John H. Bentley 1870-1925 Finally Back in the Fold

My research time in Gloucester has been extraordinarily fruitful, but this particular find can only be credited to pure Irish luck.  This was so random it's almost scary.

John H. Bentley is the son of Captain Bentley who went down on the Schooner Paul Revere when young John was only about 12; his mother died a mere 3 years later leaving 4 young children including our great grandmother Catherine Bentley and John H. 

I don't know how the children managed after they became orphans, but I feel certain it was not an easy time for them. In 1892, John H. married and began having children--12 all told though some died as infants.  I have pretty good track of him from the time of his marriage to about 1922.  By 1930, his wife reports herself a widow in the census.

I had been able to track all of his siblings but lost John H. and hadn't been able to find him and bring him back into the fold.  I knew he died between 1922-1930 but even thorough Massachusetts records did not cough him up.  None of the many online Bentley family trees had any clues about his death and I finally came to a conclusion that perhaps he did not die in Massachusetts. I was at a loss as to how to proceed and just put him on a back burner again.

I was doing some work at the Sawyer Free Library looking at Gloucester Daily Times microfilm and had a little extra time to kill so I picked a random microfilm covering a 3 month period to review day by day to see if I saw anything interesting.  Happened to be the Jan-Mar 1925 reel.  Low and behold, on Jan 3 1925 (only a couple of days in)--I see this article on the front page and nearly fainted.

John H. had apparently abandoned his family, ending up in Illinois and dying there is some kind of accident.  I have sent away for his death record, which lists him as Jock or Jack (wouldn't have thought to check under anything except John....duh....).  It was pure serendipity that led me to this magical conclusion.  I don't know why he left his family but my imagination suggests that his difficult childhood probably contributed to these decisions later in his life.  For now, I'm happy to report he's back where he belongs in our little Gloucester family.  What a wild ride this is taking me on!  And there's even more to report soon!!

Happy Thanksgiving Mayflower Descendants!

Happy Thanksgiving! I thought this would be a good time to introduce the Pilgrims in our line--these are from the Ryan line.  I knew it was possible/likely that we had Mayflower connections, but a trip to the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston confirmed it.  And you have to pay attention because it's Thanksgiving and it would be nearly un-American not to pay attention to Pilgrim stories at this time of year.

First of all, part of my hesitation in sharing this with you was kind of stuck in my lack of confirming documentation that we actually descend from Mayflower passengers.  Part of what I learned in Boston was that there's a certain point in family history research at which you can accept what you are given since it's been very well documented by others with much more knowledge, experience and history than you. I don't need to find Richard Warren's birth certificate--that fact is already well researched and accepted knowledge.  The very fact of its presence at this library proves its worthiness.  I don't need to re-prove what's already well proven.  I guess I hadn't really come to that realization yet, though I've had this Mayflower information for nearly 20 years now.

It appears we have (at least) three Mayflower passengers through whom we can claim this honor: Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins and William Brewster.  This is 14 generations ago.

These are documents cousin Ann Gleason possessed and shared with me.  She was working with a couple of other researchers who (I now see) did their work very well.  The outlines above were done by one of them. At number/generation 12 we would have Catherine Pierce (Nanny Ryan) and Paul Ryan Sr.  Generation 13 would be Paul Ryan Jr and Anne Flynn.  Pretty cool, right?  I already had things pretty well sketched out back to generation 8 or so and my time in Boston opened the gates from generation 7 back to the passengers themselves.

There are many many stories about these passengers, their first brutal winter at Plymouth and the first Thanksgiving celebration and it's pretty awesome to think we carry those stories in our very genes.  If you are curious, a really neat Mayflower site is Caleb Johnson's site www.mayflowerhistory.com .

There you will find brief biographies of these people and one of the most intriguing is Stephen Hopkins, who apparently had previously traveled to this new land and spent time in Jamestown VA before coming to Plymouth.  He was quite the rogue it seems, so that fits in pretty nicely with the rest of our story. We actually have 2 connections through him.

Another nice summary can be found at the New England Historic Genealogical website: http://www.americanancestors.org/who-came-on-the-mayflower-pt2/ . I strongly encourage you to check these out.

It's the Pierce family that is our "Yankee" connection.  Who knew? It's interesting to note that our beginnings in Plymouth MA wind their way back through our own ancestry from Gloucester  to Nova Scotia (Nickersons) to Cape Cod and finally back to Plymouth. 

I hope you keep these Pilgrims in mind as you feast this year.  Special Thanksgiving wishes to you all.

James J. Ryan 1864-1937 and his wife Mary A. (Fields) Ryan 1871-1938

James J. Ryan and his fate have been a brickwall for many years.  A brickwall I was finally able to break through on one of my recent visits to the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. A little bit of Irish luck and perseverance helped.

James was our grandfather Grampie's (Paul Ryan Sr.) uncles, so here's our great grand uncle.  He was born in Gloucester, married in Gloucester and 3 of his children were born there.  In the 1900 census, he was listed as a bartender.  SURPRISE! 

Here's an odd little story from the Portsmouth Herald Mar 10 1903 possibly placing him there by then:  Note the "two chooses"

By 1910 he and his wife had added 2 additional children to the family and they were living in Portsmouth New Hampshire where he made a living as a saloon keeper.  I do not know what pushed him out of Gloucester to relocate to Portsmouth, but he was still there at the time of the 1920 census.  Then they drop off the earth, as far as I knew.  I could not locate them in either Gloucester or Portsmouth after the late 1920s.

Here's where the Irish luck and perseverance kicked in.  I made an educated guess as to when they might have died (1930s) and then started searching the Massachusetts Death Index looking for Mary listed with her maiden name Fields.  There were just too darn many James J. Ryans.  God Bless Massachusetts for making records available with extra hints!!!  I found two candidates who died in Boston in the late 1930s (yes, two Mary Fields Ryan!!).  I checked each of them out and found our Mary A. (Fields) Ryan!!!  She was a widow at the time of death so I cross checked James J. Ryan in Boston before her death and found 3 candidates.  One of them is our very own James.  I admit, tears welled up when I looked at the death record.  Finally found and no longer wandering out in there without acknowledgement.   

