in America and to this day I can't find any close relatives still in Gesualdo like my family in San Pietro, Switzerland and Argentina. I have found Carrabs cousins in Australia, though! Alas, there hasn't been anyone from Gesualdo knocking at my door. I think they all came to America to be honest.

The happy couple, Giuseppe and Caterina

    After seeing the sights, the family made their way to Rome to pick up Vincenzo's siblings Paolo and Rosa. They then stopped in Florence and continued northward to Switzerland where Caterina and her parents, Giuseppe Aleardi and Concetta Ferraiolo lived.

    As you can imagine, the wedding was a huge family event since everyone came from all over the world to celebrate the union of Giuseppe and Caterina. I have no idea if the family in Argentina made the trip as well. I suspect that they were invited and why wouldn't they be? They were family after all. Yes, I'm sure the Astorinos were invited. Note to self: Confirm this fact with Caterina! I'm sure she would remember!!

    When I first heard about the wedding, I naturally asked what they thought of Italy since I had never been there. I'm happy to report that my grandmother enjoyed herself. It must have been a treat to see where her family came from even if it wasn't Gesualdo. Italy is a beautiful country and I would definitely jump at the chance to visit where my ancestors came from. Yeah, I don't think I'd stay at the touristy spots very long!

     I can almost see Ollie telling her father and her sisters about the trip once she and the others returned home. I bet they were happy for her and maybe a little jealous. Nah. Her sisters were never jealous of Ollie. Nicolina had a fun time for sure as she got to visit with family she hadn't seen in a long time. After the wedding, though, Nicolina still made regular trips back to San Pietro throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

I can totally find my grandparents! Can you?
Here's a hint. Look at the left side of the picture!.

      I will say that the food wasn't what everyone expected. Since the wedding was in Switzerland, the food was a mix of Swiss and Northern Italian cuisine. My grandmother's family and Marco's came from the southern parts of the country. So, you can imagine there were dishes like polenta and other food that they weren't accustomed to.

    All in all I think it's safe to say they enjoyed themselves on their trip. They got to see a lot of the country and had an amazing trip without any tour guide telling them where they could and couldn't go! I don't think they would have gone over very well.

    As you can see trains play almost as big a part in my family story as planes did last week. I've been on a few trains myself. But, the sights my family saw in Italy pale in comparison to traveling from Virginia to Boston. Trains have been connecting people for a lot longer than plans have and it's important to remember that's how people got around before we took to the skies and road on the highway. They were actually the first step to making those vast distances between point  a and point b so much shorter. That's something to think about the next time you ride the rail.

See ya next time!