Ballymena, Ireland

 Wilson  No Responses »
Dec 252011
 

My great-grandfather Samuel Wilson, my mother's maternal grandfather, was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, which is now in Northern Ireland and part of the United Kingdom.

He was born 30 Aug 1871. He left Ireland from Londonderry on 3 Dec 1890 and arrived in New York on the "State of Nebraska" on 21 Dec 1871.

Here is some information about Ballymena that I copied from Wikipedia and the Ballymena Council web page.

The name of the town of Ballymena comes from the Irish Gaelic “An Baile Meadhonach” meaning “middle townland”.

Ballymena is an area rich in history; you’ll notice many ancient buildings, churches and historical sites in the town and the surrounding villages of Gracehill, Cullybackey, Kells and Portglenone. The first recorded history of this area dates to the early Christian period between 5th – 7th centuries; however archaeologists have uncovered artifacts which are reputed to date from the Bronze Age.

The town of Ballymena is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles 1 in 1626, on the provison that the town holds two annual fairs and a free Saturday market in perpetuity. Almost four hundred years on, the town upholds its promise; the Saturday market still runs and for two days in June, the town’s Ballymena Showgrounds plays host to one of the largest agricultural shows in Ireland.

Early History

The recorded history of the Ballymena area dates to the Early Christian period from the 5th to the 7th centuries. Ringforts found in the townland of Ballykeel and a site known as Camphill Fort in the townland of Ballee may also have been of this type. There are a number of souterrain sites within a 1¼ mile (2 km) radius of the centre of Ballymena.

Two miles north of Ballymena in the townland of Kirkinriola, the ancient parish church and graveyard possess several indicators of Early Christian settlement including a souterrain. Also in 1868, a gravedigger found a large stone slab on which was carved a cross with the inscription ord do degen. This refers to Bishop Degen, who lived in Ireland during the 7th century. This stone is now in the porch of the Parish Church of St Patrick, in the Parish of Kilconriola, which is found in Castle Street, Ballymena.

At the end of the 5th century, a church was founded in Connor, 5 miles south of Ballymena. This was followed by a monastery at Templemoyle, Kells. In 831, however, the Norse invaded the Ballymena area, burning the church.

In the 12th century, the Normans conquered much of County Antrim and County Down and created the core of the Earldom of Ulster. During this campaign they built great mounds of earth topped by wooden towers, referred to as mottes, as defensive structures. Harryville's motte-and-bailey is one of the best examples of this type of fortification in Northern Ireland. Some sources[who?], however, credit the Uí Fhloinn with building the mid-Antrim mottes and baileys in imitation of the invaders; the Uí Fhloinn defeated and repelled the Earl of Ulster, John de Courcy, in 1177 and 1178.

In 1315, Edward Bruce (brother of King Robert I of Scotland, known as "Robert Bruce") invaded Ireland. On 10 September 1315, at the Battle of Tawnybrack (5 miles south of Ballymena at Kells), Edward conquered the army of Richard De Burgo, the Norman Earl of Ulster.

Post-Medieval

n 1576, Queen Elizabeth I granted land, including the town of Ballymena, to Sir Thomas Smith. The lands had been forfeited to the crown after Shane O'Neill's resistance in the 1560s. Smith brought English settlers to the area. By 1581, Smith's settlement failed and the lands reverted to the crown.
On 10 May 1607, King James I granted the native Irish chief, Ruairí Óg MacQuillan the Ballymena Estate. The estate passed through several owners, eventually passing into the possession of William Adair, a Scottish laird from Kinhilt in southwestern Scotland. The estate was temporarily renamed "Kinhilstown" after the Adair's lands in Scotland. The original castle of Ballymena was built in the early 17th century, situated to take advantage of an ancient ford over the River Braid. In 1626 Charles I confirmed the grant of the Ballymena Estate to William Adair, giving him the right to hold a market at Ballymena on every Saturday.

