Getting questions answered about dual citizenship

 Palmeri  No Responses »
Oct 072011
 

Emails to the Italian embassy in Washington and consulates in Detroit and Chicago went unanswered for nearly two weeks. I finally called the consulate in Detroit, which is the consulate for Tennessee. I had to call during the one hour during the day that they accept citizenship calls. In order to get questions answered about dual citizenship, they tell me I have to call a telephone number that charges per minute: http://www.consdetroit.esteri.it/Consolato_Detroit/Menu/I_Servizi/Per_i_cittadini/Cittadinanza/

I call. The timer starts immediately after I enter my credit card. I figure about 10 minutes on hold. Someone picks up. I wanted to know if Detroit had its own dual citizenship checklist list other consulates do. They don't. I wanted to know if they have a list of approved translators. They don't. I want to know what the procedure is for getting an appointment at the consulate. You just call the same phone number. I want to confirm that my children can get citizenship at the same time I do. They can. 

I get my questions answered in about 4-5 minutes. Plus the 10 minutes on hold.

I figure about $30 in phone charges.

Update (12 Oct 2011)

After paying to get my questions only partially answered, I discovered the Italian Citizenship Message Board: http://italiancitizenship.freeforums.org/

Just about any question you might have about Italian dual citizenship is probably answered here.

Could this be my great-grandfather Angelo Palmeri’s naturalization record?

 Burke  No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

One lesson I've learned over the past couple of years is to regularly check ancestry.com and familysearch.org. New databases are added all the time.

I'm particularly interested in any records related to the date of my great-grandfather's naturalization. I'm 99% certain that he became naturalized after my grandfather was born. My great-grandfather came to the US around 1908. My grandfather was born in 1911. I'm pretty sure there was a waiting period before people could become naturalized. Also, the 1920 census listed him as "pa", which means that his first papers were filed (declaration of intent), but he was not yet a citizen. Only on the 1930 census is he listed as "na", which means naturalized.

But now I need to find proof. So any documentation will help.

My new search on ancestry.com brought up a pretty spartan record from something called the "U.S. Naturalization Record Index".

Not much to go by here. But I try contacting the National Archives in Chicago (because they were the only ones I could find easily oneline) to see if they can help find an original record to go with this index filing.

They tell me that this appears to be the naturalization of Angelo Palmeri while serving in the military during WWI. According to them, the copy of the index card, along with associated information, indicated that he was naturalized in the U. S. District Court, Western District of New York in 1918. But I needed to contact the NY office of the National Archives. I email them (twice) and am still waiting for a response.

I'm not sure if this is my great-grandfather, given that he was listed as "pa" in the 1920 census, but maybe this indexes when papers were filed not when naturalization was finalized. I also don't know whether he actually served in WWI. We'll see if they turn up anything. Leave no stone unturned.

Update (19 Oct 2011)

I received a reply. It turns out this belonged to someone who is definitely not my great-grandfather:

Military Petition Number S2-302 from the Western District Court of New York
Name – Angelo Palmeri
Address – Stationed at Fort Niagara, NY
DOB – January 14, 1887 at Perugia, Prov. Prorricia, Italy
Date of Naturalization – June 1918

Too bad. But now that I have a contact in the National Archives, I'm asking if they can search their records given the information I have. This is in parallel with a search request I submitted to Homeland Security. Still waiting.

The de Guehery family history

 Burke, Cuthbert, de Guehery  No Responses »
Oct 022011
 

I made contact with the gentleman who posted the snippet about the de Guehery family 20 years ago.

Ten years ago he wrote a family history called “Some Branches and Twigs of the Elliott Family Tree”, which is on file in the OGS archives in Toronto. His mother, Edna Mae de Geuhery, was the sister of my great-grandmother, Margaret Ogilvie de Guehery. His book has a chapter on the de Guehery family and another chapter on the Cuthbert family (Margaret and Edna Mae's mother was Marion Cuthbert).

He is going to send me the chapters soon.

He also put me in touch with another cousin and this is where it gets even cooler.

His grandfather did a lot of genealogical research in the early 1930s with the genealogy research division at the library in Dresden before that institution was destroyed during WWII. His father continued this research during the 1980's with genealogical researchers in Paris. Apparently, the family tree is complete in detail back to the mid-1700s.

The story includes the de Guehery family's escape from the French Revolution, a beheading, and the loss of a noble title.

I can't wait to get more information.

We’re German!

 Burke, de Guehery  No Responses »
Oct 022011
 

Never underestimate what another pair of eyes can find.

