52 Ancestors Week 51: Future

From Amy Johnson Crow:

Week 51:

Although we spend most of our genealogy time looking back, we should also look ahead. Week 51's theme is "Future." Who or what do you want to find next year? Which family member do you think will pick up the family history and carry it forward? Another way to think of it is to think of an ancestor who seemed to be "ahead of their time."

Please don't drive 88.

We are just a few short weeks away from the end of 2019! What are we going to do? Well, we aren't going to panic. Everything'll be just fine! I have some genealogical plans for 2020 and I hope that something comes from these in the next year because they are definitely worth looking into. There are so many things I want to find next year. Perhaps my future self will write about it in a future blog. Wow. Got a little 4th dimensional there.

This year I made some great strides in my research into my father's paternal side. I found my 2x great-grandmother, Caterina Coppola's birth certificate from San Pietro a Maida in my own basement. Using Thrulines on Ancestry, I made connections I never thought possible. I've also helped a number of people with their own genealogical trips through time and space. So, what should I do in 2020?

Antonio Tedesco and Domenica Gullo

Well, as it happens I have a wish list. If you're like me, you plan out things and here is what I plan to do in 2020.

1. Break the brick wall that is my 2x great-grandmother,  Domenica Gullo. 

It's time to break down this brick wall and in 2020 I might just be able to finally do it. Last week, I mailed a card and a letter to cousins in Italy. Aside from the holiday greetings, I asked them if they could help me figure out Domenica's story. We know she was born in the 1870s in San Pietro and died in 1959. There's so much that I do not know like....

When did she and Antonio get married?

Who were Antonio's brothers and sisters for that matter?

There's so much that I want to figure out and I really hope my cousins can help. All I really need is an exact date of birth. Once I do that, I can ask the commune office for information on her parents and go from there.

2. Research the family of Caterina Coppola.

The Coppola family, also from San Pietro, is another semi brick wall. I say this because I already know her parents were Paolo Coppola and Rosa Suverato. That's really all I know about the Coppolas aside from Paolo having a sister named Caterina. I always found it interesting that Paolo named his daughter after his sister. That goes against normal Italian naming conventions....unless Paolo's mother was ALSO named Caterina! This is another Italian mystery I intend to solve in 2020.

3. The Tedescos

As you can see here, Antonio's family tree needs to be worked on. I'm taking this one step at a time. But, I would like to see it worked on more in 2020. Will it happen? That remains to be seen! The main thing I want to check out is Angela Gatto.

That about does it for my dad's side of the tree. His maternal side is well documented thanks to awesome cousins and the availability of records in Gesualdo. What about my mother's side? Surely her side needs some love and attention in 2020. Don't worry. I have plans.....

4. The Descendants of Jean Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche. 

Jean Baptiste Bibeau and Therese Laroche were my 4x great-grandparents and were from Quebec. They had many, many, many kids. Most of them settled in Minnesota except for my 3x great-grandmother, Eulalie Bibeau and her husband, Pierre Cadran. They moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts in the late 1870s. So....I kind of want to know what compelled them to move there. Minnesota and Massachusetts aren't exactly next door! Did Pierre see more opportunity in the mills along the Merrimack River? Who knows?

I also want to document the DNA matches who descend from these two because there are a LOT of them. Like over 60 for my mother and half of that for me. No wonder there was a DNA circle for these two back when Ancestry did DNA circles.

There have been serious rabbit holes with the family as each child of Jean Baptiste and Therese have had many kids and they had many kids. And so on. And so on. And so on....

They're all documented. It's just a matter of PUTTING them all in there!

5. Antione Legault's final resting place.

I'm interested in finding out the final resting place of my 2x great-grandfather, Antoine Legault. No one on my mother's side seems to know where he was buried. His wife, Lucie, was buried in Saint Joseph's Cemetery in Haverhill along with her second husband, Paul. 