In 1641, the local Ballymena garrison fought against the rebels but had to retreat to Carrickfergus. Ballymena's first market house (on the site of the present town hall) was built in 1684.

In 1690, the Duke of Württemberg, a Williamite general, used Galgorm Castle as his headquarters. Sir Robert Adair raised a Regiment of Foot for King William III and fought at the Battle of the Boyne.

By 1704, the population of Ballymena had reached 800. In 1707, the first Protestant (Church of Ireland) parish church was built. In 1740, the original Ballymena Castle burned down. The Gracehill Moravian settlement was founded in 1765. During the 1798 rebellion, Ballymena was occupied from 7 June to 9 June by a force of around 10,000 United Irishmen, who stormed the Market House (now the Town Hall) killing three of its defenders.

The first modern Roman Catholic Church in Ballymena was consecrated in 1827. By 1834 the population of Ballymena was about 4,000. In 1848 the Belfast and Ballymena Railway was established. In 1865 Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (late Baron Waveney) started building Ballymena Castle, a magnificent family residence, in the Demesne. The castle was not completed until 1887.

Ballymena, County Atrim, Northern Ireland

My great-grandfather, Samuel Wilson, naturalization papers arrive

 Wilson  No Responses »
Dec 242011
 

My great-grandfather, Samuel Wilson, naturalization papers arrived today.

The first document is the Declaration of Intention. It states that he was of fair complexion, 5' 7", 150lbs, with auburn hair and blue eyes. He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland on 30 Aug 1871. There is also the Petition and the Naturalization document itself.

He departed 3 Dec 1890 from Londonderry and arrived 21 Dec 1890 in New York.

He renounces his allegiance to "His Majesty George V, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India".

The Petition for Naturalization lists William Wilson and Rose Elizabeth Wilson as witnesses. Brother? Cousin?



New dual citizen documents obtained

 Burke, Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 242011
 

While home before Christmas I obtained the following documents needed for dual citizenship:

– copy of my father's driver's license

– a signed and notarized affidavit that my father had never renounced his claims to Italian citizenship

– my parents' marriage certificate (short form and long form), need to get that certified by Erie County and then apostilled by NY State

– my father's birth certificate, need to get that certified by Erie County and then apostilled by NY State

– my mother's birth certificate, need to get that certified by Erie County and then apostilled by NY State

Graves for my great-great-grandparents, Patrick Cruice and Bridget Sweeney Cruice

 Cruice  No Responses »
Dec 242011
 

My great-great-grandparents, Patrick Cruice and Bridget Sweeney Cruice, were buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Lackawanna, NY. I knew their death dates, but I got pictures of their graves. I also got a death date for Patrick's brother, James Cruice, who was also buried in the same plot. I'll get a copy of his death certificate from the City of Buffalo to confirm their parents' names.

I also discovered that another plot of Cruice's was buried in the same area. These are:
Thomas Cruice, died 24 Oct 1897 (66 years)
Thomas Cruice, died 1 Mar 1905 (85 years)
John Maker, died 4 Mar 1905
Catherine Cruice, died 15 May 1912
Thomas Cruice, died 3 Feb 1919 (55 years)
James Cruice, died 16 Oct 1933
Charles J. Quinn, died 10 Oct 1940
Anna M. Quinn, died 25 Sep 1942

I don't know if these are related to my Cruice's, but the cemetery was giving my name to another person who was recently researching this same Cruice family.

headstone for Patrick and Bridget Cruice, my great-great-grandparents

grave marker for Patrick Cruice

map of Holy Cross Cemetery

section N

s

record for my great-great-grandparents cemetery lot

the other Cruice lot

Graves for Giuseppe (Joseph) and Giuseppa (Josephine) D’Amico Giambrone

 Giambrone  No Responses »
Dec 242011
 

My great-great-grandparents, Giuseppe (Joseph) Giambrone and Giuseppa (Josephine) D'Amico Giambrone were buried in the United German and French Cemetery in Buffalo, NY. Both were buried in Section 18. I knew that Josephine died before Joseph and that it was probably before 1920 based on her absence from the census record. From the cemetery records, I learned that she died on 18 Mar 1919 at 51 years old age.