Every 6 months or so I upload my family tree to ancestry.com. This time I shared it with a couple dozen family members. One of my cousins poked around the tree, pointed out a couple of obvious errors, and did some searching on his own. He unlocked an important discovery.

My great-grandfather on my mother's side, Arthur Burke, married Margaret Ogilvie de Guehery. Family lore had it that the de Guehery family escaped the French Revolution to Germany, then went to Canada, and then the United States.

Last year sometime, while searching familysearch.org I found a marriage record for Margaret de Guehery's parents, Marion Cuthbert and Emanuel de Guehery. It listed Emanuel's parents as Rudolph and Goddlibien de Guehery. More searching turned up nothing else on Rudolph and Goddlibien, including Goddlibien's last name.

This is where my cousin's searching comes in.

He thinks to do a search of google books. And finds this interesting snippet:

My great-great-great-grandfather, Rudolph de Guehery, was born abt 1820 in Dresden, Germany. My great-great-great grandmother was Gottlieben Mack.

There looks like there could be more.

So I email the Ontario Genealogical Society, where this snippet was published, to see if there was a way to find more information from wherever this snippet came from.

The OGS reply with more: Gottlieben Mack was born in 1838 in Mendelsheim, Wuerttenberg, Germany and that Rudolph and Gottlieben emigrated to Canada via Hamburg, Germany. Rudolph died in 1889 in Petawawa, Ontario. Gottlieben died in 1922 in Ebenezer, NY.

They also gave me the name of the person who posted this entry in the "Families" newsletter more than 20 years ago. That's the topic of the next post.

Requesting my grandmother’s birth certificate from Sicily

 Millonzi, Palmeri  No Responses »
Oct 012011
 

While I'm aiming to gain dual citizenship through my grandfather and his father, I need copies of my grandmother's and great-grandmother's birth certificates as well. Unlike the paternal birth certificates, these apparently don't need to be official long-form birth certificates, so I'm trying to obtain them on my own rather than pay $50 a piece to go through a place like myitalianfamily.com. We'll see how this goes.

The first step was to figure out where to ask for them. I found several places online that suggested sending requests to the Ufficio dello Stato Civile in the town that the ancestros were born. I was able to find the mailing address in Montemaggiore Belsito for my grandmother and in Serradifalco for my great-grandmother.

The next step was to figure out how to make the request in Italian. Io capisco un po l'italiano. So I needed help. I tried google translate (http://translate.google.com/). To check the quality of the translation, after I translated a sentence from English to Italian, I back-translated the result from Italian to English.

This is what I produced. It says that I need a birth certificate for Rosaria (Sarina) Millonzi, who was born in Montemaggiore Belsito. It gives her birth date and names her parents, Rosario Millonzi and Carmela Parisi. It does ask for them in long form, "formato internazionale" or "estratto per riassunto", just to be safe. It says I will be willing to pay for the processing and shipping. I included a 5 Euro note because we had some Euros in the house from my last trip to Europe. Maybe that'll pay for the shipping. Or it will be a tip for the clerk. If it works and I get the birth certificates, it will be money well spent.

Hopefully this will all work.

Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Comunie di Montemaggiore Belsito
Piazza Roma
PA 90020 Montemaggiore Belsito
ITALY

Egregi Signori,

Mi chiamo Thomas Palmeri, ed abito negli Stati Uniti all'indirizzo sopradetto. Cerco informazioni sulla mia nonna, Rosarina (Sarina) Millonzi. Nata nel comune di Montemaggiore Belsito. Cerco questi dati per conoscere meglio la mia famiglia, e per trovare i miei parenti rimasti in Italia.

Vi sarei molto grato se poteste spedirmi l'estratto dell'atto di nascita di Rosarina (Sarina) Millonzi. Nata nel 14 Ottobre, 1915. I suoi genitori erano Rosario Millonzi e Carmela Parisi.

Ho allegato copia del certificato di nascita di mio padre e mio certificato di nascita. Si prega di inviare come "formato internazionale" o "estratto per riassunto" con il nome della madre e del padre.

Vi ringrazio in anticipo per la vostra gentilezza e premura, e vi prego di addebitarmi tutte le spese postali e dei certificati.

Ho incluso 5 euro per alcuni dei costi.

Distinti saluti,

Thomas Palmeri

Searching for my great-grandfather Angelo Palmeri’s naturalization record

 Palmeri  No Responses »
Sep 292011
 

One particularly critical piece of documentation I need for dual Italian citizenship is my great-grandfather Angelo Palmeri's naturalization record.