So, where is Antoine buried? I have a feeling he may be in Walnut Cemetery in Haverhill along with other members of the Legault family like my great-grandmother, Henrietta. My great-aunt on my mother's side has offered to take me to Walnut to check things out and I am definitely taking her up on that!

6. Wilfred Felker's exact date of death

For now my 2x great-grandfather's death date is just 1951. That doesn't really tell me much. I hope to find out more. Perhaps he was also buried in Walnut along with the other Felkers. The answers lay there. I know they do!

The only surefire way I can answer a few questions is by going to the Haverhill Public Library. Time had prevented me from doing so before. There's never enough hours in the day. So, I have to set aside some time and knock out a few of these questions in 2020. Will I do it? You bet I will. 2020 will be a year I get to answer a few questions. Knowing me....a few more questions will pop up.

I hope I get a chance to answer these and all the others I have. This is just a small checklist of things to do and is basically the tip of the genealogical iceberg.

What does the future hold? Well, to quote Doctor Emmett L. Brown.....

The future hasn't been written yet! No one's has! The future is whatever you make of it. So, make it a good one!

52 Ancestors Week 50: Tradition

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 50:

This is the time of year when many families celebrate various traditions that they have. Several days from now, I'll serve pork chops and sauerkraut, the traditional New Year's Day dinner on both my paternal and maternal lines. Do you know the origin of any of your ancestors? Or, taken another way, what's a genealogy tradition in you family that you've had to dispute (or proven)?

The Eight Greats!

How are there only two weeks left in the year already? It seems like yesterday that I was telling everyone about my grandfather Marco Ferraiolo and his para-trooping exploits. Two more weeks, huh? Better make them count! I will be back in 2020 of course. Doing #52Ancestors has proven to be really fun and I'm sure Amy will continue to do these for years to come. If not, I could always make something up for these blog entries.

Amy is right. During this time of year people celebrate various traditions based on their ethnic origins. So, it shouldn't come to any surprise that I eat a lot of pasta on Christmas Eve. Shocking, right? The Italian guy eats pasta. What's next? Baguettes? Yes, I've had those, too. Great for dipping in sauce and making subs.

Melons wrapped in prosciutto! Mmm!

Word of caution before you continue reading. This blog might actually make you hungry. =)

Ever since I was little, we would have a huge get-together on Christmas eve. It was a multi-generational affair with all of our Italian friends and relatives. It was started by my Grandpa Marco and Grandma Ollie. A lot of people would come over from all over the Merrimack valley and beyond. When I was a kid, we'd pick up my grandmother, Ollie, and she'd stay with us until after the holidays.

That wasn't all. We would have a feast that night like you wouldn't believe. It's usually customary for Italians to serve fish on Christmas eve. So, that's what we did and still do to this day. We would eat pasta, haddock, shrimp and calamari. Calamari is of course squid. My dad would prepare the calamari in many different ways such as:

* Fried
* Stuffed
* In sauce
* Squid salad

We would also serve haddock and gnocchi if the person didn't much care for squid and still wanted some pasta.

Baked stuffed calamari!

My parents tried to accommodate everyone's tastes and be gracious hosts. We never really had anything French-Canadian that night and it was fine. My mother embraced cooking Italian goodies to the point where she did a really good job preparing a lot of the dishes I'm showing in this blog! Though, I was often in charge of wrapping the melons in prosciutto and cutting the rest of the antipasto dishes like cheese.

People brought many treats as well. My great-aunts would bring cookies that they baked. My dad's cousins would be in charge of desserts. They'd bring cannolis, tiramisu and other desserts. It was fantastic!

Not to be outdone, people on my mom's side of the family would bring treats too like shrimp cocktails and various dips. One time one of my parents' friends brought shrimp dip. It was pureed shrimp as a dip and you'd put it on crackers. It was okay. I still tried it despite having many, many reservations! You should always try something at least once in your life. And if you don't like it, then that's fine. A notable exception is liver and onions. That stuff is gross and is considered a war crime by the International War Tribunal of the Hague.

