52 Ancestors Week 38: A Document with Personality

From Amy Johnson Crow:  Week 38:

The theme for Week 38 is “A Document with Personality.” Let’s be honest – some records we work with can be a bit dry. But others are oozing with personality. It could be a will with an interesting clause; an obituary that paints a picture of the person’s life; and don’t forget photos and tombstones! What is something you’ve found that has personality?

Everyone. Is. Here.

    Amy has a point. Some documents can be a bit dry unless you come across a man who tried to be drafted not once but twice during the first world war. Looking at you, Paolo Coppola! I've even found an Italian guy's naturalization paper in Montana. That's right. Montana. His original document was stolen and the whole sordid affair was well documented on his new naturalization form in the Treasure state. The story of Giuseppe Barberio isn't really mine to tell as I'm not related to him. Though, he was at my great-grandmother's funeral in 1943 and was born in San Pietro a Maida. Who knows? We might be related after all. 

    Anyway, it goes without saying that I've found many crazy documents out there over the years and it's hard to pin down which one I want to talk about the most because they're all good and some are comedy gold for all the wrong reasons. Instead, I thought I'd look at a document that you definitely won't find online....because it's in my parents' wedding album and it's in a very safe place. I am, of course, talking about their wedding guest list and by the end of the blog you may be able to see that just one innocent list of invitees can have a ton of personality attached to it.

     I may have mentioned the list on more than a few occasions.  However, I felt like it was necessary to bring it up again after last week's semi morose blog entry. In may ways, the wedding guestlist is similar to the funeral pamphlet because like it I have a ton of DNA matches who descend from people in there. There's also a very good reason for that and it's the main reason why the list fits this week's theme.

    If we go back to the 1970s when my parents were tying the knot, we'd find their parents making plans for the celebration. It was obvious that they'd be at the happy event and all four of them wanted to make sure everyone else was either there or invited to the party in Haverhill. This actually doesn't surprise me at all because every party my grandparents Robert or Natalie put together always had relatives there I barely knew or seen. 

       Marco and Ollie were pretty much the same way. They wanted to make sure all of their Italian friends and family were at my parents' wedding as well and it wasn't just second cousins who were invited! The Tedesco cousins from Woburn were invited or attended along with distant relatives from both sides of the family. It was a veritable who's who of relatives and while you might think that the list was competitive that isn't the case. The list was big because the families were big and my grandparents were simply trying to see how many people were available and can fit into the church/reception hall.

Austin and Henrietta

    One of the things that surprises me the most was the appearance of three of my great-grandparents on the list. Giuseppe Carrabs was not able to make it for various reasons. He was mentioned at least! Austin Felker and Henrietta Legault were there along with several of their children and grandchildren. Included at the table were several of Austin's half-siblings, the Senters and their families.

    I guess that's proof that Austin knew his Senter half-siblings as well as his Felker half-siblings. It's too bad they were at the event. They were in Indiana at the time and I have no idea what Austin's relationship with them was.

    Joining them were my great-grandmother Clara Laplante and an army of Hamel relatives. Henrietta's sisters, their spouses and other relatives were there too. Another big surprise was seeing Oliver Legault's daughter Agnes on the list. She, sadly, couldn't make it to the wedding. I think that made sense given that she and the rest of her family were living in the Buffalo area far from Haverhill. The invitees seemed to be who were local. Then again Matilda Legault and her family made the trip up from Connecticut. So who knows? Maybe the Buffalo Legaults just couldn't get away for a few days?

    The Italian side was represented by local Italian families who were related to Marco and Ollie. To say representatives from the seven families were there is a bit of an understatement. And it's no joke! There really were seven Italian families represented: the Carrabs the Villanuccis, the Tedescos, the Coppolas (by way of Angelina Soterakopoulos and her sister Rose), the Forgiones, the DeLeos (representing the Pentas), and representing the Ferraiolos were my grandfather and his sister Nicolina. 

    I think that lineup would have made my great-grandfather Vincenzo happy. 

    I think it's pretty clear why I think this document is chocked full of personality. The people I've listed weren't just names. They were real people with plenty of personality to spare. I knew some of them personally and trust me not much changed after my parents got married! I haven't even listed everyone who was there or invited to the event. That list is safely on a spreadsheet! The people on the list came from different worlds The Italians lived in Haverhill, Everett and Woburn and had ancestors who worked in mills. They also had vivid memories of "the old country" for the most part. The Italians had to mingle with people from my mom's side of the family and with the majority of them being descended from French-speaking Quebecois, I imagine they broke bread with the Italians over a nice glass of vino. 

    In the end, two worlds came together because my brother and I are here after all. The list isn't just a list. It's a melding of two different cultures into one harmonious union and sure there were hiccups along the way like my great-grandmother Clara saying she loved calamari and hated squid. Did anyone ever correct her?! I'd have kept the joke going but that's just me!  I think that when you read between the lines in a seemingly innocent document and have some context behind the people on a list you can definitely come up with a document that has some personality as long as you know the story and the people involved. 

See ya next time!