grave record for my great-great-grandmother, Giuseppa (Josephine) Giambrone

Perhaps because Josephine died relatively young, and perhaps because the Giambrone's were rather poor immigrants, she was buried in a single grave. When Giuseppe died in 1942, he could not be buried next to Giuseppa, but he could be buried in the next lot over. He is buried in Section 18, Lot 3, Line H, Grave 14. She is buried in Section 18, Lot 5, Line G, Grave 43.

From the gravestone, I also see that my great-great-grandmother was D'Amico, not Amico. Or perhaps it was spelled both ways?

my great-great-grandmother, Giuseppa (Josephine) D'Amico Giambrone

my great-great-grandfather, Giuseppe (Joseph) Giambrone

gravesite record for my great-great-grandmother, Giuseppa (Josephine) Giambrone

 

gravesite record for my great-great-grandfather, Giuseppe Giambrone

map of United German and French Cemetery

A useful post about court orders

 Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 192011
 

I found this useful post by JSchotz linked from several other web sites. Here's the original: http://expatsinitaly.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9203

I don't know if it is OK to post something that I posted on another website's forum. But, since I belong to a few (and I guess some of us to too) I thought that those who don't belong to others might benefit from this anyway. If it's against the rules, please feel free to let me know and I apologize in advance.

AMENDING / CORRECTING / CHANGING DOCUMENTS IN COURT

I have posted several questions on this forum over the years and now believe it is time to give back. Anyway, I am a detailed oriented person that lead me to hours and hours of combing forum after forum looking for information on the experiences and processes people went through to amend vital records. Amending vital records by court order isn’t like most civil lawsuits and most of the self-help information was geared for suing your landlord or looking for money owed to you. So, after going through such processes, I felt it would help to post this.

This is of course the last resort in vital statistic corrections – court order.

I have a nightmarish issue with documents. Nine documents total are with significant errors that require amending. My meeting with the consulate resulted in this long quest to fix the vital records of my ancestors, which is underway in earnest. I have vital records from all over the United States that need amending: Washington State, Texas, Delaware, Pennsylvania to name a few. I am NOT a lawyer, NOR is this legal advice. However, since I have completed this process in a few different states now without the assistance of a lawyer (honestly, I couldn’t even get one to give me the time of day on this issue anyway), I found it to be a detailed, but straightforward, process.

RESEARCH –

Always a critical initial step, it was vital to research, prepare, and understand the rules of the game. The Courts are governed by rules of civil procedure and are, for the most part, the same. Yet each state has their nuances, as well as each Court and judge. These rules lay out the procedure and process you go through, as well as how to serve papers or ask for permission from the Court. Some of the Court rules I used are:

Washington State Superior Court

Delaware Court of Common Pleas

Texas District Courts

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas

I also purchased a legal dictionary to become familiar with some of the terms I was reading within the Court Rules.

Once I knew where to file the paperwork (venue), I called the clerk of the Court (e.g. Prothonotary in Pennsylvania, Clerk of Superior Court in Washington State) that handles the paperwork and I asked for a copy of the “local Court rules.” I was able to get them sent to me by fax or mail.

After receiving the local rules, I needed to know what to file. This was also outlined in the Court rules and seems that it is pretty standard.

A civil suit (which is what it is called when you try to amend a vital record) begins with the filing of a complaint/petition/pleading and (in some Courts a case information sheet or form), as well as the appropriate filing fee.