The food wasn't the only thing on the menu of course. Being with family meant that we would talk about the old days. In some cases, it was the really old days. Christmas eve when I was a kid was one of the times where I would learn the most about my family history when I wasn't with either set of grandparents. I would walk around and listen to conversations and ask questions should the opportunity present itself.

I can remember another time where we'd bring out the old film projector and watch old home movies. It was nice to see my grandparents in their much younger days. I remember seeing Giuseppe and Clementina the most.  We definitely had a lot of good times watching the film reels. It would be a very good idea to preserve them. Film reels don't last forever. Just look at the lengths people have gone to preserve old reels containing things from world events to classic episodes of Doctor Who.

Aside from the meals and learning family history, my first cousins and I would always hang out and we'd have a good time while the adults talked. We'd play the then latest video game consoles and just catch up. Those were always good times!

Now that I'm older, my relatives tend to ask me if I could look into something. Last Christmas eve, my dad's cousins were talking about another Carrabs child Giuseppe and Clementina had. When I had free time, I did some digging in the archives for Gesualdo and found that they did indeed had another child. Her name was Olimpia like my grandmother.

I guess you could say that the "circle is now complete". I join in the discussions about family and say what I found out online. Everyone is usually impressed. I guess they remember how curious I used to be. I still am and I will always cherish the Christmas eve get-togethers because they were fun and probably a little educational!

Christmas eve parties still continue and now our tree has ornaments that have ornaments that once belonged to my grandparents on there. The parties may have gotten smaller in recent years due to people passing, but, they are still memorable. And they're never really gone as long as you remember them.

See you next time!

52 Ancestors Week 49: Craft

From Amy Johnson Crow: The theme for Week 49 is "Craft." Do you have an ancestor who was a craftsman? How about a tradition of crafting in your family? (I come from a line of crafters and I have always enjoyed doing crafts of all kinds. I've also started quilting, a craft that both my grandmother and my aunt spent countless hours doing.) Do you have a handmade craft that's been passed down?

Natalie Felker-Hamel

A Marco Ferraiolo original.

Crafting is the name of the game this week, huh? Let's see. I could talk about how my grandfather, Marco and my dad built the house I grew up in and my dad's dental practice. He also did a fair amount of oil painting, too. He did some landscapes and even painted a picture of his father and his second wife, Fortuna. That painting currently resides in the break room of my father's office. I used to look at it and wonder if that's where I got my artistic ideas  from. Then again, I can't draw people well. Animals? Sure! Landscapes? Yeah. Ordinary objects? Not that hard. People? NOPE!

Do stick figures count?

I've also already talked about my great-grandfather, Alfred Francis Hamel who was known as "Mr. Fix-it" in Newburyport. Sufficed it to say, crafting has been and still is a huge part of the family on both sides. Who should I focus on this week? Who's left? Well.....

There's still one person I need to talk about who really, really was into crafting. The person I'm referring to is my maternal grandmother, Natalie Florence Felker. She did most of the crafting for everyone in the family. Like Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter series, she would knit sweaters for all ten of us grandkids. They were hot, itchy and didn't fit too well to be honest. There's more to it than that and way more to her story than just a grandmother who loved to embroider, knit and crochet.

Natalie was born on April 20th, 1927 to Austin Felker and Henrietta Legault. Growing up, she was the second youngest child out of six children and for as long as I could remember, she was into creating all kinds of arts and crafts projects! If my grandfather was the typical grandfather, then I think my grandmother was the typical grandmother! Every time I visited, I don't think I ever saw her without some kind of sewing equipment out. She was ALWAYS working on something!

The Hamel clan in the groovy '60s!

