It’s throwback Thursday, the perfect day for learning about new ancestors! I had some huge breakthroughs today and yesterday, all of them in my father’s maternal family. Basically, working in two different parts of that line, I discovered new 10th, 11th, and even 12th great-grandparents! The chart at right illuminates just how difficult it canContinue reading “Throwback Thursday: Genealogical Breakthroughs”
Category Archives: History
Throwback Thursday: Happy Anniversary
For Throwback Thursday, I’m celebrating the wedding anniversary of my great-grandparents, which would have been this week. Francesco Petrini and Maria Timi were married on 6 May 1902 in Nocera Umbra, Perugia province, Umbria, Italy. I recently got hold of their marriage certificate from the comune in Italy. It’s in Italian, and mostly handwritten, butContinue reading “Throwback Thursday: Happy Anniversary”
52 Ancestors, Week 14: Begins With a Vowel
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project continues. This week’s theme is Begins With a Vowel. When I first heard this theme, I thought of my 9x great-grandfather, Baldo Tarini (1613-1678) and his brother Ubaldo Tarini. Ubaldo was born four years later and given nearly the same name, except that his begins with a vowel.Continue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 14: Begins With a Vowel”
52 Ancestors, Week 13: Light a Candle for My Cousin the Pope
My maternal grandmother always said we were related to a Pope. But she died young, and nobody knew exactly what Pope she claimed to be related to, or even if her story was true. In recent years, in researching our family history, I discovered that she was absolutely right! I am a distant cousin ofContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 13: Light a Candle for My Cousin the Pope”
52 Ancestors, Week 12: Membership
It’s Week 12 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, created by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. And this week, the theme is Membership. I often see posts on genealogy-related pages from people who are trying to establish their eligibility for membership in U.S. lineage organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, theContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 12: Membership”
52 Ancestors, Week 11: Lucky Uncle Rush
My great-uncle survived Pearl Harbor. He wasn’t always so lucky. Romeo Tomassoni, known as Rush, was only three years old when his father, a coal miner, was killed in a mine collapse. At 22, he joined the army, which sent him to Hickam Field, at Pearl Harbor, Oahu. This was in 1941, before the UnitedContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 11: Lucky Uncle Rush”
52 Ancestors, Week 10: Translation
It’s Week 10 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, created by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. And this week, the theme is Translation. I have written before about my grandfather, Bart (Bartolomeo) Petrini, Sr., and his difficult childhood. When his parents died in the 1918 epidemic, he was left at the age of 11Continue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 10: Translation”
52 Ancestors, Week 8: I Can Identify
It’s Week 8 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, created by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. And for this week, the theme is I Can Identify. I have a story about identifying my grandfather’s face in a newspaper photo. I was doing some research on John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign, and came across aContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 8: I Can Identify”
Six More Weeks of Winter for 2023
It’s Groundhog Day 2023! This morning, the world’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged from his winter home and saw his shadow. Again. In other words, Phil predicts that we’re getting six more weeks of winter. (Here’s a link to live footage of Phil from this morning.) Of course, Phil is not the only prognosticatingContinue reading “Six More Weeks of Winter for 2023”
52 Ancestors, Week 4: Mary’s Beauty Shoppe
For the fourth week of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, the theme set by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow is Education. This was a hard one for me. I like to post something visual, and the thing that came to mind first was yearbook photos of my mother and father. But those didn’t seemContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 4: Mary’s Beauty Shoppe”
The Petrini Page 