Close Calls for Peter Manzelli (1899 - ?) and James Coffarelli (1898-1934)

Random stuff as meteorological summer begins.


 I've been unable to close any doors on those open dates in the family tree recently but I have found a little tidbit I thought you might enjoy.  From the Brooklyn Daily Star April 1925 (or maybe 1926--it's a little blurry):

 Although it appears there was another Peter Manzelli nearby in the same time period, this "bad boy" is definitely your mother's uncle Peter, since the home address listed in this article matches the longtime Manzelli homestead.  I guess smart-mouthing authority is a long standing tradition for young squirts like Peter.  I'm afraid it's quite possible this relative may have been something of a criminal mind in his young adulthood. 

Your grandfather James Coffarelli was involved in an accident with a fire truck rushing into service.  Once again, I could determine this is "your" James Coffarelli from the address given.  Brooklyn Standard Union Oct 1922:

I'm not certain what an "automobile truck" is but this matches up pretty well with James' occupation as a chauffeur.  Good to know no one was hurt.

Kate Ryan Dow 1856 - 1923 From Boston to the Bronx

I've had a bit of Irish luck recently in my quest to round out the story of the Ryan siblings.  A man named Bob Dow contacted me recently as he was interested in Catherine/Katherine Ryan's life as John Dow's wife.  Together we worked to find evidence of her death and John's life after she died.  It's a lovely world!

Catherine is the third child of the original Irish immigrant Timothy Ryan and his wife Mary Squires Ryan.  The older two, Michael and Elizabeth, were born in Newfoundland.  Catherine was the first to be born in the United States.  I was very excited to find her Boston birth record for 1856, placing the young family in Boston at that time.  By the time the next child was born three years later, they were living in Gloucester.  The Ryan family spent many years in Gloucester before Timothy and Mary moved to New Hamphire apparently to be with one (or two) of the sons.  Thus our Gloucester roots took hold.

At the age of 25, Kate married John Dow of Scotland.  A few years later, she gave birth to her son Frank Eddy Dow.  As far as I am aware, she had no other surviving children.  I thank the genealogical stars that Frank Eddy had a rather unique name which makes searching for him a bit easier.  He ends up in Michigan later on which is where Bob and I found his father John.  Contrarily, John Dow is not so easy to search since the name not at all unique.  Bob did the heavy lifting on locating "our" John and I'm very appreciative of his efforts and willingness to share information. 

Though I haven't (yet) found our Kate in the 1920 census, she and John had been living in Massachusetts until at least 1910.  So no wonder it was a surprise to find that she appears in the New York Times in 1923 with her death notice.  It was only because she was "mother to Frank Eddy" that I was able to confirm that our Kate dies in the Bronx in 1923.  Bob shared her death certificate with me. Though some of the details don't quite match, Bob and I feel pretty certain this is our Kate.  It appears she was diabetic.

Twenty years later, her husband John dies in Michigan where Frank Eddy lives.  Someday I hope to track the migration of this family more clearly.  Most of our families stayed close by but this is an exception.  Kate Ryan/Kate Dow are not easy search items and when you realize they could be ANYWHERE it's pretty daunting.  So I'm grateful to have a partner in Bob Dow.  Cheers to Bob!

1928 Robert Dalpiaz and Regina Coffarelli

Bob Dalpiaz's 87th birthday would have been this week--and your mother would already have turned 87 !  I was doing a little research into the year and thought you might be interested to know that Mickey Mouse also made his first appearance in 1928 in Steamboat Willie".  Bubble gum, recliners and sliced packaged bread also became available for American consumers which tells  you just a little bit about the pop culture of the day, don't you think?  The House at Pooh Corner was published and the first yo you factory opened so it was certainly a brand new world for children lucky enough to be born that year.

 Being a child in 1928 was not like being a child in this century.  In fact, I believe many of us would find it hard to believe that parenting advice of the time admonished parents not to drop sentimental slop all over their children's heads--it suggested they be treated as small adults with handshakes for greetings and perhaps a very occasional kiss on the forehead if absolutely necessary.  This is the advice of James Watson who published Psychological Care of Infant and Child in 1928.  Here's an interesting section of that book.  When we ponder how our parents acted or reacted in ways that seem foreign to us, thinking about how their parents treated them might help ease that confusion.  I forget sometimes that parenting advice has evolved over time and that children are direct products of their home lives.  Parents sometimes might have tried to follow the best professional advice of the time; which, to us, seems as foreign as not having wifi available.

My research did uncover one very interesting fact.  There was a lunar eclipse June 3 1928 so don't you wonder if that had some affect on your father's birth?  There are still many many folk stories related to pregnancy and childbirth and a lunar eclipse and I have a feeling your grandmother believed most of them at the time.

Although we often study pictures very carefully for details, sometimes we forget to do the same with documents.  Here's a record of you father's birth.  The first thing I notice is that he's named "Bob".

 I don't believe it to be an official birth certificate if you read it carefully but it was cared for as carefully as if it was--and perhaps it could be used as such back in the day.

And some other favorites for a little trip down memory lane:

 1975 joint anniversary party (Thanks Kathleen!)

Easter 1993

 I've been told this is the Bellmore house.

 Christmas 1989--your dad looks bemused.