In June of 1948, she married my grandfather, Robert Hamel and had six children including my mother. Natalie tended to make matching outfits for her two youngest daughters, my aunts Linda and Peggy. Having seen the pictures on Facebook for "Throwback Thursday", all I can say is that they were definitely yellow. Look at the pic. Linda is the tall girl in yellow and wow doesn't she look happy?! =D

When I was younger, she made even an afghan for my brother and I. I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons wrapped up in it on cold winter mornings. It was especially helpful after coming in from shoveling snow. Gotta love those New England winters! Her quilt also came in handy, too! Sadly, it wasn't one of those genealogy quilts I've seen around the Internet. It was just your typical colorful quilt that could keep you nice and warm. Or make a neat roof for a fort.

Time goes on.

That wasn't all she made. She was also quite adept at needlepoint and crochet work, too. Check out this picture. I was visiting my brother and his family for Thanksgiving and I needed to get a picture of this clock in preparation for this blog. Yes, I plan these in advance. Surprised? You should see the backlog of comic scripts I have at the ready.

The clock was made in 1989 and for the longest time it resided in the den at my parents' house. It was special to us not just because it had our last name on it. It meant a lot to the family because my grandmother made it and when my brother moved away, the clock went with him. I bet he has told his kids a lot about the woman who made this clock!

Now that's a cool anniversary present!

Don't worry. We still have PLENTY of her crochet work laying around. This one she made in 1996 for my parents' wedding anniversary. It's pretty cool. I mean, I'm not a needlepoint critic. I'm just a guy sharing the cool arts and crafts stuff my grandmother made over the years. It's interesting to be honest. Each one of my aunts and uncles received crochet work tailored to them and their own families. She took a lot of time to make these works of art for everyone and they're still loved to this day.

Since Christmas is coming up, there's one last creation my grandmother made that I want to share. We bring it out every Christmas and each one of the Hamel kids also has one of these works of art.

 This angel was one of the last things my grandmother made before she passed away in January of 2004. Ever since then, we've used it to top the Christmas tree. If there was no room, we would put it on the mantle next to other decorations. All of my aunts and uncles has a version of the angel and it's a nice piece to remember her by.

Don't get me wrong. The needlepoint and everything else is great, too! We have a lot of memories and I like to think that things that our ancestors left behind ensures that a piece of them will always be with us, forever. This includes photos, needlepoint projects, quilts, paintings and whatever else you can think of. It makes them tangible and more real and not just some name you put in your favorite tree creation software.

I've often wondered why she did all this work. It was clearly a hobby and she was great at it. Look at all the stuff I've shared. That's just a small sample of her work! Every single member of the immediate family has something of hers. Perhaps she wanted something for people to remember her by? Nah. Too selfish. Perhaps she just liked working on things and sharing them with her family. I like that explanation.

Ancestors leave behind great things that should be cherished by family members. The creations my grandmother made over the years definitely will! What they leave behind will always be with you. All ten of us have something of our grandmother and you can be sure we appreciate it.....Weasley sweaters and all!

See you next time!

P.S. I should note that my aunt Linda went on to make crafts as well. She make me a Superman cape and a Spider-Man costume back in the day. She is now designing doggie beds for all her friends and family. Cats also like it, too!

52 Ancestors Week 48: Thief

From Amy Johnson Crow: 

Week 48
The theme this week is "Thief." We don't always like to admit it, but sometimes our research uncovers people who have run afoul of the law. Have you found someone who didn't exactly have a clean record? 

                                     “Coming at you like a thief in the night.”

This week’s blog is about the criminal element that exists in the family tree, huh? I think I can help with that. No, there isn’t any Mafia or Godfather stories here. At least I don’t think there is. And even if there was, why would I post it online for everyone to see? Never make that stuff public. See nothing and hear even less! 

That being said, let me regale you all with the tale of someone in the tree who might have had a sketchy past. His name was Francesco Papatolo and he was the son of Vincenzo Papatolo and Concetta Coppola. Concetta, if you recall was the sister of my 2x great-grandmother, Caterina. She moved to Haverhill with her family in the early 1900s along with her two brothers.