James' occupation was listed as X Ray orderly at the hospital.  Further inspection of the record showed they had lived in Boston for about 10 years as of 1937, which fit in nicely with my timeline.  My theory is that since their children were all grown and gone, nothing much kept them in Portsmouth and the Depression probably pushed them to Boston to be closer to their children and perhaps employment. 

I have since located James, Mary and one daughter Alice in Boston in the 1930 census, so I feel great relief to have gathered those two back into the fold and "finished" their story. 

Chester L. Ryan 1898-1975

During our time in Gloucester this fall, I've acquainted myself with the treasures available at the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics in Dorchester.  This facility allows access to birth, marriage, death,and divorce records from 1926-present day!!!  Yes!  Those of us who are researching vital records in a state like New York find this to be simply amazing.  A state that allows access to such materials is a friend indeed.

They are only open certain hours and they do charge $9 / hour BUT they give you full access to the records you request.  You must transcribe by hand (no photos) BUT they give you full access to the records you request.  Did I mention that?

Anyhow, this has allowed me to close some long open doors in the family tree.  One of these is for Chester Ryan, our grandfather Paul Ryan Sr's brother.  His death date and location were an uncertainty for many years.  He'd been labeled as mentally deficient for draft registration so he lived with family members for much of his life.  In 1929 he was living with his parents and siblings Viola (Aunt Bud) and John (Jack) on Eastern Ave in Gloucester.  It appears their address (if they haven't changed the numbers in the meanwhile) puts the residence across the street from (today's) Crow's Nest.

By 1940, he was a patient at the State Hospital in Danvers.  Then I lost track of him, but recently found his death record at the Registry from 1975 in a Westborough facility for adults.  I'm guessing there were limited places for impaired adults to live and Westborough provided the best choice, though it is 1.5 hours from Gloucester on today's highways.  It must have been a burden for his family members to visit him and I can't help but feel he was lonely. 

His mother died in 1945, his father died much earlier.  By the time Chester died in 1975, Grampie Paul Ryan Sr. was the only sibling left.  We know Paul's condition would not have allowed for visits.  I hope he was happy with other patients for as many years as he resided there.  He's also buried there and I hope to visit one day to pay my respects.

It's As Plain As The Nose On Your Face

I hope you are all enjoying your 4th of July celebrations!  I have just completed wading through the file of pictures shared by cousin Maurizio Dalpiaz and given to Kathleen and Robert during their most recent visit to Italy.  There are (blessedly) many of them but they got re-named and re-sorted when I loaded them into my computer so I had some extra work to do before I could share some with you.

Most exciting (to me) were the pictures of your great grandparents Giuseppe and Barbara Odorizzi Dalpiaz.  You share these great grandparent with Maurizio, and he was loaded with pictures!  This demonstrates the importance of finding those cousins out there so that such information and images can be shared.

Giuseppe looks a little forbidding to me here, but I think many of the Dalpiaz kids will easily recognize Barbara.  I find it interesting that Giuseppe appears to be lean and tall; Barbara appears rounder and definitely shorter.

Here's a group shot with Barbara and Giuseppe in the center.  I can't begin to name the others without further study....but the boy in the suit jacket on the far left in the front row reminds me a great deal of a picture of your dad Robert Dalpiaz that I've seen around.  It's interesting how looks pass down in families.

Recently I've had several discussions with people interested in the DNA reports for myself and for James.  A common thought might be that other siblings might not need to get their DNA tested as long as one sibling has done so, since you share parents.  This could not be further from truth.  A good example is demonstrated here now that I see what Giuseppe looked like.

Here's a picture of the "other" Costante Dalpiaz.  I'll call him Uncle Costante.  He was Giuseppe's brother (Maria Kussman's grandfather).  I think you can see a striking resemblance even though the image is poor (taken from their passport application).

In contrast, here's the well known picture of Grandfather Costante and his mother Barbara

Pretty plain to see that he resembles his mother more than his father.  Pio, Grandfather Costante's brother has the longer face of his father.  One brother resembles Mom, another resembles Dad.  It's all in the genes.  DNA, folks.  Though you share parents, your DNA is different for each of you.  Some of you may share more from your mother and some may share more from your dad.  I'll let you figure out which is which; but the important point here is that if you are interested in DNA for genealogical purposes, you should go ahead and have the test done.  Your results should resemble your siblings' results, but won't be exactly the same.  It's as plain as the nose on your face.

Unsolved Dalpiaz Mystery

A while back, one of your long lost cousins included some intriguing information about a great granduncle Ottilio Dalpiaz being murdered in Colorado after overhearing a Mafia murder plot. What self-respecting librarian/family historian wouldn't feel a great urge to research such a story??

Otillio (first name spelling varies greatly from source to source) probably immigrated from home in the late 1880's. Sal Romano's Trento website gives great information on some emigration patterns and I'm guessing Otillio followed this pattern. In 1900 he appears to have been a coal miner in Gray Creek Colorado. If you go to the Colorado Mines link on this website, you will see some Gray Creek mining pictures I think are very interesting. I haven't found him again until he was murdered in 1928.

I imagine it was a warm morning August 20 1928 in the Grand Hotel when Ottilio was shot to death after an apparent struggle in his room in the annex at the hotel. He'd been employed as their night dishwasher but had quit his job and collected his pay very shortly before he was attacked. Witnesses heard some discussion in his room, a struggle, crashing noise and shots. Seven bullet wounds from a .38 were found in his body. SEVEN!!