THE PAPERS –

Complaint/Petition/Pleading – The first document I drafted was the Complaint (or Petition when I was in Orphans’ Court, or it also could be call a Pleading). This document seemed to take on the following pattern:

1. Introduction;

2. Parties in the Lawsuit;

3. Jurisdiction of the Court and the Venue of the Court (Why the Court level is appropriate and why the specific county Court you filed in is appropriate);

4. Cause of Action (why I am doing this);

5. The Facts;

6. Relief (What I wanted to happen).

I kept the complaint as short as possible by giving a plain explanation of what I wanted to accomplish and what I was using as documentation to support my position. The Courts seemed not to mention anything about this so it must have been acceptable.

I also attached to the complaint, only true certified copies of documents. Later, I asked (motioned) the Judge, after my motion to amend the vital record was granted, to return them.

(Note: I had to file and serve three copies (sometimes four) of each document with the Court and to the defendants. So, yes, I ordered three certified copies of every vital record because making photocopies of them were illegal. I thought it unwise to do something illegal in front of the Court.)

THE NOTICE (OR SUMMONS) – This is a standard form that I found in the Court rules. It’s like a form letter that officially notifies the other parties that they are involved in a lawsuit. In PA, it is called NOTICE TO DEFEND; in WA it is called a SUMMONS. So the language may vary I imagine in other states.

THE DRAFT ORDER TO CORRECT VITAL RECORD – This is a draft of what I was asking the Judge (the relief) to require from Vital Records. By having a draft, it gave the judge an idea of what I was looking for and wanted to see out of the lawsuit. Even though this is also listed in the complaint, it gave the judge in the Orphans’ Court in Pennsylvania the opportunity to sign it without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING – This form was required for three Courts. This Notice is a form that the judge signed setting a date for a hearing at which my family and the defendant are supposed to appear. All of my hearings were scheduled one to two months after the date I filed the complaint.

PAYING THE COURT –

After I completed drafting the documents, I went to the Court to file. This is not always necessary and most filings can be done by mail, if not by fax or e-file in a select few. However, I suggest you contact the Court and ask if you can file your documents by electronic means. I received the “filing fee” by asking how much it costs to “commence a civil complaint.” It varied from $50 to $250. When I arrived, I gave the Court two copies at the desk and stamped them both. They took my money, assigned a case or docket number (which I then wrote on the documents) and then I took one stamped copy with me so I could use them for the next step.

Summons and Service of Original Process –

The Summons (the document of which I spoke earlier) gives the "defendant" (in this case) notice that they are being sued and to read the Complaint. Within the Summons, it gives the time limit within which the defendant has to file an answer or seek to have the case dismissed. (It was 20 days in my case; but I am sure the Court rules of the other states will say). Careful reading of this document was informative in knowing what I could be done next.

The Service of Original Process was critical because it must be done a certain way. Actually, at first, I tried to mail the forms. However, after reading the Court rules more closely (because in Pennsylvania, you have to serve the papers on the Commonwealth in a special way), I had to request and pay the Sheriff’s office to serve them. If I had continued with only mailing them, I would have gone to Court for the hearing and hear the judge tell me that the Court did not have jurisdiction over the state and my case will be dismissed. Service of Original Process was actually the most expensive part of the entire lawsuit next to the travel expenses.

I had to contact the Sheriff’s office of the same county in which I filed the complaint. They told me the cost and that because I was serving people outside the county, they will deputize the Sheriff’s office in the other counties to serve the papers.

I also found that the Courts were sending documents that were issued by the Court to the defendants and me. I, however, was required by Court Rules to serve these same papers on the defendant and I could do this by regular mail. (Check the Court Rules about this process.)

WAITING –

After I filed the complaint and sent the papers to the Sheriff…I waited. It took about 3 weeks to get the papers (or certificate of service) back from the Sheriffs. The Sheriff in most cases sent a copy of the Certificate of service of original process to the Court, as well as a copy to me. However, this doesn’t always happen so when I suggest if you call the Sheriff to serve papers, ask them what the process is to get the certificate to the Court.