In order to qualify for Italian citizenship, my grandfather must have been born before my great-grandfather became naturalized. 

I need a statement from homeland security showing his full name, place of birth and date of birth, date of the naturalization, certificate number (or, if a legal alien, his permanent resident card number). Before ordering this record, I had found my great-grandfather's birthdate when I found his Social Security Death Index record on ancestry.com.

My first filed attempt was a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Apparently, since 2008, naturalization records are no longer access via FOIA. So my request by email and fax was rejected.

Instead, I submitted an online request through the Genealogy Program website at http://www.uscis.gov/genealogy. Requests can also be mailed to USCIS Genealogy Program, PO Box 805925, Chicago, IL 60680-4120.

It took a few clicks to find the right place on the web site. First, I clicked on "Make a Genealogy Request" along the left hand side. "Order Online Now" appeared on the right hand side. Apparently, this is a two step process. First, for $20, you need to do an Index Search Request. If that returns a match, for $35 you need to do a Record Request.

We'll see how long it takes to get a result of the index search.

Montemaggiore Belsito | Nati 1852-1858 | FHL INTL Film 2004859

 Millonzi  No Responses »
Sep 122011
 

As I search LDS records for Montemaggiore Belsito, I am recording, in some way, all members of the Millonzi, Salemi, Parisi, and Sciolino families. My great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi's parents were Ignazio Millonzi and Rosaria Salemi. My great-grandmother Carmela Millonzi's parents were Angelo Parisi and Agata Maria Sciolino.

Maybe my efforts will be useful to someone else searching for their families from Montemaggiore. I make no promises for completeness or accuracy. In some cases, I could not read the stylized hand writing.

Click on the link below to access the transcriptions.

Registri dello stato civile Montemaggiore Belsito (Palermo), 1820-1910
Nati 1852-1858 | FHL INTL 2004859

My great-grandmother Carmela Parisi Millonzi’s birth certificate

 Millonzi, Parisi  No Responses »
Sep 052011
 

My great-grandmother, Carmela Parisi Millonzi, was born in Montemaggiore Belsito, Province of Palermo, Sicily on 2 Sep 1892. Her parents were Angelo Parisi and Agata Maria Sciolino.

Here is her birth certificate, which I found on a microfilm I ordered through a local Family Research Center at an LDS church in Madison, TN, just north of Nashville. Thankfully, the LDS church records and their microfilm readers are open to anyone. The FRC in Madison is open only a few hours a week, which requires a bit of flexibility to find a time that works for me. Ordering is easy. You pay $6 per microfilm and it arrives in about 2 weeks. You can keep it for about 3 weeks, but they often let them linger for a week or two longer. From what I understand, they are moving the ordering process online (new.familysearch.org) which should make things even easier.

Atti di Nasciti for Carmela Parisi, my great-grandmother

Transcribing these is the tricky part.

First, they're in Italian. I can read only a tiny tiny bit of Italian (but I'm learning). So Google translate is my tool of choice.

Second, they are written in a fairly stylized cursive handwriting. It does take a bit of calibrating to read the text. For example, in "Parisi" the central "s" almost looks like a cursive "f". I've found that after reading them for a while, I can start to pick up on the style. One nice thing is that all the records in a volume are written by the same hand in a very consistent style. Some of those styles are easier than others, to be sure.

Here is my loose translation of the Atti di Nasciti. I haven't been able to figure it all out. But I've been able to pull out what seems to be the most salient information. After I used Google translate I also found some places online where others had translated similar Italian documents (including this http://www.conigliofamily.com/Pa.htm). Unfortunately, google translate doesn't suggest words when there are misspellings.

In the top left corner it gives the birth number for that year and notes Parisi Carmela. I can't read the writing underneath.

I put XXX on the words I just couldn't read and translate.

L'anno milleottocento   novantadue    addi   otto   di   Settembre   a ore   XXX   meridiane XXX e minuti             , nella Casa comunale.
The year eighteen hundred   ninety-two   on the day  eighth   of September at   XX   o'clock   am or pm   and minutes               in the Town Hall.

Avanti di me   XX Pietro XXX delegato XXX XXX XXX Stato Civile  .
Before me   <name and title of the official in the Town Hall>  .