Otillio was probably around 54 years old when he died. It appears he had no friends or family in the area and was described as "a quiet fellow who did not talk much" . The reports from the coroner's inquest made no mention of any Mafia involvement and the murder was apparently never solved.

For me, this is a sad story of dying alone but perhaps sharing his story bring some justice to the great injustice of an unsolved murder.

Julia Fisher Nevins 1834 (ish) - 1907

For some reason, Julia has always fascinated me.  Lucky for me, I have a pretty full picture of her whereabouts for most of her life, but I'd really love to know more about her character and personality.
Julia is our great great grandmother on the Nevins side of the family.

She was baptized as Judy Fisher in Kells, County Meath August 1 1835 of parents Mathew Fisher and Ann Brien (maybe O'Brien).  Apparently Judith and Julia could be used somewhat interchangeably by the Irish.  Same as well with Ann and Nancy.  There are other examples, but they don't pertain to Julia's story.  We are unsure of her birth and baptisms could take place a couple of years after birth but, in this case, I feel 1834-35 time range is a fair guess as to Julia's birth.  Other children born of these parents were Christopher and Rose.  We meet Christopher later, but Rose is lost.  My theory is that she married and stayed in Ireland when the rest of the family left.

I feel pretty confident this is Julia's arrival in 1854 to Boston with Nancy (probably her mother) and Christopher (probably her brother).  Both Mathew and Christopher were blacksmiths so this is a big handy clue that these are the same people.

Shortly afterward, in the 1855 census, we find the family in Rochester New York rejoined with Mathew.  I try to imagine how they got from Boston to Rochester in 1854.  I don't have a clear picture of that yet.

Five years later, the family is in Ellicottville New York:  Mathew and Christopher are both listed as blacksmiths.  (***side note:  interestingly, Julia's future son Henry married the granddaughter of another blacksmith***)  The Fishers stay in Ellicottville area for several more years.  Julia's mother dies in 1861 and is buried in Ellicottville.  This grave marker was my biggest clue at the beginning of my search for information about this family. Isn't it magnificent?  It's probably the "biggest" clue I ever used!!!

By 1870, Julia has met and married John Nevins and they have 3 children together but are living (temporarily) in Oil City Pennsylvania and John is an oil worker.  One child is born here but all others were born in Cattaraugus County New York.  In 1873, our great grandfather Henry is born. A set of twins follows two years later making Julia the mother of 6 children.

The twins, Mattie and Christy (Mathew and Christopher) die tragically of diptheria when they are about 5 years old.  The remaining children, Frank,  John Jr., Mary and Henry grow to be adults with their own lives.  Julia lives until 1907 when "another good woman departed this life" at the homestead in on Bryant Hill in Ellicottville.  She would have known 3 grandchildren--each Nanny's (C. Paula Nevins') siblings: Margaret, Julia and Joseph.  John lived until 1913, also dying at the homestead. Presumably Nanny wouldn't remember her grandfather as she was only 3 or so when he died. 

This is probably a family who left Ireland due to the famine, Mathew leaving first.  Then Julia, her mother and her brother made their way from Boston to Rochester.  I'm certain they faced hardships we can't even imagine.  But Julia's children were successful:  Henry becoming a prominent lawyer for example.  Joseph also well known in the legal profession.  It's an American story, I guess.  I am very grateful this country allowed refugees such as Julia and her family to escape famine to come to the United States.  This won't be true for many other refugees today. 

Monica Looney Ryan 1907 - 1983 and her family

Let's take a look at the Looney family.  My siblings and I are not directly descended from the Looneys, but they can be confirmed as cousins.  Their story is muddled but intriguing.  I'll mention right now that they seem to have been pretty "loosy-goosey" with their first names which has made some of the research more difficult. 

You may remember Grampie's (Paul M. Ryan, Sr.) brother John "Jack" Ryan, who died of accidental gunshot wounds inflicted by a friend.  Jack died at the age of 32 with a wife and two young children.  His wife, Monica, was the daughter of John J. and Julia Looney.  She never remarried and lived a long life in Massachusetts.

John J. and Julia/Monica (Curtin) Looney probably came to the United States in 1914, quite a bit later than many of our other Irish ancestors.  Five children accompanied them on this trip, and I have found some evidence of four others.  Monica was among the children arriving in 1914 at the age of 7.  By 1920, census records indicate they were living in Cambridge, Massachusetts with 2 additional older children. 

By 1930, Monica was still living with her parents in Medford Mass and working as a stenographer for the telegraph company.  I don't yet know how Jack and Monica came to meet, but they married in Gloucester in 1934.  They quickly had 2 children, Patrick and Sheila.  Jack died in 1939 and Monica stayed in Gloucester for some time.  In the meanwhile, her parents John and Julia moved to Gloucester also.  Inf act, her father John died in her home in Gloucester in 1942.

Monica died in 1983 in Amesbury and she was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Gloucester (same place as our grandparents Paul Ryan Sr and Catherine Pierce Ryan). 

I am still tracking her siblings Julia/Sheila; Katherine; Mary C (perhaps could be same person as Katherine); Dennis (died in San Francisco); Eugene (died in Pennsylvania); Daniel; Nora Josephine; and Thomas.  The rich Irish history they left behind is what keeps bringing me back to them.  They apparently came from Cork City Ireland and I'm quite hopeful that someday I will find out more about them.  In the meantime, if anyone calls you Looney, well, they aren't wrong!

Revisiting May 2012 trip to Italy

Five years ago this month, Kathleen, Nick, Robert and Bobbie made their first trip to the homeland in Italy.  This May, they were able to visit again.  While we look forward to their pictures and stories, I thought it might be fun to see again some of what we learned from the previous visit.

From the May 2012 trip pics, I've been able to sort out some of your grandfather's (Costante DALPIAZ) siblings.  I thought you might like to "meet" them!  These would be aunts and uncles to your Dad Robert DALPIAZ.