BUMPS IN THE ROAD –

After throwing my 3”, three-ring binder in the corner after all this, I pulled it back out and discovered I made a mistake in one of the complaints I filed. It wasn’t a mistake actually. It was more like I left out a change that I wanted to make. So…I then had to file a MOTION.

MOTION –

This is where you ask the Court to do something. I was asking permission to “amend my complaint.” So, I drafted a motion telling the Court what I wanted to change, why I wanted it, and what Court rule allowed me the opportunity to do it. I then rewrote my complaint with the changes. I also had to write the order for the judge.

I then sent a copy to the Court and the defendants. I had to include a CERTIFICATE OF MAILING with the copy to the Court. This tells the Court that I swear that I sent the same stuff to the defendants. No reply from the defendants meant that they didn’t object.

CONTINUANCE –

Naturally, luck was not on my side when I received notice one of my hearings was at the same time I was in Puerto Rico for vacation. To top it off, this notice was received 5 days before the hearing, at 3:30 pm on a Friday before a 3-day weekend; and I was leaving for PR the next morning. With the tickets purchased and 2 hours to get off a MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE, I set to work. A Motion for Continuance is basically a fancy way of asking the Court to reschedule something. I drafted it telling the Court why I couldn’t make it (and included a copy of my ticket receipt and itinerary for proof), and I would like it rescheduled for the next week – or the earliest available date. I sent a copy of the same to the defendants (this time by Federal Express overnight so the judge can sign the order on that Tuesday). Everything was fine and the Judge rescheduled.

THE HEARING –

I had to go to all hearings in all the states except one. The hearings were generally in front of the judge and about seven to twelve other people in the public seats. The defendants all wrote letters to the judge (and sending copies to me) 15 to 20 days after they received the papers from the Sheriff saying that they didn’t object to what I was asking for and that they were not going to the hearing. This was good news because at least one-half of the people involved didn’t have a problem with what I was asking for.

The first judge was very kind but very formal. He asked many questions about how I had come to find the names and dates were incorrect, how many people in my family knew…but was really concerned about why I believe that these documents would have such errors. It wasn’t all that long…maybe 15 minutes of explaining my family history and how messed up my family was when it came to names. He finally granted me my relief and signed the order for me, and sent copies to the defendant. I also served the defendants officially by mail.

Since I asked the judge to order the corrections be made within 15 days, I was receiving my corrected documents about three weeks after the hearing.

Then…the process started again…As I started with the oldest document and just moved forward in line, using the previously amended documents as additional evidence in the next hearing.

Just two other random suggestions…print sheets of labels with the addresses of all the people you will mail. You send a lot of post in this process so it's handy. Second, I suggest you start with the oldest document first and move forward. Lastly, change everything you can. If you have evidence to make it correct, do it. I battled between just changing the name or all the other mistakes (like missing information or something) and decided that the more I could show the judge the document was incorrect, the better chance I had at getting the change. And besides, I wanted the information to be correct since it was my family history. I of course had all the appropriate evidence to back up every claim of error or omission and wasn't just asking for stuff without proof.

I hope that this is helpful to those who are kind of overwhelmed with taking on the judicial system alone. I learned a lot about our system and realized that, even though it takes a long time, it works.

I included redacted versions of my documents that I used for Washington State for examples. Feel free to use them and modify them as needed.

Washington State Summons

Complaint/Petition/Pleading

Notice of Hearing

[Proposed] Order

Motion for Continuance

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope this is helpful to anyone out there. I will update this as things change with my other court cases and as I have time.

I have attached the files I used in Pennsylvania to correct a Certificate of Marriage. The files are:

PA – Notice to Defend

PA – Petition

PA – Notice of Hearing

PA – [Proposed] Order

I have the following cases completed or pending:

PA – Birth (Adams County), Marriage (Luzerne County), Death (Adams County)

I chose Adams County since the rules allowed me to choose anywhere to file and Gettysburg was a nice quick drive from where I live. I had to go to Luzerne County to do the marriage as it was a document from that court and only that court could change their document.

