Well..

I was finally able to take pictures of my grandfathers medals so here they are..I haven't edited them yet so there are several versions of the same 2 medals but at least I'll know they'll be safe here.

Nuccia,

The photos came out well; I've been reading the type on the medals and can see one for the 50th anniversary of World War I. Can you explain the rest later? Are there any photos of your grandfather?

Rita sent me some of her grandfather and I sent some of my grest uncles, which I'll post in another topic -thanks to you and ImageShack.

Good idea to post so they will be safe from loss.

Dave

Dave,

Since you asked, here is a picture of my Paternal Grandfather, Francesco Bruno Angilletta. Its not the best picture, but I have lots more to scan..He was was in his 90's here.

Such character in his face. Has he told you stories? There must be many. I've been taping my mother, aunts and uncles but lost one uncle last month. He remembers horse-drawn fire wagons near his house, with Dalmatian dogs running alongside.
Imagine what our grandparents experienced: from rural Italy and horse or mule drawn wagons to trains, big cities, cars, space travel. And war, yet still have love.

Dave

Dave,

I only met Nonno twice..once in 1972 when I was only 9 and the next time I saw him was 17 years later. I was there for his 93 rd birthday. I always wanted to go back to see him so as soon as I was old enough and could afford it, I arranged for me, my Father, and my Uncle to fly to Italy for that birthday. All of my Father's siblings were there and it was the first time since my Grandmother passed away in 1975 that they were all in the same room together at the same time. It was also the last time. Nonno died ten months later in 1989 and then two years later, Dad lost a brother, two years after that his other brother, and just last year, he lost a sister.

We had some good times together and yes, he told me lots of stories. We were very close and I even have some of his more personal things. He was a sweet man. There are stories that my Grandmother was the disciplinarian..

Nonno was the "baby" of the father. His father was almost 50 when he was born and he married his brothers widow when his older brother was killed in WW1.

I am just starting to put all the records about his family online. Hopefully it won't take too long.

Nuccia,

I really enjoyed reading your post about your grandfather. It was lucky that you were able to go to Ilaly to see him. Sad though that your Dad lost brothers and a sister; they must have been relatively young. Were they in Italy or in Canada? Seems like many were lost in the 70's and 80's. Was that the custom to marry a brother's widow or his own choice? Must have been a good man to take care of his brother's family. I think I have heard of this here though. Have to ask my mother.

The children would have the same surname in this case, unlike some of my relatives who kept the first fatther's name, including me.

My grandparents were all here, but some died when I was small and I don't remember them. However, we lived with my foster mother's mother, so she was granma as well as her sister. Granpa Ferro was only 50 and he was 6 years younger than Granma Ferro who I vaguely remember. The Bissi grandparents lived into their 80s and 90s. I do remember going to a lot of wakes when I was a boy.

This wedding picture of my foster mother's parents is a favorite because it has my maternal grandparents standing behind them; the blurry little girl is my Aunt Francie and the little boy seated on the right is my Uncle Charlie. My Grandpa Bissi was said to ask them if they were really sisters because they were so different. My Mom told me that Granma Bissi would make her younger sister carry the water jug (on her head) from the fountain in Italy. They were all characters, I can tell you that.

Keep us up to date on the website about your grandfather. Quite a memorial to him for everyone to see.

Dave



And one of the Ferros: Emilio and Dolorata (or Emidio and Addolorata)
Frank, Tony, Armand, my father Mario, Al, Mike and Jim
I wonder who the disiplinarian was in this family and how did Grandma handle this bunch?



There are many links at ImageShack...which is the best for here? Forums (I know that is what this is, but...) Sites, Friends or Direct.

Dave

WOW! Great wedding picture!!

We have another pic of this wedding with different people and a few others where my mom and aunt were flower girls (1919) or of relatives of theirs. Her Aunt Anna (Maria Concetta Nervino) is in some. Then there are all the wedding portraits of aunts and uncles from the 30s and 40s in some nice cardboard frames that were passed out. Some are ornate and art deco types. I'll try to post tomorrow or on the website. Did you go back and see that I took out the stock photos that were not mine?

