POINTers IN PERSON Minutes
Chapter # 10 Central Texas/Austin
Submitted by: Sherry PACELLI Haddox (#4883)
Lin ONOFRIO Brinkman (#1388) opened the monthly meeting of POINTers in Person, Chapter #10 - Austin/Central Texas on
Wednesday, August 25, 2004, at the Round Rock Library with 13 people in attendance.
Lin is just back from Connecticut where she attended two family reunions. She saw her mother, Dorothy MANGO ONOFRIO
Lippincott's family, which included their REINZO, FARINA, LOMBARDI and MANGO cousins, including Frank MANGO, who is 97 years
old!
On her father's side, she saw ONOFRIO, FUSCO, and MONACO cousins. She also discovered connections with the CASERTA family
that settled in Philadelphia.
Lin passed around old family photos and a wonderful time was had by all.
Virginia (MACRI) Gerick (#2730), brought to the meeting copies of "Past Finder", the monthly newsletter of the Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group. Each issue features a specific genealogical problem as well as varied news, book reviews, and aids of interest to genealogists. Recent feature articles: "Why Can't My Surname Stay the Same" and "Researching the Females on your Pedigree Chart". The Email address of the group: http://www.svcomputergenealogy.org
James Gerick mentioned attending a genealogy meeting which included a presentation on Texas Courthouse Records, i.e. the type of records one can expect to find.
Joe MASTRANGELO (#2614) is continuing with record extracting. He discovered errors in two documents. One had the bride's
mother's first name spelled incorrectly. On the second document, the bride's surname (PETRUZZI) was spelled "Liuzzi" but
the second occurrence on the same document it was correctly spelled. He told us to beware of these mistakes.
Joe has started the process of possibly getting his Dual Citizenship. He contacted the Houston Consul General's office
(713-850-9113). He also sent an email with a request for info and everything required. The email address is:
houston.cittadinanza@itwash.org
We're all very anxious to know exactly what is required and how long the process will take.
Jeanie MARSALIA (#4251) found a birth record for a Giacomo MARSAGLIA whom she believes to be a brother of her grandfather. The parents names are the same and he was born in 1875. She had to reorder a film she received due to the wrong number listed on the order form. The film she received was in French! The MARSALIA Family Reunion is being help on September 25, 2004.
Scott Patrick (#4819) found a marriage record for his great-uncle Gaetano Giovanni MOTTA to Maria Carmela SANSONE from
Laurenzana, Italy in 1881. This proved his grandmother's story that her uncle was married before coming to America. Scott
subsequently found the birth of a daughter, Maria Antonia, born in 1882, to this couple. Scott's grandmother's story is
that the wife did not want to come to America so the uncle returned to Italy. However Scott is still pursuing the
idea that Gaetano traveled back and forth spending some time in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Scott has now checked the New York City death index for 1877 and 1878 and found a record that he suspects is his
great-great-grandmother, Carmela MANZI GARAGUSI. The record was from April 27, 1877, only 10 months after Carmela came to
America. The story on her was that she died in childbirth. The very next record in the index was for a two-month old child,
Julius GARAGUSI, who died July 13, 1877. Scott suspects this was the child being born when Carmela died. He has ordered
the films which have death certificates and hopes to confirm his theories.
Scott also has received more pictures from his cousin in New York. These included pictures of her father and uncle along
with an unidentified picture that Scott suspects is his cousin's grandmother.
Carol MAINA Roam (#4623) reported that she sent letters requesting information to five towns in Italy. So far she has
received a reply from LIVORNO FERRARIS which included a marriage certificate and death certificates for her
great-grandparents, Lorenzo MAINA and Catterina CAMBURSANO.
The Cambursano's originally came from Chivasso in the Torino Province and the church records are available on
microfilm. She is continuing to review those films.
Carol also sent for and received copies of land records from 1922 and 1939 for her great-grandmother's
(Cattarina Maria Boggio Oddono Ferri) farm in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
Laurie GUGINO Riester (#3878) reported back to the group on a recent visit (or two!) to Gelato's, a new gelato shop in north Austin. The owners make their gelato every day with ingredients imported from Italy ~ and Laurie says that it shows in the taste! She gives it two thumbs up! Gelato's is in the Crossroads shopping center on the southwest corner of 183 and Burnet Road, near Chili's.
Sherry PACELLI Haddox (#4883) recently returned from a wonderful two week visit with her relatives in New Jersey and
New York. She went to the New York Public Library in Manhattan to look for her grandfather's obituary (Dionisio
"Dominick" PACELLI) on microfilm. Unfortunately, there was no obituary. Sherry has several of her grandfather's business
cards from the 1920's and 1930's. She and her cousins, Violet AIELLO MILONE and Violet's husband, Placido (Sonny) MILONE
went to the different locations and took pictures of the buildings. And, she took pictures of the building on Pleasant
Ave. where her father (Alfredo PACELLI) was born in 1909. The building is a short distance from the famous Rao's
restaurant that's been in the same spot for over 100 years on Pleasant Ave.
Violet gave Sherry their grandmother's large Italian Bible which is truly a treasure. She also gave her a wooden plaque
with a picture of Pope Pius XII (EUGENIO PACELLI) that a Jewish man made and gave their grandparents'. There is an
inscription under the picture that says "My high respect for the great family PACELLI". He apparently was very
grateful because he believed the Pope had helped the Jews.
Sherry and her husband, Gerry, Violet & Sonny went to a wonderful restaurant in Little Italy called Da Nico. Laurie Gugino
Riester had recommended it at a PIP meeting several months ago and Sherry was very happy she did! They thoroughly
enjoyed the food and the ambience! They all look forward to returning!
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM. Our next meeting will be September 18th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Round Rock Library.
Joe MASTRANGELO will conduct a workshop: "Researching Italian Civil Records". We will also have a potluck lunch. The
cost will be $1.00 for the potluck (for supplies) and $4.00 for printed workshop materials