An older sister Maria:  according to Trentini birth records, her full name is Maria Severina Carlotta Carolina Dalpiaz married a Menapace:

A younger sibling Edvige Rosa Dalpiaz married Pio Valentini

Pio, another younger sibling is in the same gravesite as his parents

How nice for us that photos seem to be standard additions to tombstones.  These guys generally lived long happy lives so you come from hardy stock.

Tullia DALPIAZ, Costante's youngest sister, died January 13 2017 at the age of 101!!!!  She was a nun and appeared to have lived a happy life.  In 2012, Kathleen, Nick, Robert and Bobbie were able to pay a visit.  We are grateful family members in Italy shared the news with us. 

This is another tombstone picture from Kathleen and Nick.  At the very bottom you can see Riccardo Dalpiaz who was an uncle to your grandfather Costante.  As you can see here, Riccardo died in war--in the Dolomites according to family legend.

We'll have to consult the historians in the family for better detail and perspective, but I believe Riccardo's death resulted from the Italian Campaign of WWI 1915-1918 between the Austria Hungary army and the Italian army for control of the Tyrol region (overly simplified for those that don't understand WWI military campaigns any better than I do--sorry, Thomas.).  In other words--I think this was the BIG one for your family testing their loyalties.  I do not know which army Riccardo belonged to.  I think military service was required of young men in this region and he may have found himself a solider by duty rather than by choice.  Regardless, he is deserving of recognition for his service to his country.  He was a 40 year old soldier fighting battles that probably were far too close to home.

I feel certain this May 2017 trip will be just as memorable for all involved.  What a blessing that the family can reconnect!

New Uncles!

Some random internet wandering today uncovered 2 new uncles on the Messa side of the family.  I should have known better than to assume Catherine Contento Messa's parents had more than two daughters! (Anna Contento Lessie being the other). 

Kate Messa is your great grandmother, who ended up in Queens after leaving Ohio.  Her husband, Jake was left behind and later died a tragic death as a result of an accident supposedly the night before he was to leave to come to New York.  It appears she largely raised her five children by herself, but with tremendous support from her sister Anna Lessie.

Catherine/Kate and Anna's parents are Pietro Contento and Maria Cisternino Contento of Bari Italy.  This is likely where the name Peter came from in both the Messa and Lessie families.  Thanks to FamilySearch.org, today I found that there are at least two other brothers:  Giuseppe and Tommaso.

Giuseppe (Joseph) apparently sailed to America in 1906 and stated he was a barber.  So many barbers!

He's near the bottom of this image (from Ancestry.com).  The clincher was that he stated we was heading to his brother in law's Luigi Lisi in Lafferty Ohio.  I am reasonably certain this Giuseppe Contento is brother to Kate and Anna.  I do find it a little odd that he was never mentioned by Aunt Josie or Aunt Rose so far as I remember.  So far, I have been unable to be certain where he went from there, but perhaps it is not a coincidence that there's a Joe Contento who settled right here in Broome County NY!  Wouldn't that be something?

William H. Ryan Jr. 1895 - 1933 A Man of Mystery

William Ryan Jr. is one of Grampie's (Paul M. Ryan's) older brothers.  I recently found a document placing him in San Francisco in 1919:

This is a Seaman's Protection Certificate which served as a kind of passport for seamen of the time.  Apparently William had never been to sea, but was heading out to the Bering Sea from San Francisco.  Go figure.  The huge bonus, of course, is that there is a photograph included there at the bottom!!!  Along with his signature.  So this was a hugely satisfying find for me, but it has only added to the mystery of William Junior's life.

What we know is that he was born in Gloucester in 1895 with two older brothers already.  It's interesting to me that it wasn't until their third son that William Senior and Catherine Bentley Ryan named a child "Junior".  Typically families would name the first born son after the paternal grandfather (in this case Timothy---and none of their sons were named Timothy) and the second son after the maternal grandfather (John was the youngest living child's name).  But William Senior and Catherine did not follow this pattern.

I have a note that William Junior married a Bertha Brooks, but I have found no further evidence of this.  We do know that he married Catherine Gilhooley in 1927 somewhere in New York.  They had two daughters, Catherine and Dorothy.  I believe Catherine never married but I don't yet know what Dorothy's future held. 

William Junior died in Bellevue Hospital in June 1933 .  At the time, he was employed by Ellis Island in their hospital.  The family lived on Madison Avenue, but I don't think they lived the "high life" of New York City.  I've not been able to locate William in each of the census years that I ought to -- perhaps he was at sea.  It surprised me a great deal to find that he'd been in San Francisco for a couple of years. 

Another odd note is that another marriage record appears for Catherine and William in 1933, very shortly before he died.  I can't help but believe those two things are related in some way.  Perhaps he was hospitalized and proof of marriage was needed and that was the only means of providing it.  For now, that is my theory. 

The Gloucester Daily Times for June 30 1933 states that William's mother and brothers John, Richard, Paul and Arthur and his niece Kathryn (I think this is Richard's daughter) attended the funeral in New York City.  He was buried in  Queens, coincidentally in the same cemetery as some of the Italians in my life.  It's also interesting to note that his father did not attend the funeral (he would die almost exactly a year later -- he and Catherine Bentley Ryan are buried in different cemeteries).  There's more to that story also!!! 

As much as I learn, there's more to be discovered.

Happy Birthday Louis Albertini and Happy 70th! Anniversary Rose and Lou Albertini April 26 2017

Special wishes going out today to Uncle Lou Albertini, who is not only celebrating his 92nd birthday, but is also celebrating 70 years of marriage to the lovely Rose Dalpiaz Albertini.  This is an amazing milestone and we wish you both many more!!!

We got to see Rose, Lou and cousin Diana Hall recently and they were all as gracious as ever.  We had a grand visit telling stories around the dinner table.  One thing I know I can always count on when I see Rose and Lou is that I will be hearing great stories.