DE – Marriage (New Castle County)

Same as above with Pennsylvania Court on marriage.

WA – Birth (Cowlitz County), Marriage (Spokane County), Death x2 (Spokane and Cowlitz County) but all filed in Thurston County

I could have consolidated them all in one batch, but I am doing this also for genealogical purposes so it was a good excuse to do more research and travel to see the family homes and graves.

TX – Death (Jasper County)

MD – Marriage (St Mary's County)

I had to visit all states except one case in Washington State. I was able to do that hearing by telephone (at my expense of course). In some Court Rules, there is the possibility to motion for hearing by telephone. So, if you comb through the rules, you may be able to do it. And…if nothing else, you can always motion the court and ask permission I suppose.

I know that many on here dealing with PA do Philly because it is electronic filing. But it really is just as easy to call the court and ask if you can file by fax and follow up with a posted original. Let me say that I have never come across a case where someone didn't have to go to court (or at least make arrangements to be heard by telephone). Electronic filing doesn't mean "trial by e-mail." So just keep that in mind. I suggest that if you review the court rules of a particular state and can file anywhere, file as close as you can to where you live and/or in a small tiny county. You move faster (less cases) and they are a little more accommodating to your lack of knowledge.

Again, I am not a lawyer or a member of the legal profession. My advice is based on research and experience only of myself. You decide for yourself what actions you do or do not take from my advice. It is just a blog of my experiences.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope this is helpful to anyone out there. I will update this as things change with my other court cases and as I have time.

Getting documents validated by the NYC and Philadelphia consulates

 Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 192011
 

I will be applying for dual citizenship through the Detroit consulate. I heard that I needed to get documents validated by the consulate governing the state that issued the documents. That means sending the NY docs to the NYC consulate and the Pennsylvania docs to the Philadelphia consulate.

I found some information about this on http://italiancitizenship.freeforums.org/

I'm applying through Boston, and I am currently waiting for translation validations from CA, NJ, and NY. I emailed the NY consulate asking how to obtain a validation from their consulate and here's the response I received:

"Dear Sir:

In reference to your request to have your certificates issued in New York  State validated by this Consulate, in order to apply for Italian citizenship, you  might proceed  according to one of the following options :

1) come in at our Office prior scheduling an appointment, providing:
– original Long Form certificate legalized with Apostille, translation in Italian and a set of copies; (should you choose to have a representative to come in, please provide a Power of Attorney specifying the purpose of your request and attach a copy of your passport). On that day, you will be required to pay the legalization fees.

2) send by mail:
– your statement indicating the purpose of your request;
– original Long Form certificate legalized with Apostille and translation in Italian and a set of copies;
– a copy of your passport;
– a credit card number to charge the fees due for legalization (American Express not accepted);
– a pre-paid envelope to return the documentation to you;
– the attached form filled out and signed by you in front of a Notary Public.

Regards
Anna Amoroso 
Citizenship Office
Consulate General of Italy
New York

　

I, the undersigned…………………………………………………………………………

Born on………………………………………….in…………………………………………..

Residence………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

holder I.D. no……………………………………….

issued by……………………………………………….

do hereby declare that I assume all responsibility for the mailing of my original documents.

I understand that the Consulate General of Italy in New York is NOT responsible for the loss or damage of my documents in transit.

I therefore wish for my documents to be mailed back to me via the pre-stamped envelope that I have provided including a photocopy.

 

Date

 

                                                ________________________

                                                                                                     (signature)"

I followed these instructions (even included a copy of this email with notes directing the reader to the corresponding tab for each required document I enclosed). As you can see you must send in the original doc, and hold NY harmless for its loss. That's ominous, but I did it anyway.

