Wisdom Wednesday – Blog Your Stories
06 Jul 2011 1 Comment
in Genealogy Research Tags: Chicago genealogy, Chicago Italians, Fratto, genealogy, Iozzo, Tellerino
A genealogy blog is a great way to tell your family stories, talk about your research (including your problems) and connect with family.
In the last nine months or so blogging on my Chicago Family History blog about the Iozzo, Tellerino, and Fratto families, I have connected with several people.
These families are a complicated mess in terms of trying to explain the family tree. Basically we have two men, Fortunato Fratto and Tomaso Fratto (my line). Fortunato and Tomaso came from the same village of Taverna in Italy. Both men came to Chicago. Fortunato is a good 10 years older than Tomaso. Family story is the men are first cousins, but the vital records from Italy do not show that. But there is likely a connection somewhere. To make it more complicated, both Fortunato and Tomaso’s lines married into the Iozzo line. There were four Iozzo brothers and three married into the Fratto family. Tellerino married into Fortunato’s line.
Well about three weeks ago a woman named Rosemarie, a descendant of the Fortunato side, gathered together many of the descendants at a local Italian Beef restaurant. I brought my family and we spent about three hours meeting new distant cousins, looking at old photographs, and sharing information. And did I mention I also confused a lot of people because of the intermarrying and trying to explain which line my husband’s family came from versus the others in attendance?
Yesterday I received a nice card from Rosemarie with some pictures from the get together. She thanked me again for continuing to research and bring so many people together. I think that is one of the biggest reasons I continue to research. It helps bring families together.
The group is planning another meeting, date TBD, but you can be I’ll be there with my computer in tow, some old pictures and more information to share!
Are you sharing your stories and connecting with family? If not, why not?
Related articles
- Treasure Chest Thursday – Tomaso Fratto (chicagofamilyhistory.wordpress.com)
- Treasure Chest Thursday – Teresa Ursetta (chicagofamilyhistory.wordpress.com)
- Wisdom Wednesday – Protecting Heirlooms (generationsbiz.com)
- Follow Friday – Official FGS2011 Bloggers (generationsbiz.com)
- Tuesday’s Tip – Use the Genealogy Digital Bookshelf (generationsofstories.net)
Tuesday’s Tip – Family Story Fact or Fiction
26 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in Genealogy Research Tags: Cherokee, family history, genealogy, Olieva Evans, Sara Turner
Tomorrow this will be posted on my Family History Research Blog but I thought it was appropriate to post here too.
I recently received a request for information on a tree I am working on for a friend on Ancestry.com. The person was requesting information on a woman named Olieva Evans. The family story on Olieva is that she was full blooded Cherokee. Adopted. Possible mother named Sara Turner who may have married a Doc Evans.
This person insisted over a few email conversations that they checked the Dawes Rolls front and backwards, up, down and sideways for Sara Turner and she is listed many times under many different names. I was also told that Sara is listed in the 1890s as being in her 30s. Ummmm really?
Let’s look at some facts. Olieva was born 15 June 1818 in Ohio. Married John E. Cunningham 27 Dec 1840 in Ohio. Died 31 Jul 1889 in Missouri. If Olieva was born in 1818, that would mean her mother Sara Turner would have been born around 1800 or just before. How could she possibly be in her 30s in the late 1890s? Sara would have been in her 90s if she was even still alive.
The Dawes enrollment began in 1893. Olieva had died by that time. I am assuming her mother had died prior to this also. None of Olieva’s children appear in the Dawes Rolls.
Now, I am no expert on Indian ancestry or the Dawes Rolls but from what I understand about the Rolls is that if you were part of one of the Five Civilized Tribes during and after 1893, you had the option to register with the Dawes Commission and receive land. There is no documentation for Olieva’s family or children indicating they were involved with any Indian tribe ever. Now, if someone has information proving otherwise, I would love to see it so please let me know.
The point of this post is to look at the names of the individuals you are searching for. Look at their dates. A person who was born about 1800 could not have been in their 30s in the 1890s. Just because someone has the same name does not make them the person you are looking for. Gather other facts to establish some level of proof or possibility. Do not tell me that this Sara Turner on the Dawes Rolls is the one you seek. It is very clear it is not. Show me some proof of this family being on the Rolls or stop telling me they are.
Tuesday’s Tip – Use the Genealogy Digital Bookshelf
19 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Education, Writing Tags: DuPage County Illinois, genealogy, genealogy blogging, genealogy books, Woodridge Illinois
Want to grow your family story? Have you used the Internet Archive and found it difficult to use or lost what you once found? Try using a new website called Genealogy Digital Bookshelf instead!
This is a new website created by Taneya Y. Koonce. It categorizes genealogy books found at the Internet Archive by state and counties within general topic areas. General areas include Biographies, Cemeteries, Directories, Families, Military and Vital Records, just to name a few.
To use the site you can click on a topic area to see what books are indexed. I looked for resources on Chicago. Clicking “Biographies” will list several resources for Illinois and Chicago like Who’s Who in Chicago. You can also enter a search term into the search box above the general topic areas. Entering “Chicago” as a search term brings up two general topic areas where books can be found, Biography and History.
The Genealogy Digital Bookshelf can be used for more than Chicago research as all states, except North Carolina are represented somewhere in the site. North Carolina has its own site.
Want more information? You can follow Taneya on Twitter. The site is continually being updated so check it out often.
Follow Friday – Association of Gravestone Studies
04 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Blogging Tags: AGS, ancestors, cemeteries, Epub, funerals, genealogy, graves, headstones, Kindle, markers, tombs, tombstones
Have you seen the Association of Gravestone Studies page? The association furthers the study and preservation of gravestones. Individuals can join the association for $50 a year.
Did you know the past Journals, Markers, from 1980 – 2008, for the AGS are online? These are available for download through Internet Archives in many formats such as PDF, EPub, Kindle, and more.
Check them out when you have time!
Cemeteries Tell Stories
02 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: A Grave Interest, ancestors, burial plots, cemeteries, funerals, genealogy, headstones, Stories in Stone, tombstones
We all know documents can help us tell the stories of our ancestors, but have you considered that their headstone tells stories too? I found this fantastic book, Stories in Stone A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography by Douglas Keister. It is filled with wonderful pictures and great descriptions of what the symbols and figures you see in a cemetery mean. There are even several pages of abbreviation meanings that are found on stones.
Take a look at these sites for additional information and next time you visit a cemetery, write down the story the grave stone tells you about your ancestor. Also visit on Friday for my Follow Friday post related to cemeteries.
A Grave Interest blog
Cemetery Symbolism, part of the Graveyard Rabbit
Gravesecrets Headstone Meanings