Dave

Dave this are amazing! Notice how serious everyone is? I wonder why no one ever smiled in old pictures..

Yes, in Italy the custom was that if a spouse died and there was a single sibling, then the sibling would marry the widow/widower and raise the family. There were some drawbacks to this though. The marriage could only be performed in the comune and not in a church or the widow would lose and pension she might have coming (in my grandmothers case, her first husband died in the war so she would have lost her war pension) and secondly, any children born to the second marriage usually listed the mother's name (in this case) as unknown on the birth certificate.

As for imageshack, I usually use the last option..direct link ...blah, blah, blah. To show it as a link, you would use the [url= put code here ] Your Title [/url] (leave no spaces though or to see the whole image you have 2 choices. The first is use the [img] put code here [/img] or use the little icon in the top left corner in the reply area (located below the B). Just click on that and an address bar will appear that says http:. Just paste the link and the image will appear. Preview your post.

I'll check out your site again. I linked it to my web page the other night..

www.gentedimaregenealo...irths.html

Hope this helps, some.

Nuccia,

Thanks for the info on families. Doesn't seem fair though to deny pensions that are obviously needed. My uncle Joe DeMarzio's mother remarried after his father died in Italy and she is buried under her maiden name. Don't know why she didn't use the DeMarzio name, but what you said might have something to do with it.

I'll try your instructions. What I want is the way you have it: a thumb on the page so it doesn't overwhelm people but that can be clicked on so they can examine it better. The details are important.

Will you be posting more about your grandfather here? It could augment the website.

Almost 3 am early for me; have to get up for an appt. at 10. Do you stay up this late all the time?
Many of the people here are around my daughter's age so she comes to mind when I read the posts. Marisa even looks like her, though Melissa doesn't say something is "wee". I wonder what the Italian community is like there. I'll ask Emmy.

Goodnight,

Dave

Dave,

Actually, I'm not staying up late at all. I get up for work every day at 2 am and then play on the computer for an hour. I start worrk at 4 am.

When I get home, I'll provide the link to the imageshack tutorial. It takes you step by steop through it. You can also try searching for it (maybe I posted it on the PC Guides board). I can't remember now.

Yes, I will be posting more about my grandfather. I am actually in the process of transcribing all the records I have for him.

Gotta run to get ready..going to be late for work!

Hugs!

Nuccia,

Realized that I put family photos in your Grandfather's Medals topic and they belong over in one I'll make. Sorry, get too excited being able to post them. I'll move them soon. Do you mind military pictures, like of my great-uncles? Or wait they go someplace else too. Where is my memory?? I did upload quite a few to ImageShack and then to ItalianGenealogy, so...

Dave

Dave,

Feel free to post your military pictures where you would like. If you want to start your own thread, I can move these posts over for you. Your choice...just let me know, ok?

Nuccia,

I meant to move the wedding and family photos, as they are off-subject. The military ones are but I want to make sure you don't mind. After all this is about your grandfather, not my relatives BUT they are connected and relevant so can contribute to the subject. I wonder if our grandfathers or relatives knew each other. Hmmm. I wonder a lot.

Anyway, this is our Great-Uncle Joe Testa. His son Sal in NJ sent an Xerox copy that I scanned both in tif and jpg. Sal says his father told him he was in the cavalry. A Shirley Sinclaire said she has a photo that is similarly set, with a table and flower like this. Haven't seen it yet.



The next ones are of our Great-Uncle Elio Testa. His son is the other Salvatore Testa in Montreal that we call Sully. First one is undated but older. The next is written on the back 22-8-1941 and some writing. These were sent to my Grandmother Rosa Testa Bissi and her sister, Great-Aunt Mary Nervina. We lived with her, so she was granma too; my foster mother's mother.








Hope you enjoy them.

Have been to Toronto three times: just after high school; drove up to see a yogi (hint: don't ride with someone who eats garlic capsules); and then to see Rolling Stones for third and last time. We have a musician friend who moved there. One of the DJs at WBER in Rochester goes there often and plays music from groups based there.

Dave

Just because everyone has asked so much..I thought I would post Liz's Wonder Woman picture..doesn't she look great?