I didn't want to send in my credit card number without knowing the fees, but they have not responded to my follow up email on this matter. FWIW, both SF and NJ quote a fee of $8.50 per original document page. They accepted money orders for the validation. 

I didn't know about the other requirements described above so I stapled the translation pages together and just clipped them to the original. Hope that doesn't hurt me. 

BTW, the SF consulate received my docs last Thursday, and I saw via USPS tracking that they have mailed my docs back to me already! That's a 2 day turnaround. NJ said they would turn it around in a day or so too. Don't know about NY. I only submitted one doc to them.

Searching for documents at my Dad’s

 Burke, Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 192011
 

Today we celebrated Christmas with my family. I took some time today to search through my dad's records and found an official copy my father's birth certificate, my mother's death certificate, and my mother's birth certificate. I had a photocopy of my mother's birth certificate, but I thought I would need to get a court order to obtain an official copy with a raised seal. Assuming I can get this version apostilled, no court order may be necessary. I also found a copy of my parents' marriage certificate, but it was a short version, not the long form. I will going to the Town of Tonawanda town hall with my dad to get a long-form copy.

My great-grandparents marriage certificate arrives

 Giambrone, Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 162011
 

My great-grandparents' marriage certificate arrived today. My great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri, was 25 years old. My great-grandmother, Maria Giambrone, was 19 years old. They were both living in Yatesboro. My great-grandfather's brother, Calogero Palmeri, was the guardian for my great-grandmother (apparently, 19 was not of legal age in Pennsylvania to marry without permission). He was married to Barbara Giambrone, Maria's older sister. It lists my great-grandfather as a miner and my great-grandmother as a housekeeper.

They were married on 5 Nov 1910 in Yatesboro in St. Mary's Church. Salvatore Baglio (probably the brother-in-law of Angelo and Calogero's brother Peter) and Sam Iannello (probably the brother-in-law of Angelo and Calogero's brother Salvatore) were witnesses.

Unfortunately, my great-grandfather's name is misspelled Angelo Palmieri and my great-grandmother's name is misspelled Maria Giambroni. I guess I will be needing to do a court appearance in Pennsylvania sometime too. Ugh.

But it's so clear that they were illiterate. Note that they all signed the documents with an X. It says "his mark" and "her mark".


marriage certificate for Angelo Palmeri and Maria Giambrone

My great-grandparents were married in Yatesboro, Pennsylvania

 Giambrone, Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 142011
 

Last week, I emailed several churches in Buffalo in order to find a record of marriage for my great-grandparents, Angelo Palmeri and Maria Giambrone. NY State said they had no record, but they also said that marriage licenses were not required until a few years after my great-grandparents were married.

Today I received this wonderful email from someone at Holly Cross Church:

We received your request for a copy of your great grandparents, Angelo and Maria Palmeri’s, marriage certificate. You wrote that your great-grandparents were married around 1910. Our records begin in 1914, when our parish was founded, so your great-grandparents marriage record is not here.

I did some research. Our records show that your great-grandfather was buried from here. Having the date of death, I was able to find his death notice in the Buffalo Evening News. Then having the names of his siblings, which were listed in the death notice, I was able to find his listing on the 1910 U. S. Census. With this information, I located your great-grandparent’s marriage record. It was in Saint Mary Mother of God Catholic Church in Yatesboro, Pennsylvania. I called the Saint Mary Mother of God parish office and told them to send a copy of the marriage certificate here. When we receive it, we will mail it to you.

Your great-grandparents were married on November 11, 1910.

I will also be contacting (again) the Armstrong County clerk to see if they have an official copy. Then I will need to get them apostilled.

Our official marriage certificate arrives from NY State

 Palmeri  No Responses »
Dec 062011
 

A few weeks ago, I realized that the marriage certificate we had wasn't our official marriage certificate, but a marriage document from the City of Tonawanda. Only an official marriage certificate can be apostilled. Today I received our official marriage certificate from NY State. 

redacted version of our marriage certificate from NY State