Uffiziale dello Stato Civile del Comune di   Montemaggiore Belsito  
Official of Public Records of the Town of   Montemaggiore Belsito  

è comparso   Parisi Angelo  , di anni  trenta     XXX   domiciliato   quella?   il quale mi ha dichiarato che alle ore   XXX   meridiane   sei   e minuti           del di   cinque   del   corrente   mese, nella casa posta in   Via Giardino   al numero   seidici  , da Sciolino Agata di anni trentacinque sua legittima moglie XXX convivente
appeared   Angelo Parisi  , age   thirty  ,   <job description>   living in   <somewhere>   who has declared to me that at   six 'clock   on day   five   of the   current   month, in the house located at   Via Giardino   number   sixteen  , by Agata Sciolino age thirty-five his wife living with him.    

e nato un bambino di sesso   femminile   che   egli   mi presenta e a cui da il nome di   Carmela  .
is born a baby   girl   who was presented for me to see, and who was given the name   Carmela  .

A quanto sopra e a questo atto sono presenti quali testimoni   Nafia Rosalia  , di anni   venticinque  ,   casalinga  , e   Peri Rosalia   di anni   ventiotto  ,  casalinga  , entrambi reidente in questo Comune.   
To the above, and to this record, are present the witnesses   Rosalia Nafia  , age   twenty-five  ,   a housewife  , and   Rosalia Peri  , age   twenty-eight  ,   a housewife  , both residents of this community. 

Montemaggiore Belsito | Nati 1847-1852 | FHL INTL Film 2004858

 Millonzi  No Responses »
Sep 052011
 

As I search LDS records for Montemaggiore Belsito, I am recording, in some way, all members of the Millonzi, Salemi, Parisi, and Sciolino families. My great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi's parents were Ignazio Millonzi and Rosaria Salemi. My great-grandmother Carmela Millonzi's parents were Angelo Parisi and Agata Maria Sciolino.

Maybe my efforts will be useful to someone else searching for their families from Montemaggiore. I make no promises for completeness or accuracy. In some cases, I could not read the stylized hand writing.

Click on the link below to access the transcriptions.

Registri dello stato civile Montemaggiore Belsito (Palermo), 1820-1910
Nati 1847-1852 | FHL INTL 2004858

Montemaggiore Belsito | Nati 1884-1910 | FHL INTL Film 1965501

 Millonzi  No Responses »
Sep 052011
 

As I search LDS records for Montemaggiore Belsito, I am recording, in some way, all members of the Millonzi, Salemi, Parisi, and Sciolino families. My great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi's parents were Ignazio Millonzi and Rosaria Salemi. My great-grandmother Carmela Millonzi's parents were Angelo Parisi and Agata Maria Sciolino.

Maybe my efforts will be useful to someone else searching for their families from Montemaggiore. I make no promises for completeness or accuracy. In some cases, I could not read the stylized hand writing.

Click on the link below to access the transcriptions.

Registri dello stato civile Montemaggiore Belsito (Palermo), 1820-1910
Nati 1884-1910 | FHL INTL 1965501

Montemaggiore Belsito | Nati 1862-1884 | FHL INTL Film 1965414

 Millonzi  No Responses »
Aug 312011
 

As I search LDS records for Montemaggiore Belsito, I am recording, in some way, all members of the Millonzi, Salemi, Parisi, and Sciolino families. My great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi's parents were Ignazio Millonzi and Rosaria Salemi. My great-grandmother Carmela Millonzi's parents were Angelo Parisi and Agata Maria Sciolino.

Maybe my efforts will be useful to someone else searching for their families from Montemaggiore. I make no promises for completeness or accuracy. In some cases, I could not read the stylized hand writing. 

Click on the link below to access the transcriptions.

Registri dello stato civile Montemaggiore Belsito (Palermo), 1820-1910
Nati 1862-1884 | FHL INTL Film 1965414 Items 2-4

Rosario Millonzi in WWI

 Millonzi, Parisi  No Responses »
Jul 212011
 

World War I was fought between 28 Jul 1914 to 11 Nov 1918, with the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia) on one side and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire) on the other. The United States joined on the side of Britain, France, and Russia late in the war.

Before the war, Italy had been allies with Germany and the Austria-Hungarian Empire as part of the Triple Alliance. After sitting out the war, they chose to join sides with Britain, France, and Russia against their old allies.

My great-grandfather, Rosario Millonzi, a tailor by trade in Montemaggiore Belsito, Sicily, was enrolled in the Italian Army on 2 May 1916 in the Military District of Cefalu, Sicily.