I'm sharing some things you may have seen before, but I find it fun to go back and look again.

I love that this is told in Uncle Lou's voice.

Rose's last birthday as a single girl

Albertini clan celebrating Uncle Lou's 90th birthday in 2015

I just have to sneak this one in here.  Rose is having such a good time and it's a great memory from Jean and Bob's wedding in 1988.

Anyhow, we want to wish Rose and Lou the very best.  I have such respect for a couple that can weather all the storms that 70 years together can bring.  Congratulations!

Charles "Dinty" Flynn 1917 - 1962

Dinty is our grandfather Francis Flynn's youngest brother.  He's the one about whom I knew the least until I got the coveted, long awaited email alert that Family Tree DNA had found us a new cousin.  As a result of Chris allowing me to submit his DNA for the Ryan surname study, we have made contact with his daughter Peggy Curry.

Charles was the only one of the Flynn boys to be born in New York State (probably in Olean).  I'm not sure what brought the family to Olean from Emporium PA, but I suspect it was related to father Patrick Flynn's job as an engineer with the Pennsylvania Railroad.

It appears Dinty played high school football: from the Olean Times Herald Sept 27 1935:

He enlisted and was married in 1942 to Julie Gorton also of Olean.  They had 6 children, 5 girls and one boy just like my own siblings!  Margaret (Peggy) tells me she is the second oldest of these.  She is married with 2 grown sons and lives in Quincy Massachusetts.  I am hoping to meet up with her perhaps in October while we are in Gloucester.

When I was looking through my Flynn information, I realized that, not only do I have a letter from Peggy from many years ago, but that we also have met.  In 1995, we took a memorable trip to Boston with niece Jessica and were able to spend some time with Sharon Flynn and her sister Patty (John's daughter's--Uncle 4-5 to us) and Peggy.  The trip was memorable because it was the weekend of the Oklahoma City bombings and everyone was on high alert and very afraid.  So our visits to popular Boston tourist attractions were accompanied by the site of armed security  and fear.

Charles died a young man in 1962.  I never had the chance to meet Julie, although our grandmother strongly encouraged me to contact her.  By the time I did so, Julie had passed as well.  But I'm very tickled that DNA has made this connection again for us.  Who knows what the future holds?

There's Oil in Them Thar Hills ...... Or The Elusive Frank M. Nevins 1866 - ??

This is a story with a surprise.  Consider it a hidden Easter egg treat.  Francis Matthew Nevins was born in 1866, presumable in Cattaraugus County NY, first known child of John and Julia (Fisher) Nevins.  Our great  grandfather Henry Nevins was born a few years later.  Henry's story is well known, but Frank's (as he was apparently known) is not.  In fact, I have not yet been able to find a death record for him. 

It was in my renewed search for a death record that I was able to confirm that Frank spent a good number of years in and around Coalinga California where he listed himself as an oil driller.
In fact, it appears he was much more than that.  Newspaper articles seem to indicate he was an officer of the Coalinga Hub Oil Company.  I don't pretend to know anything about oil drilling or mineral mining, but further searching on my friend Google brought up at least 3 different references to Frank M. Nevins filing for and receiving patents on a shoe for well casings (1912); perforation cleaner (1919); and sucker rod (1924).  These are apparently all related to drilling and/or mining.  Did you imagine we had an inventor up the line in our tree???

This is a "mystery" picture from the Nevins collection that I believe probably has Frank included.  Perhaps some Nevins' took a trip west to visit Frank.  I believe he did spend some time living in Colorado, but if this was taken in 1916, it would appear from the dates of the inventions that Frank lived in California at the time. 

BONUS (for me):  As I was writing this post, I searched for some interesting links to include and came across a copy of a map of the Coalinga Hub Oil Company for sale ..... which, of course, I purchased.  Happy Easter to me.

The Manzelli Story as told by Marilyn

Cousin Marilyn Pittelli Sheerin provided me with solid starting points in researching the Manzelli family and it occurs to me you've never heard the story she told.  It is as follows from correspondence we had in 1991-92:

After their father died, Joseph, Giacomo, Pasquale and Michael dediced to leave Pietraroia Italy to come find a better life in America.  They left their mother and younger brother and thought they would send for them later.  

Giacomo was a bachelor and lived with Joseph even after he married Giovanna (Isoldi).  Pasquale was a priest and founded Saint Joseph Church, New Rochelle, NY.

When their mother (Margherita) became ill in Italy they sent for her.  But the younger brother Andrew was about to be married and chose to stay in Italy.  He died many years later, but the woman he married Christina is the woman Ed and I visited in Pietraroja last July.  (A correction in a later letter stated that Christina was actually married to one of Andrew's sons and not to Andrew.) It was a dream come true for me.  She still lives across the street from the church where the Manzelli boys were baptized and Pasquale said his first Mass.  Christina (Belli) and Andrew Manzelli had four children Marguerite, Michael, Ubaldo and I can't think of the other daughter's name.  Michael is a priest at St. Vincent de Paul Church right here in Elmont L.I.  He gave Ed and I maps etc to find Pietraroia.  There are many priests in the family and I became obsessed with wanting to bring the vestments that were donated when my mom (Anna) died to Italy and that's what I did.

Marguerite is the name of Joseph, Michael, Pasquale, Giacomo and Andrew's mother and you can see that Joseph and Andrew named their first born daughters after their mother.  And, Uncle Johnny followed suit with his daughter Marguerite.  It is very interesting how the family names keep popping up, i.e. Peter, Michael, Andrew (by the way, Giacomo is Italian for James!).

Anyhow, back to the story - when the ill mother came to America Fr. Pasquale took care of her at St. Joseph Rectory in New Rochelle.  In the meantime the three brothers decided to build a family mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery where the whole family could be buried.  It is a marble chapel  with 4 tombs on each side and then 4 more fit in the middle.  There are 18 graves outside in the dirt.  When Marguerite died the mausoleum was finished and she was buried there.