Francesco was born in San Pietro a Maida on March 4th 1908 and traveled with the family to make a life for themselves in America. When I first found out about him, I thought he lived a relatively normal life. He married a woman named Mary Louise Proulx on December 21st, 1932 and had two children with her. I had no idea when he passed away at that point. He wasn’t even in the 1940 census with his family. I thought that was odd.

When I discovered him, I did what any genealogist would do. I asked my great-aunt about him.  The following conversation happened:

Me: Aunt Nickie, do you remember anything about Frank?

Nickie: Frank? Oh, he was Aunt Zia’s firstborn child. 

Me: Cool. I haven’t found much about him. All records kind of stop in the 1930s.

Nickie: Oh. There’s a reason for that.

Me: Okay. 

Nickie: Yeah. He was shipped back to San Pietro.

Me: What?! Why?!

Nickie: I don’t remember.

That was understandable. My great-aunt was in her 90s. I didn’t expect her to remember everything. Though, her memory is pretty good. I still had a bit of a puzzle. What did Francesco do that got him sent back to Italy? What did he do?

I wasn’t about to find out what he did by sitting around. I wanted to know what he did. The way my great-aunt put it made it seem like he stole something. Would that be enough to warrant deportation? What if his immigration paperwork failed somehow? Perhaps I was just trying to romanticize it as I was looking for the truth.

Eventually, I came into contact with a DNA match who descended from one of the daughters. She said that her grandfather ultimately passed away in 1983 in San Pietro. He apparently divorced her grandmother and married someone else in town. She was unsure about what he did. He just was not in the country by the time of the 1940 census and his wife was listed as married. That just leads to more questions.

No one in the family seemed to know. So, the case is still open. What did Francesco do?! I have a theory. 

People aren’t shipped back to their mother country for no reason. From what I can piece together from testimony from my great-aunt and my cousin, a crime was definitely committed in the town of Haverhill some time before 1939. The political scientist in me thinks that he may have violated some laws concerning his immigration papers or something.

We could spend ages speculating on what happened. After all, once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains no matter how improbable must be the truth.

The only way I will ever find out for sure is if I were to check out newspaper archives and court records in Haverhill. That is the only thing I can think of. For now, this will have to be an unsolved mystery. This post may have to be amended to in the future. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what he might have done?

See ya next time!

52 Ancestors Week 47: Soldier

From Amy Johnson Crow:

Week 47:

"Solider" in the theme for Week 47. What discoveries have you made regarding ancestors who served in the military? What about an ancestor who tried to stay out of the military? You could also interpret it as someone who "soldiered on," always trying to reach a goal despite some hardships.

“When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree by the river of truth, and tell the whole world 'No, You Move.”-- Amazing Spider-Man # 537, J. Michael Straczynski (Inspired by Mark Twain.)

There's nothing like a good old Captain America quote and that one up there was written by comic legend J. Michael Straczynski. You might have heard of him. His works include shows like Babylon 5 and comics such as Amazing Spider-Man and Superman. The quote itself was the first thing I thought of when I first read this week's prompt. Over the years, there have been so many variants of it. It's hard to pin down the original. Still, it definitely applies to more than a few of my ancestors who soldiered on despite adversity and hardships.

Last week, I discussed the hardships my great-grandfather, Giuseppe had to endure as an Italian immigrant from a part of Italy which suffered during the unification period. This week my attention turns to my great-grandfather, Austin Wilfred Felker. This life could not have been that easy. And yet like the quote said he planted himself like a tree and told the world "No. You move."

Austin Felker and Henrietta Legault

Austin was born on September 25th, 1892 to Wilfred Felker and Gertrude Frances Stevens and from what I've recently discovered, his parents probably did not have the best relationship. They got married fairly young in 1891 as she was sixteen and he was twenty. The marriage did not last long as while Gertrude was pregnant with Austin, Wilfred had an affair with a woman named Anna Pierce and she became pregnant with his child.