He was a member of the Bersagliere Ciclista 10m Regimento – the 10th Bersagliere (Light Infantry), Cyclist. According to Wikipedia, the Bersagliere were a highly mobile infantry unit recognized by the distinctive wide brimmed hat that they wore, decorated with black capercaillie feathers. Apparently, my great-grandfather was in a bicycle unit in the Bersagliere. During WWI, the 12 regiments of Bersaglieri fought with distinction. Of its 210,000 members, 32,000 were killed and 50,000 were wounded.

During the Italian Campaign against Austria-Hungary, Rosario was slightly wounded in the leg by shrapnel at Cortina D'Ampezzo. Before WWI, Cortina D'Ampezo was part of Austria, but became part of Italy following the war.

According to the documentation we have, it looks like he was on the front lines for about 19 months before being captured following the Battle of Caporetto.

The Battle of Caporetto took place 24 Oct to 19 Nov 1917. According to Wikipedia, a huge Austro-Hungarian force, possibly their entire army, reinforced by several German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian army, which had practically no mobile reserves. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers and infiltration tactics. The use of poison gas by the Germans also played a key role in the collapse of the Italian Army. 

The Italian losses were enormous: 11,000 were killed, 20,000 wounded and 265,000 were taken prisoner. Many were crippled for life.

Battle of Caporetto, in northeastern Italy

My great-grandfather was captured during the the retreat from the Battle of Caporetto. He was a prisoner of war for 14 months by Austro-Hungary. According to family stories, he was so hungry, he had to eat his shoes.

After hearing nothing from him for months and months, my great-grandmother, Carmela Parisi Millonzi, asked her brother, Monsignor Gaetano Parisi, to contact the Vatican for help. With the help of the church, the Germans found him in a prisoner of war camp. When they learned that he was a tailor, they took him off hard labor and put him to work distributing and repairing clothing for soldiers.

Rosario Millonzi was officially discharged from Royal Italian Army on 1 Aug 1919 in Palermo, Sicily.

He received the Croce al Merito di Guerra (War Merit Cross) on 16 Jun 1936, while he was living in America. According to Wikipedia, the Italian War Merit Cross (Croce al Meritodi Guerra) was instituted by King Victor Emanuel III on 19 Jan 1918. The Croce al Merito di Guerra was awarded to members of the armed forces with a minimum of one year's service in contact with an enemy who received the Medal of the Wounded, or to those who, when mentioned for war merit, received a promotion. Also, if an act of valour was deemed insufficient for the Medal of Military Valour, the War Merit Cross could be awarded instead. 

Attached below are copies of his military documents that I used to piece together parts of this story.

Story of Charles and Barbara (Giambrone) Palmeri

 Giambrone, Palmeri  No Responses »
Jul 202011
 

After I learned that my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri, had a brother, Charles, and that Charles and Angelo had married sisters, Maria and Barbara, I set about trying to find more information. 

Palmeri is not a very common name outside of Buffalo, NY. I think my wife and I are the only Palmeris in Nashville. I figure that at least some of the Palmeris living in Buffalo are related. So I send out about a dozen letters to various Palmeris listed in the phone book. A few weeks later, I get a call from someone who turns out to be my dad's second cousin. He knows my dad, not just as family, but because they both worked for the Buffalo Board of Education. His son, who is probably about my age, received one of my random letters and gave it to him.

Chuck was a treasure of information about the Palmeri family. I learned that Angelo and Charles had two brothers, Samuel and Peter, who also came to Buffalo, and that they may have left a sister, Maria, in Serradifalco. I also learn that Maria and Barbara Giambrone – I finally know their last name for sure – had three sisters and a brother who came to Buffalo and a sister who stayed in Sicily. I also learn that my great-great-grandparents, Giuseppe and Giuseppa Giambrone, parents to the Giambrone clan, also came to Buffalo. I recently learned that they are buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Buffalo.

They shared information about the Palmeri family. They knew by grandfather and grandmother well. They shared information about Serradifalco, including a video that showed the homes my great-grandparents had been born in and that showed a street named after the family in Serradifalco, Via Palmeri.

But maybe the coolest thing they shared was a story of my great-great-aunt and uncle, Charles and Barbara (Giambrone) Palmeri.

You can click here for the full story: Story of Charles and Barbara (Giambrone) Palmeri

There is a lot of really interesting information in their about life as a young immigrant family.