Later in the same letter: One little story I remember my mom always telling is when Regina's Dad James Coffarelli was diagnosed with Leukemia.  He spent a long time at N.Y. Hospital and was finally going to be released.  The family planned a wonderful Welcome Home Party. (My mother was 14.) About 9 PM her father said goodnight to the guests and went upstairs to bed.  All of a sudden they heard a thump and Joseph Manzelli collapsed and died of a heart attack.  (This would have been December 1933).

Marilyn was a terrific letter writer--she has such beautiful handwriting...a skill that is becoming a lost art.  I wish we'd had more time together. This is one of the pictures she sent me, clearly taken at Regina Coffarelli's wedding in 1950 with her surrogate mother and her brother John.

 

Everett Bentley Ryan Jr. 1921-1937

This is a grim story but I believe it speaks to Gloucester culture in a way that might help us understand a little bit more about our dad Paul M. Ryan Jr.

Everett Junior was 15 years old  in 1936 when he was accidentally shot in the head by his friend while sitting in his own living room. The "Boys Were Chums" according to the Gloucester Daily Times report from October 2 1936, and young Walter McFarland fled Gloucester in a panic after the shooting.  They were next door neighbors, and were both on the football team coached by Nate Ross (the same coach Uncle Tim Ryan had several years later). 

Walter went missing for about a day despite a massive search effort.  The story he reported to the newspaper upon his return has holes big enough that you could sail the F/V Tuna.Com through but apparently everyone was happy enough that he was safe that it was accepted as told.  Walter recalls he walked to Boston, got a job which earned him the 75 cents he needed to take the train back to Gloucester after he learned his friend had not died.  He went to the Gloucester Police and turned himself in despite not being recognized by anyone there even after this massive search effort. 

After he learned that Everett Jr. might recover after all, the police Captain told Walter to "Snap out of it, you have to play football" At the police station, "Coach Ross took MacFarland in hand, and arm in arm, they went out of the station to meet the football squad" (GDT Oct 3 1936) And, in fact, it was reported that he did play that very afternoon.  Football ruled the day even with another team member on the brink of death.  There's no report on how the team did that day.....

Everett died six months later due to meningitis and lasting effects of the bullet wound.  I imagine those six months must have been nothing but hell for his family.  His dad, Everett Sr., had committed suicide just about 2 years earlier and had apparently not been a presence in his children's lives for some time prior.  His mother had just recently remarried and at least 3 siblings survived him. 

The community response to this event and the role football played echoes the traditions that the Gloucester community represents.  I find this fascinating.  In today's world, I'm quite sure the story would have ended a bit differently.  I would hope there would be community support for both the victim and for the teenager shooter.   I'm hoping the shooter wouldn't be told to "Snap out of it" but who knows??????

This story opened my eyes and it dawned on me that Dad's personality probably didn't fit well in the Gloucester culture of the day.  Perhaps St. Bonaventure and rural New York were just what he needed.  I've wondered how and why he made his life so far away and so differently and perhaps this gives us a clue. 

Famiglia Dalpiaz

This is the story of Costante Dalpiaz, but not your grandfather Costante.  This is your great great uncle Costante Dalpiaz. 

How lucky are we that pictures on tombstones is a common practice in this cemetery in Tassullo? 

Much of what I know about Costante and his family comes from cousin Maria Louisa Dalpiaz Kussman who said "My grandfather like many of the people of that time came to the US and had his family and returned to Italy with the savings he had accumulated by working in the coal mines of Southern Illinois.  He returned to Italy in 1921 with his wife and four sons ages 7, 6, 5 and 1.  They settled in Tassullo and purchased farmland with their savings and built a new house.  They also put some of the money in the bank.  It did not pay for them to buy more farmland because they couldn't handle more than the amount that they purchased - this was before the modern conveniences that make farming a gentleman's work (tractors etc). "

In the time that Costante was in the United States, he applied for and was granted citizenship.  However, according to this little tidbit I came across recently, that citizenship was revoked after he returned to Italy.  This might be considered unusual, but it was wartime and Italy was not an ally.

This was from the Macoupin County Enquirer Carlinville Illinois May 12 1938

obtained using fultonhistory.com

There were four children Marcello, Guilio, Fiorindo and Leonello.  You can see some evidence in the tombstone engraving of their stories. 

 

Again, according to Maria Louisa, " Costante, my grandfather did die while picking apples.  My uncle Marcello his oldest son was in the hospital with a heart attack, and my grandfather was panicked because it was apple picking time.  So he at the age of 77 unbeknownst to everyone else went into a side field and climbed up on a ladder and picked all the apples from the tree.  He was almost done, so the last few apples he stuffed into his shirt - a common practice when you were picking the last far reaching apples.  He then fell.  What we don't know is whether he just fell or had gotten dizzy or light headed or what.  He was found by his grandson, not that long after he died."

 

It's the details in such stories that fascinate and intrigue me and I hope the same for you.  And.....it's so interesting what comes up when "Dalpiaz" is the search term!

 

William S. "Grampie" Brown 1843-1917

William S. Brown, Civil War soldier

William S. Brown is our great great grandfather.  His daughter, Caroline, married Henry NEVINS and they lived most of their lives in Olean.  The Brown family story is an interesting one, though it is not nearly finished!  

Our grandmother Paula Nevins Flynn called William "Grampie Brown", so I will do the same.  Grampie Brown was born in Cambridge (better known at Cambridgeshire) County England May 26 1843.  As far as I am aware, he is our only English ancestor.  

  The red area is Cambridgeshire county.  You will note it's fairly land-locked.  

