April 27, 2011 Meeting Minutes

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POINTers IN PERSON Minutes
Chapter # 10 Central Texas/Austin

Submitted by: Lin ONOFRIO Brinkman (#1388)

Lin ONOFRIO Brinkman (#1388) opened the meeting with 7 present, including new member, Sandra Giarrusso.
  Lin mentioned that the Italian Cultural Association of Greater Austin is sponsoring a special appearance by Maestro Roberto Porroni on 22 May, at All Saints Episcopal Church. Dr. Porroni is an internationally acclaimed Italian classical guitarist, from italy. He will be accompanied by flutist Luigi Arciuli. Their program will celebrate Italy's 150 years of unity.

Cathy VITALE found her Grandfather's birth certificate from the microfilm ordered from the FHC in Round Rock. He was under the name of Angelo TACCHINO, born in Carlentini, Sicily on 19 November 1894. His Mother was listed as Cesarea VITALE. Cathy is in the process of translating the birth certificate, and planning to write the Stato di Civile in Carlentini and order an official copy.

Betty TOMMASELLI Glaser found from records and obituaries she had copied earlier from Ancestry.com and from Google, a woman she had contacted earlier, Margaret Tommaselli Dzieriznski, is actually a first cousin. Both their fathers were brothers. They emailed, then Betty received a call from Margaret's niece, June, who was visiting June's daughter about 10 miles away, so they were able to meet and exchange information and some pictures. They plan on meeting again before June returns to Connecticut.

Sandra Kohls GIARRUSSO is researching the family of Alessandro Antonio GIARRUSSO, born about 11 August 1883 in Italy. He married Assunta ADAMO about 23 September 1908. She was born about 29 January 1883. She married a second time after the death of Alessandro; second husband's name unknown. Alessandro and Assunta had a son, Palmerino Carmino Giarrusso on 23 September 1910, who died on 3 March 1986, Two other sons were born, one dying on 6 September 1913, and one who was born and died on 1 May 1919. All three were born in Providence, Rhode Island. Palmerino married Anna D'AMICO on 29 November 1930 in Providence. Anna was born 14 October 1905 and died 30 January 2001 in Providence. Her parents were Nunzio D'Amico and Maria ( last name unknown ). It is believed that Nunzio and Maria were married about 1873, but not where.
  She is searching for when Alessandro and Assunta first came to America, when he became a citizen, where they lived in Italy, and where they were married. She has researched extensively on FOOTNOTE.com, which has over 5 million documents.
  Other names Sandra is researching are : LOMBARI, PICCOLI, MARTUFI, MANCINI and TROMBETTI.

Scott PATRICK (#4819) has had three new contacts on his Italian side in just the last month through Ancestry.com. One was a sister of a prior contact, and Scott is helping them research their maternal side with the names GIANNONE and CHIESA. Another contact related through Scott's GARAGUSI side is through his great-uncle Vincenzo Garagusi. Scott was able to tell this cousin of the tragic and senseless death of Vincenzo, of which neither she nor her mother were aware.

Sherry PACELLI Haddox (#4883) reported that Professor Paul Moses, a journalist and a professor of journalism at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, contacted her on Facebook to let her know that he is researching a book which will be a history of the relations between New York's Irish and Italians, and he became interested in her great-uncle, Tito PACELLI, who headed a union of Italian laborers who built the New York subway in the early 1900s. Sherry never knew how important Tito was, and that he was the first Italian to begin organizing fellow Italians to join the American Federation of Labor. He worked directly with Samuel Gompers, one of the key people in American labor history. Professor Moses found numerous articles on Tito in the New York newspapers from 1903, and found him listed in a variety of AF of L publications. Tito was mentioned in the introduction of John R. Commons', HISTORY OF LABOR IN THE UNITED STATES, 1896-1932, written in 1935. Commons describes Tito with admiration, and said he was an idealistic yet practical man. There is also a letter from Tito in a multi-volume set of books on Gompers' correspondence, urging steps to organize Italian immigrants. He worked at getting his workers the 8-hour day. There was also an interesting article on him in the NEW YORK TRIBUNE of April 20, 1907, pg. 2. It says Tito had been a delegate to an international conference, held in New York with many leading figures of the day, such as Andrew Carnegie, to encourage peacemaking. After this "Peace Conference", Tito arranged for his union members to turn in any guns they owned. Professor Morris told Sherry that there is definitely reason to feel proud of Tito Pacelli. At the time, nearly all Italian laborers found work through a corrupt system run by bosses in New York called "padrones", who hired them out for pick-and-shovel construction jobs all over the country. The workers were paid terribly ---$1.25 a day ---and then further exploited by being forced to buy supplies at inflated prices from a company store, pay fees and commissions for getting their jobs, etc. There were Congressional hearings, newspaper exposes, government reports. The answer to this was for the workers to unionize, but the established unions did not want them. So by forming what was first known as the "Rockmen's and Excavators' Union", Tito Pacelli was freeing these worrkers from a condition close to slavery. Sherry was able to share old photos with Professor Morris, as well as copies of Tito's union membership cards. The members said they look forward to reading this book when it is written.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 25th, at 6:30pm at Lin & Bill's guest house.