Every summer, the Palmeris and Giambrones would go to the Eden Valley to pick peas and beans. All of the adults and children would work and they would sleep in a barn. They were paid 1 cent a per pound for peas and 2 cents per pound for beans. As the boys got older, they would graduate from picking to hoeing and running machinery.

Apparently, my grandfather, Joseph Palmeri, used to go down every summer until he got married. My father remembers going down there occasionally as a child. But according to my dad, his mother had no interest in being anywhere near farm work. 

Barbara and Maria (Giambrone) Palmeri

We’re Scottish!

 Burke, Cuthbert, de Guehery  No Responses »
Jul 172011
 

My mother's father, my grandfather, was Donald Burke. His father, Arthur Burke, was Irish. His mother, Margaret De Guehery, was French.

Or so we thought.

For my initial pass at filling in our family tree, it was a treasure hunt whenever I poked around on ancestry.com, hitting the jackpot whenever I found a distant cousin researching part of my family tree. But as I grew more serious about genealogy, I wanted to make sure that any distant cousins I might find were as serious as I am about documenting records. So now I contact them directly. Some never respond. Many have. Now I have a small network of distant family sharing finds and working on the same problems.

One of these distant cousins is related to Margaret De Guehery.

I knew that Margaret's parents were Emanual de Guehery and Marion Cuthbert. I even had some very old pictures of Marion from my aunt. A search on familysearch.org had revealed their marriage record in Ontario, with Rudolph and Goddlibien de Guehery and Thomas and Margaret Cuthbert listed as their parents.

I also knew that the de Gueherys and Cuthberts had lived in Chalk River, Ontario, both from our own family history, and from the familysearch.org records I found.

What I didn't know was that the Cuthberts were Scottish.

At some point in my search a few years, I had found a Marion Cuthbert in England but rejected that as nothing more than a false alarm.

Well, my fourth cousin had discovered that both Thomas and Margaret Cuthbert had both been born in Scotland. Thomas in Bathgate. Margaret in Glasgow. At the same time, someone in the Upper Ottawa Valley Genealogical Group found Margaret's obituary in a search of their records for me, confirming that Margaret Ogilvy (Downie) Cuthbert had died at age 80 and that she was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

The family had moved to London, England, where Marion and some of her siblings were born. So my find from a few years ago was spot on.

We're Scottish. A small part Scottish, to be sure. After all, it's only my great-great-grandmother who is Scottish. But that's still 1/16.

My cousin also had some photos to share, including a group picture that includes my great-great-great-grandmother, a picture of my great-great-great-grandfather, and a picture of the Cuthbert family farm in Chalk River that had appeared in the newspaper. 

He is a descendant of the gentleman at the left of the photo below, William Cuthbert, Margaret's son and Marions' brother. William took over the Cuthbert farm. What's kind of cool is that my cousin just recently bought the farm for himself and his family.

Margaret Ogilvie (Downie) Cuthbert, my great-great-great-grandmother with William Cuthbert's family

Thomas Cuthbert, my great-great-great-grandfather

the Cuthbert family farm

Renfrew County, Ontario Gravemarker Gallery

 Burke, Cuthbert, de Guehery  1 Response »
Jul 112011
 

Gravemarkers are an excellent source of basic genealogical information. I've called and written cemeteries and I've recruited my sister, who still lives in Western NY, to photograph markers for distant relatives who lived and died near Buffalo.

That's not an option when it's a family member who lived and died hundreds of miles away.

My mom's paternal grandmother was Margaret Ogilvie de Guehery. She was born in Chalk River, Renfrew County, Ontario. I had found a marriage record for her parents, Emanuel de Guehery and Marion Cuthbert on familysearch.org. To track down additional information on Margaret and her parents, I wrote several cemeteries and parishes around Chalk River.

Someone from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pembroke gave me a link to the Renfrew County Gravemarker Gallery: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~murrayp/renfrew/index.htm

While the search capabilities are relatively spartan, this seems to be a fairly complete visual record of all the cemeteries in Renfew County. My sincere thanks go to those who did all the hard work putting this gravemarker gallery together.

I was able to find gravemarkers for several relatives, including my great-great-great-grandparents.

my great-great-great-grandfather Thomas Cuthbert
born 20 Sep 1813 in Bathgate, Scotland
died 19 May 1893 in Wylie, Renfrew, Ontario


my great-great-great-grandmother Margaret Ogilvie Downie
born 11 Apr 1822 in Glasgow, Scotland
died 28 Jul 1901 in Chalk River, Renfrew, Ontario


Thomas and Margaret's son, William Cuthbert
brother to my great-great-grandmother Marion Cuthbert
born 6 Mar 1863 in London, England
died Jul 1943 in Chalk River, Renfrew, Ontario

Millonzi musicians

 Millonzi  1 Response »
Sep 062009
 

My great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi and his older brothers, Ignazio Millonzi and Phillip Millonzi, were outstanding musicians.