When he was only 2 years old, he sailed from London to New York aboard the ship Quebec, arriving on May 19 with his father William W., his mother Sarah, and his older sister Druscilla.  The voyage probably took about 2 weeks.  It appears that Sarah was pregnant during this time, and I'm certain the voyage was not an easy one. When the ship arrived in New York, it wasn't the Ellis Island that we picture when we think of immigrants.  In 1845, the port of New York was located on the wharves of Manhattan.  

From New York, they apparently traveled to the Albany region, where two more children were born:  Caroline (sound familiar?) and Walter.  Since William W. was a blacksmith, it's my theory that he found work taking care of the horses and the family traveled the Erie Canal all the way to Buffalo, where they eventually settled.  Two additional children were born after they settled in Buffalo: Jane and Ida.  

In 1861, when he was about 18, he enlisted from Neenah Wisconsin in 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.  One of the lasting mysteries is why he enlisted from Wisconsin.  He served only 4 months before being discharged in August after spending some time hospitalized.  He enlisted a second time (probably for the money) from Buffalo in 1863 until discharge again in 1866.  He apparently became ill with chronic conditions as a result of this service and he was later awarded a pension.  Buckets of paperwork were generated as a result of his pension application, telling us more than we're comfortable with about his digestion and respiration.  

Shortly after he returned to Buffalo, he married Mary Alvira Burrows in 1867.  Our great grandmother Caroline (Carrie) was born in 1873 in Buffalo.  Mary died when Carrie was only 7.  It appears that Grampie had Carrie placed in the Buffalo Protestant Orphans Asylum for care until he could take her back.  It haunts me that this was a necessary step and I wonder how that time influenced Carrie's later life.  

Two years later, Grampie married again to Margaret Sommers.  They stayed together in Buffalo for the rest of their lives.  Grampie was, variously, a lumber inspector, foreman for a lumber company, Erie County Pentitentiary guard, and government clerk.  By 1900, Carrie was living in Cattaraugus  County in close proximity to the handsome Henry Nevins, a brand new attorney.  

Grampie died a widow in 1917 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery with his parents.  My sister Paula and I took a research trip to Buffalo a number of years ago and one of the highlights was finding their gravesites.  

Grampie's story is very much the story of millions of immigrants, including our other ancestors. I applaud his parents for taking that long trip across the ocean to settle happily in Buffalo NY so our story could begin. 

My Friend Amy

My friend Amy died today.  We'd been "chemo buddies", keeping each other company while potent drugs dripped their way into our systems.  These drugs were meant to wend their way throughout our bodies annihilating lethal rouge cancer cells.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Amy was a colleague whose unique insight and valuable perceptions saved the day for me many many times!  I would often stop by her room for a chat and she always took the time.  She probably could have been doing something better, but I never ever had the sense that she minded.

When I was considering coming back to this blog, I asked if I could stop by once again.  She wasn't in her classroom any longer.  At this point, she was hospitalized awaiting the trip home to hospice.  I hoped to get a bit of her wisdom and perhaps offer her an outlet if needed.  Don't get me wrong...I completely expected to benefit more from this than she might.  It was a selfish move on my part because I wasn't sure how to handle returning to the blog with or without mentioning what has kept me away so long. 

Her influence lives on.  Tonight I used the cookbook her art students put together as a fund raiser several years ago.  I didn't use it as a tribute to her today--I use it regularly.  She's literally on my kitchen counter.  I have a stamped card addressed to her ready to go to the mailbox. 

A character on the Netflix show Grace and Frankie (a show I'm pretty sure Amy would adore) noted the afterlife is about how you're remembered by the living.  Amy will have a lovely afterlife.  I am grateful she's no longer suffering.

I will miss my friend, but she is remembered here every day.

Walter Jozwicki 1906-1996 and Rose Messa Jozwicki 1910-1986

A while back, Ginger Jozwicki asked me to see what I could learn about her father in law Walter Jozwicki.  In particular, she was curious about his siblings.  "Easy-peazy" I thought to myself.  How hard can it be to find the name Walter Jozwicki????  Boy, did I learn a lesson......would you believe there was at least one other Walter Jozwicki (not far from the same age) living the in the same general area as "our" Walter??? And there seemed to be some conflict in information about place of birth and so forth.  The search wasn't as quite straightforward as I expected, but it led me to some very interesting tidbits to share.  It seems the harder the search, the more rewarding the results.  I'll try to remember that in the future. 

We saw Aunt Rose Dalpiaz Albertini and Uncle Lou Albertini recently and Aunt Rose (bless her soul, she's full of great stories and information) gave me some tips that lead me to the right family.  It meant searching page by page through the census records, but I got there!!!  In 1920, young Walter YAZISKY was living in Ohio with his father Andrew and mother Antonia.  The oldest child in the house at the time was Mary, who is listed as born in Russian Poland--same as her parents.  The remaining six children at the time included Walter, Helen, Joseph, Jennie, Estella and Henry.  By 1930, when I found them in Queens, another daughter, Dorothy, had been born.  The family was easier to find in 1930 as they were indexed as JUZWECKE, but this also meant a page by page search through the census to find a family living in the vicinity of the Messa family. 

Walter Jozwicki Sr.

Walter married the fair Rose Messa in 1933.  Many of you have fond memories of Uncle Walter and Aunt Rose.  While researching the Jozwicki family, I did come across this interesting tidbit from the Long Island Star Journal in 1948:

It was one of those street interviews and the question asked was "What is your favorite type of book?"  Though I never met Aunt Rose, I can just about picture her chatting in the street with this Inquiring Photographer from the Long Island Star Journal. 

I have tracked some of Walter Sr.'s siblings.  Mary, Helen, Jeanette (Jennie) and Estella each got married.  Joseph also married, but I'm not sure about Henry.  This is an ongoing investigation :)  I expect some rewarding results as the searching is not simple and straightforward.  Lucky for me Aunt Rose Albertini is such a great resource!  Cheers to both Aunt Roses!