This already beginning to sound like one of those daytime soap operas isn't it? Anna gave birth to George Amos Felker in Newburyport, Mass on February 2nd, 1893, just months after Austin was born. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what happened next.

Sufficed it to say, Gertrude filed for divorce on what I assume to be adultery charges. I won't know unless I look up the court records. But, it's very, VERY likely. The marriage was annulled and on September 13th, 1899 there was a custody battle over Austin. Neither side were awarded custody and Austin was sent to live with his grandfather, Jeremiah Smart Felker and his wife, Elizabeth Fellows.

Austin and Henrietta's marriage certificate.

Austin lived with his grandfather up until 1913 when he met and married Henrietta Frances Legault, my great-grandmother. During that time, he still couldn't have had an easy life because his father lived in town and started a second family with Anna after they got married in 1901. His mother ended up marrying Walter Howard Senter in 1899 and had several children with him. They ended up in Farmington, New Hampshire.

I honestly get the feeling that he had a better relationship with his mother than with his father because my mother remembers growing up hearing about and meeting the Senter children. In fact, a few of them were at my parents' wedding along with Austin and Henrietta. Take that for what you will, gentlereaders.

I'm not one to read into it. But, sometimes in life you have to read in between the lines. I wouldn't make any conclusions. I'll leave that up to you! Wilfred passed away some time in 1951. I hope that before he died Austin and his father patched things up. There's no way of knowing. I just hope that they did. Gertrude passed away in 1944 and I know my great-grandfather kept in touch with the Senter clan as evidenced by them being at my parents' wedding and the stories my mother told me about the family.

Toward the end of their lives in the 1970s, tragedy did strike the Felker clan as Henrietta had a stroke which caused her to speak mostly French. I would imagine Austin had to brush up on the language when that happened. According to my mother, that's exactly what he did.

Despite his hardships growing up, Austin still managed to do several things.

1. He served in both World Wars.
2. He raised my grandmother and her siblings very well.
3. Was a great grandfather to my mother and her siblings.

Austin ultimately soldiered on through a tough life and managed to bring some sense of stability to an otherwise chaotic story. His father went off with his mistress. His mother left him to live with his grandfather, but still managed to maintain close ties. It takes a strong person to deal with that and come out the other side still willing to fight.

In the end, Austin's life was a testament to how much one man can endure in a crazy world. It's hard to imagine how he dealt with it until you take a minute and walk in his shoes. It was tough. But, in the end he planted himself like a tree and told the world "No. You move." And I think he did alright for himself. See ya next time!

The Felker clan circa 1950.

52 Ancestors Week 46: Poor Man

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 46

The theme for Week 46 is "Poor Man." Like last week, I encourage you to be creative with this theme. How could a person be poor -- financially, "pitiable," poor judgement? Or perhaps you have an ancestor who helped the poor.

On the boats and on the planes. They're coming to America.

In the early to mid 1800s, the Italian peninsula underwent a radical transformation. The people were tired of being controlled by outside forces and by countries who have determined their destiny for centuries. Nationalistic sentiment fueled the masses from the snowy mountains near Milan to the sun-drenched islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Beginning in 1814 with the Congress of Vienna, the Risorgimento or Italian unification took place. By 1861, the country was unified as the Kingdom of Italy with Rome becoming the capital. However, things didn't go as nearly as planned.

The northern part of the country quickly became an industrialized powerhouse thanks to their close proximity to Germany, France and other nations that were undergoing the Industrial Revolution. Milan grew to become the fashion capital of the world. Venice once again became an important port of trade and commerce. Florence became a hub for the arts. Things were great in the north! However, the south was struggling as it had been before unification began.

Gesualdo, Italy

After unification, Italians in the south had hoped that unifying the nation under one banner would pull that part of the country out of poverty. New policies favored the north and the south was seen as backwards. The people were forced into military service. Taxes, crime and social upheaval were at an all-time high. This period of time became known as "La Miseria".