My great-grandfather Rosario played guitar and mandolin. My mom had Rosario's mandolin for years until my father graciously handed it over to my cousin, who is also a musician.

According to another cousin, my great-great-uncle Ignazio, or Uncle Gnazio as I remember people calling him, was a professional musician. My only vague memory of him was when I was very little, at a family function at my great-grandparents home. He did that "watch me pull my thumb off trick" and I cried my eyes out. I wish I had a more positive memory, but it is what it is.

Uncle Gnazio apparently auditioned to play in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, a popular band during the jazz age of the 1920s. According to my cousin, he didn't like the music. He is said to have worked under George M. Cohen. He was an Italian radio disc jockey. And played Cello in the Buffalo Philharmonic.

Phillip Millonzi played contrabass in the Buffalo Philharmonic. His death certificate lists his occupation as a symphony orchestra member. As a boy, I remember going to a tribute concert the Philharmonic held in honor of Phillip. He sat in a specially reserved section of the hall reserved for family. I learned later that it was sponsored by Phillip's son, Robert Millonzi, who was a major benefactor of the Phil.

A few years ago, my cousin pointed me toward a magazine story that a UB faculty member had written about mandolin ensembles that were very popular in Western NY in the early part of the twentieth century. I scanned in the article and its available here: Mandolin Mania : The Music That Swept WNY from 1880 to 1920.


He also gave me some photos of my great-great-uncle Gnazio and my great-grandfather Rosario.

Ignazio Millonzi (left), brother of my great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi
along with a couple of fellow musicians

Emilino Ricco, Tony Millitello, Teresa Plicato, and Ignazio Millonzi
at the first ethnic radio show in Buffalo (WEBR), abt 1940

My great-grandfather Rosario Millonzi

Rosario Millonzi and Ignazio Millonzi
(my cousin Russell Millonzi swimming in the pool)

The Millonzi family

 Millonzi, Parisi  No Responses »
Jul 182008
 

My grandfather, Joseph Palmeri, married my grandmother, Sarina Millonzi.

I knew my grandmother’s birth date. I was fairly sure that she was born in Sicily and came to the US as a little girl. I did not know my great-grandfather’s first name. He died when I was 5 years old. I remember my great-grandmother very well. She died when I was 19. I knew she went by the name of “Mela” and I thought that her maiden name was Parisi. The Millonzis came from a town in Sicily called “Montemaggiore”. But I knew little else.

With my monthly membership to ancestry.com in hand, I do a search for the Millonzi family. 

Millonzi is not a common name, but a bunch of possibilities come up. After rejecting many, I find a New York Passenger List with my great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandmother, and my uncle.

I see that my great-grandfather’s name is Rosario. It was incorrectly transcribed as Rosaria, a female name. So I submit a correction. It lists his age as 34, born abt 1886.

My great-grandmother’s full name was Carmela. Born in 1892.

My grandmother’s birth name was Rosaria. The diminutive for a small girl would be Rosarina. So that’s where Sarina came from. It says she was born abt 1916. But I know she was born in 1915.

Now I learn that my great-uncle Iggy (Ignatius) was also born in Sicily. He was only 1 month old. With a crossing to the US by ship taking a couple of weeks, either my great-grandparents immigrated with a newborn or he was born on the ship coming over.

It’s humbling to imagine my own family coming through Ellis Island. My great-grandparents, speaking no English at all, with my 4 year old grandmother and my infant uncle. They’re heading to Buffalo to join my great-grandfather’s brothers who came to the US years before.

Carmela (Parisi) Millonzi, Ida (Millonzi) Russo (infant), Iggy Millonzi, and Sarina (Millonzi) Palmeri, abt 1923.

Discovering some details about my great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri

 Giambrone, Palmeri  No Responses »
Jul 152008
 

My father thought that his grandfather died when I was little, so I figured that was probably the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. But I had nothing else to go on. I knew his name, I thought I knew where he was from, but I didn’t know his birth date, death date, or the name of my great-grandmother.

Having heard about ancestry.com, I thought I might give that a try. After creating a free membership, I did a search for “Angelo Palmeri” and “Buffalo” and some matches came up. With a free membership, ancestry lets you see the 1930 census but not much else. You need to pay to see more.