Genetic Communities on the Irish side of the family

Genetics.  A little bit magical.  A little bit scary.  What our ancestors gave to us and what we give to our descendants like a dish that gets passed down the family line.  It can get a little bit banged up on its journey down the family line but we think it's beautiful regardless.  That dish belongs to us.  The stories of our ancestors belong to us too and we share them with many others who experienced similar struggles and joy along the way. 

You're probably wondering where I'm going with this.  You may know that both Chris and I have submitted DNA samples in hopes of finding new family members or solving some mysteries about where in Ireland we came from.  There are a number of companies that test DNA and produce different kinds of results for their customers.  Chris' DNA was sent to a company that focuses on surnames.  I wanted to find other Ryans so we needed male DNA. My DNA went to Ancestry.com.  You've seen the commercials, so you know that Ancestry testing gives customers clues to ethnicity thousands (yes, thousands) of years old.  So far, Chris' DNA hasn't resulted in any confirmed new relatives, though there are several intriguing possibilities. 

Ancestry recently released a new DNA tool that tracks our DNA to "genetic communities"--- many people from an area that share similar DNA and had similar life experiences.  These life experiences often led to migration.  Migration like this became like a worn path you follow through the woods mostly because someone else had already done so ahead of you.  These patterns can give us clues as to how our Ryan ancestors ended up in Gloucester, for example.  It may not be as simple as the Potato Famine pushing the Irish across the sea. 

These Genetic Communities Ancestry presents are VERY intriguing for our family.  There are two of them.  One is English Newfoundlanders and the other is Munster Irish.  We certainly have Irish, and they are from the regions outlined on the handy dandy map provided.  Most of our Irish seem to appear in the Boston/Gloucester area in the 1860s or so and this is what Ancestry has to say about their Irish migration during that time period: 

The Great Famine Migration

During the Great Famine, potato blight ruined Ireland’s main source of food. Although the horrors of mass starvation were highest in the southwestern province of Munster, its people felt a deep connection to their native land and culture, and emigrated only as a last resort. If they did not die or enter the infamous workhouse, the poor opted for the short journey to England. Others with a little more money crossed the Atlantic to settle among the poor in urban areas in the United States, with New York the most common destination.

The Irish this might apply to include James Handran, Timothy Ryan, John Bentley, Martin Costello, Julia McDonough.  So far, we think our Irish hail from Galway, Meath, Sligo and Clare (all areas within this Munster region).  My husband, Jim, giggled when he saw that these regions of Ireland were suitable for hiding criminals and rebels.  

Our Newfoundlanders include John Edward Handran and Mary Ann Squires.  These people often migrated to Nova Scotia (John Pierce, Phoebe Nickerson ) before settling in the Cape Ann area.  In general, the Canadians came to America a little later than our Irish and this is what Ancestry has to say about that time period for them: 

Cod Decline Pushes Newfoundlanders to New England

Overfishing cod caused economic instability on the island. The promise of lucrative jobs meant some Newfoundlanders headed to New England coastal towns, particularly Boston. In America the transplants often found work as fishermen, factory workers, and servants.

And another BINGO!!!  I'll just have to show you how magical this is sometime when anyone visits.  It feels darn great to have my research confirmed in this way with pretty maps and dotted lines! 

Serafina Curcio 1844 - 1907

Back on track after taking my own journey the last 18 months or so.  As many of you know, I've been under cancer treatment but am now beginning to feel more myself.  As I reflected on starting up again on my writing and research, it occurred to me that my recent experiences might reflect some of the fear and anxiety that our ancestors faced leaving home for America.  I suppose they left knowing it might never be the same again; that a bright future was not guaranteed; and that there would be painful and scary times ahead.  Perhaps it doesn't compare at all and I've just painted this picture with the uncertain strokes of recovery.  Regardless, I like to think that giving the lives our ancestors lived some time in the spotlight grants them some renewal.

I believe this death record is for Sarah (Serafina) Curcio, the Dalpiaz/Manzelli/Coffarelli children's great great great grandmother.  Serafina and her husband Raphael (Ralph) were parents to Antonia Curcio who married Graziano Isoldi.  I am sure the Isoldi name is familiar to you.  Sarah and Raphael were living in the same househould with Antonia and Graziano in the 1892 New York State census.  At that time, "Annie" (your great grandmother) was about 12.

This death record indicates Sarah was 63 in 1907 when she died....the same age listed for her in the 1892 census.  This may lead you to wonder why I believe this is "your" Sarah.  Other clues lead me to believe the incorrect age was given at the time of her death, which seems to have occurred in a private home at 463 14th St. Long Island City.  A few years later, at this same address is a man named Frank Curcio with his wife and family.  Frank is also listed in 1892 as Antonia's brother, so I suspect Frank was living in the same house he'd been living in for several years.  Unfortunately I cannot find Sarah or Ralph in 1900 but I'll keep looking!  The address is a pretty strong indicator that this is the correct Sarah.

A passenger list from 1877 from the steamship Utopia lists Serafina Curcio (47 years old) accompanied by Antonia (18) and Francisco Paolo (Frank? age 8).  I believe this is your family.  It seems a good possibility from Sarah's age in 1877 that Antonia and Frank were younger children from the family and that perhaps there are other older siblings who did not make this trip with their mother.  Antonia is married soon after her arrival.  Ralph is listed as a carpenter in 1892! (Robert???)

There is no indication yet where in Italy the Curcio family called home, and I suspect that Ralph came first followed by the family.  What the factors were that pushed them out of Italy are not known, it seems likely poverty and the opportunity for a better life were the major factors in uprooting entire families to settle in a whole new world.  These Italians came to the United States a few years before the major influx and that may have worked in their favor.  Nevertheless, I'm sure it wasn't an easy life. I suppose they left knowing it might never be the same again; that a bright future was not guaranteed; and that there would be painful and scary times ahead.