By the mid 1870s, conditions worsened as disease such as cholera ran rampant. People were feeling hopeless and began to seek refuge by migrating to other parts of the world. That is where my great-grandfather, Giuseppe Carrabs comes in.

Giuseppe was born to farmers Vincenzo Carrabs and Maria Giovanna Capobianco on August 25th, 1882 in the Campanian town of Gesualdo. His parents no doubt experienced unification firsthand as they were born in the 1850s and were quite young when the country was finally unified. Unification woes aside, the family did have many children. Some unfortunately died young. Some stayed in Italy while Giuseppe and his brothers Rocco and Pasquale left for America with their sister, Rosina.

He married Clementina Forgione on March 11th, 1905 and had the following children:

Born in Gesualdo:

1. Vincenza (Jennie): 1907-1984
2. Olimpia (1912-1913)

Born in Haverhill:

3. Josephine (1915-1997)
4. Eleanor (1916-2003)
5. Louise (1918-2010)
6. Olympia (1920-2002)

Shortly after the untimely death of the first Olympia, Giuseppe, Clementina and their young daughter set sail for America. They probably did this because conditions at the time were not conducive to raising a family. Let's not forget that shortly after her death, World War 1 started. That must have been a pretty big incentive to get out of the country!

The death of Olimpia had such a profound effect on the couple that she was spoken of only rarely. I only found out about her a few months ago because my dad's cousins asked me to look up information on the missing Carrabs daughter.

Giuseppe Carrabs and Clementina Forgione

While his siblings settled in the Massachusetts towns of Everett and Melrose, Giuseppe, his wife Clementina and their daughters settled in Haverhill. Life there became much better for him and is family as he worked at Pentucket Bank as a janitor. He also became one of the founders of the Haverhill Italian Credit Union and was also a past president and past treasurer of the former SS Maria Campagna Society. He was an air raid warden during the second world war.

Giuseppe passed away on May 9th, 1974 in Haverhill and was often remembered by his daughters and grandchildren as being warm and caring. Because of his nature, the family in Melrose and Everett stayed in touch over the years.

Every Italian immigrant has a story similar to this one as hundreds of thousands of people left the peninsula in search of a better life. Some ended up staying in America for a short amount of time and ended up returning to their homeland. Some, like my great-grandfather and his siblings decided to stay in America in the hope of making a better life for themselves. In total, more than four million Italians from all over Italy left the country for places such as America, Brazil, Argentina between 1880 and 1924. The majority of these people were from the poverty stricken south.

I picked my great-grandfather to talk about for the "Poor Man" segment because the plight of immigrants leaving their homeland still resonates today. If we understand why people left in the first place, we could better understand their situations which can often be far worse than poverty stricken communities. Giuseppe or Joseph as he was known in America grew up in a time of great social upheaval. Southern Italy was denied a great many things that the north had in abundance.

However, things weren't always that great in America as prejudice and distrust was commonplace. I'm not entirely sure how much of that my great-grandparents faced. I do know that it was probably hard for them to leave their families in Italy and come to a strange land with little possessions.

I'd like to think that despite coming from absolute poverty, things did turn out for the better for them. Back in Italy, things have certainly improved in the decades since Giuseppe and Clementina last set foot on Italian soil. I recently found out that they have been immortalized on Ellis Island's "Wall of Honor" thanks to my dad's cousin, Dennis and his wife! For those who don't know, the Wall of Honor is a monument dedicated to immigrants from all walks of life and almost every country on Earth. On there are many Italians including my great-grandparents.

Life wasn't easy for my great-grandparents. But, in the end I'd like to think that despite coming from poor conditions in southern Italy, he and his family left their mark on the world in small ways. You can still come from poverty and still manage to have an impact. That's the lesson I'm taking from this story!