There he was. It’s cliché, I know, but I got chills seeing my grandfather and great-grandparents listed right there on a census record taken 80 years ago. Anyone who does genealogy knows that feeling. If for you these are just old lists of dead people, then you don’t do genealogy. For me, I had a new hobby.

It had his age (44). Given that it was the 1930 census, I figure he was born around 1885-1886. Cool. I also see that he was a naturalized US citizen. That would turn out to be important later.

Listed next to him was my 18 year old grandfather, Joseph Palmeri. I knew from my dad that he was an only child. Now I had a rough idea of my grandfather’s birth year. He was 18 years old in 1930, so that would mean he was born around 1911-1912. I also see that my grandfather was born in the United States.

And there was my great-grandmother. Mary. Now I had a first name. No last name. But that was something at least.

And oddly, right above them was a whole bunch of other Palmeris. Charles and Barbara and bunch of kids. Not only were they neighbors, but they were living in the same house. I knew there were a lot of other Palmeris in Buffalo and that we were somehow related to them, but I never knew how. So I call my dad. He says “Oh yeah, that’s uncle Chuck and Aunt Barbara. My grandparents lived in the same house with them. Don’t you remember going to their house when you were little? They had a big staircase with a really cool banister. You used to love it when I made you slide down it.” I had a vague memory of some house with a staircase and an old man giving me jelly beans, but nothing else. When my dad said that was probably when I was 2 or 3 years old, it made sense that my memory was so sparse. And I never heard of an uncle Chuck and Aunt Barbara until now. 

My dad told me that these Palmeris were more than just cousins. Charles (Calogero in Italian) and Angelo, two brothers, married two sisters (Barbara and Maria). My dad tried, but he couldn’t really remember their maiden name. Maybe it was something like “Gembrone”, but that was the best he could do. Maybe someday I could find a relative of Charles and Barbara and find more information about the “Gembrone” family. 

My great-grandfather, Angelo Palmeri

 Palmeri  No Responses »
Jul 012006
 

Following tradition, my father was named after his grandfather, Angelo Palmeri. When he was a child, my father changed his named from Angelo Joseph Palmeri to Joseph Angelo Palmeri.

So I knew my great-grandfather’s name, but little else.

All that my father knew was that the Palmeri family came from a small town in Sicily where most of the men were sulfur miners. He thought the name was something like “saltadifarco”. Needless to say, a Google search on that name brought up nothing. But with a little more searching on Google maps and Wikipedia, I reasoned out that they probably came from Serradifalco, a small town in the providence of Caltanissetta in Sicily, where sulfur mining and farming were the most prevalent occupations. I wasn’t certain. But it seemed a good bet.

Where did I start?

 Burke, Cruice, Cuthbert, de Guehery, Millonzi, Palmeri, Parisi, Wilson  No Responses »
Jul 012006
 

The very first step in any genealogy project is to ask your parents and grandparents for any information.

Sadly, most of my grandparents were deceased when I started this, and the only one still living was in a nursing home. I remember putting together a basic genealogy when I was in school. I talked with my great-grandmother and she gave me the names of her parents and some of her grandparents. Like many school projects, that's long gone.

On my dad's side, I knew my grandmother's parents, Carmela (Parisi) Millonzi and Rosario Millonzi. My great-grandfather died when I was a few years old. My great-grandmother died when I was on a teenager. 

My dad said his father's parents were Angelo and Maria Palmeri, but did not know Maria's last name. I might have met one of them when I was little, but I don't remember.

On my mom's side, I knew my grandmother's mother, my great-grandmother, Gramma Wilson. I might have met my grandfather's father, my great-grandfather, Grampa Burke. But maybe not. 

My mom knew that there was something like a Cruice and a de Guehery, but wasn't quite sure how to spell the names, or who went with whom, so she had me get in touch with one of my aunts, who was the family historian. She sent me this family tree with another couple of pages with some of the birth and death dates.

After spending most of my efforts working on and off on digitizing and adding to my wife's genealogy, I used this as a starting point for uncovering my own.

Based on what we knew then, I was 1/2 Italian, 1/4 French, and 1/4 Irish. My mom's parents were both 1/2 French and 1/2 Irish. According to family lore, both French families fled the French Revolution, with the Cruice's escaping to Ireland and then to the US, and the de Guehery's escaping to Germany, then to Canada, and then to the US.

original Burke family tree

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