Every week, genealogist Amy Johnson Crow encourages participants in the 2024 “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” project to explore family history through the lens of a weekly theme. This week, the theme is Love and Marriage. I am writing today about my maternal grandparents, Norma Tomassoni and Ralph DeRicci. My grandparents both grew up inContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 18: Love & Marriage”
Category Archives: Northeastern US
52 Ancestors, Week 15: School Days
Every week, genealogist Amy Johnson Crow encourages participants in the 2024 “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” project to explore family history through the lens of a weekly theme. This week, the theme is School Days. Instead of focusing on a particular ancestor, I want to talk about the education my immigrant ancestors received in Italy,Continue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 15: School Days”
Throwback Thursday: Third Great-Grandparents
Today’s Throwback Thursday entry is a family portrait that I would guess was taken about 1910. The couple seated in the center are my third great-grandparents, Emilio Gavazzi and Catherine Corsini. They were married in Italy in 1879 and were the first of my direct ancestors to immigrate to the United States; he arrived inContinue reading “Throwback Thursday: Third Great-Grandparents”
52 Ancestors, Week 9: Changing Italian Names
For Week 7, the theme of genealogist Amy Johnson Crow‘s 2024 “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” project challenges participants to write on the theme of Changing Names. Despite actual historical fact, the myth remains that immigrant names were customarily changed by immigration officials at Ellis Island, either because they cluelessly wrote what they thought theyContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 9: Changing Italian Names”
52 Ancestors, Week 3: Favorite Photo
This week, the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow explores the theme, Favorite Photo. I cannot possibly pick one photo and call it my favorite. But here is one of my favorites. This is the First Holy Communion photo of my great-aunt Pierina Piccioli, shown with her mother, my great-grandmotherContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 3: Favorite Photo”
52 Ancestors, Week 2: Italian Origins
This week, the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow explores the theme, Origins. If you’ve ever read my family history posts, or even my travel posts, you already know that my origins are Italian. I hear people in the U.S. say that nobody in this country has ancestry from justContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 2: Italian Origins”
52 Ancestors, Week 1: Family Lore and Uncle Mickey
My great-uncle Mickey, born in 1909, is the subject of a family story I have never been able to verify and no longer believe. The rest of the family, including my grandfather, his younger brother Ralph, always said that Mickey, originally Michele, was born on the ship from Italy, when his mother immigrated to EllisContinue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 1: Family Lore and Uncle Mickey”
Throwback Thursday: Mine Collapse
For today’s Throwback Thursday post, I am reproducing a newspaper article I just discovered from the 5 Dec 1900 edition of the Scranton Times. The article tells about a mine accident that could have been catastrophic for the miners trapped inside, if they had not been safely rescued. It was still unclear at press time,Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Mine Collapse”
52 Ancestors, Week 52: Me, Myself, and I
This week, the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow explores the theme, Me, Myself, and I. Until now, I’ve stuck with relatives when talking about my family history. This week, I am supposed to say something about myself. #52ancestors I live with my husband and son in the Washington, D.C.,Continue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 52: Me, Myself, and I”
52 Ancestors, Week 50: Hard To Believe
This week, the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow explores the theme, You Wouldn’t Believe It. And I have a story my maternal grandfather used to tell that I’ve never quite believed, though I would love to learn the truth of it. #52ancestors The story was about his father —Continue reading “52 Ancestors, Week 50: Hard To Believe”
The Petrini Page 