Giuseppe and Clementina Carrabs and their daughters.

Interesting facts:

~1.5 million Italians migrated to Brazil.

About 3 million Italians settled in Argentina.

Italians are the 7th largest ethnic group in Canada.

About 15% of all Mexicans have full or partial Italian descent.

>4 million to U.S.A.

Italian Americans make up 6% of the US population and are the 4th largest ethnic group in America.

Images of Google Earth are property of Google Earth.

52 Ancestors Week 45; Rich Man

From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 45

The theme for Week 45 is "Rich Man." I encourage you to be creative with this theme. Of course, if you have the proverbial "rich uncle," feel free to write about him, but think about other ways that one can be "rich." Also think about names. Any Moneypennys or Banks in the family tree? How about an ancestor with the first name of Wealthy?

Hmm.....If only I was related to a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. I am seriously going to have to reach for this one. So, like Amy said. I am going to have to get creative. This week I'll be talking about my 5th great-grandfather, Richard Sprague Frothingham. He was the first person in the tree I could find who had anything to do with riches. He was also the first "Richard" I could find. I don't have any Ricardos. Would be cool, though because Ricardo is an awesome name.

Look at the mutton chops on this guy!

Without further ado, here's Richard Sprague Frothingham. He  was born on June 10th, 1792 to James Frothingham and Phebe Southwick in what's now Danvers, Massachusetts. Being born in the late 1790s in New England had to have been an interesting time. Think about it. The United States of America was freed of English rule for a few decades.

It's unknown if Richard actually had money or anything. I'm not completely sure. I say this because his father, James, died without a will in 1801 and was a chaise maker. Chaises, by the way, are carriages. He could have made a decent living making them. I just don't know at this time.

 Since his father died when James was only eight, he most likely had to rely on his mother and his siblings for support while he was growing up. His siblings were:

1. James (1785-)
2. Johnathan (1786-1820)
3. William (1794-)
4. Sara (1794-)
5. Phebe (1796-)
6. Sally (1798-1869)

That's a nice size family, right? I think so. I'd have linked their Wikitree profiles. However, I haven't gotten around to making them. Perhaps I will after I finish the blog. We'll see.

Life wasn't TOO bad for Richard. His middle name, Sprague, was actually the last name of one of his ancestors who came to the New England colonies during the Great Puritan Migration. His name was Ralph Sprague. He descended from a long line of Spragues and his paternal grandmother was Huldah Sprague. So that's where the "Sprague" part of Richard's name came from.

Richard ended up marrying a woman named Eliza Folsam Pillsbury and believe it or not there's a connection with her and the Pillsbury pastry company we all know and love. She was the 5th cousin once removed of company founder, Charles Alfred Pillsbury. Pretty cool. The things you find online.

I digress. Richard and Eliza had eight children including my 4th great-grandmother Frances Miranda Frothingham from 1817 to 1842. Not bad. Perhaps there's a lesson here. Money can't really buy happiness and you CAN be rich in other ways. Not just monetarily.

Richard lived a long life as he passed away on July 26th, 1864 at the age of seventy-two. His death certificate in Danvers listed him as a tallow chandler. That is a person who makes and sells candles for a living. Before the advent of electricity a decade or so later, I am sure his services were much needed in the community.

Most of the information I got for Richard came from a variety of sources. Records in Massachusetts are always so helpful. If you find that you have ancestors from the Bay State, check them out. You will find rabbit hole after rabbit hole of information. It's second only to Minnesota. I also checked out The Frothingham Genealogy book. Information there is pretty solid. But, like most genealogy books you are going to want to be careful. Some of them have errors. Some are good. It's a gamble to see which is which. Always a good idea to cross reference with the actual town data.

As far as Richard goes? Well, I think he was rich in that he had a large family and was fortunate that most of his children survived to adulthood. Was he a simple candle maker? Yeah. But, that still doesn't mean he wasn't rich in other ways.

See you next time!