POINTers IN PERSON Minutes
Central Texas/Austin
Marilyn MANISCALCO Henley (#1653)
Lin ONOFRIO Brinkman (#1388) opened the monthly PIP meeting Wednesday, Feb 11, 1998 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bank One in Round Rock, TX, with 25 members and guests in attendance, with several announcements: genealogical seminars presented by Hays Co on March 7 and Williamson Co on March 14; the POINTer Convention in October, she'll be calling for room reservations; they (the Brinkman's) will be gone March 12-April 5 to Germany and Italy; passed around 1998 meeting schedules and POINTer member brochures. Everyone introduced themselves; new members and guests were Jean TROISI Peres, Francesca Sutton, and Tony PIAZZA.
Joe MASTRANGELO (#2614) received a response from the Trapani State Archives of a copy of a letter they sent to Poggioreale requesting them to respond to Joe's request for PIZZALATO information since the archives did not have the records for that year. He is currently trying to find the link between his Mastranagelo family and John Mastrangelo who played professional football for the Giants. He is also reading FHC microfilm of CAMPOFIORITO, Sicily for the VETRANO family. He mentioned that interlibrary loan is available for European libraries.
Jean TROISI Peres said that she is just beginning to research the families of GENNARO TROISI and ALFONSO BIZZIGOTTI.
Francesca Sutton brought her very thick notebook of family information that goes back to the 1700s of ANTONIO MARIA DE BERNARDI of ZUBIENA and his wife MARGERIETTA EUSTEBIETTA from PALAZZI, TORINO, and their son, GIOVANNI BATTISTA DE BERNARDI who came to America about 1830 from either BIELLA or ZUBIENA.
Jim and Virginia MACRI Gerick (#2730) passed around photos and reported on the Ethnic Festival sponsored by Concordia University Jan 24. Expresso and biscotti were sold at our booth and Italian recipes handed out; several members loaned personal items to decorate for the Italian theme. Virginia also showed a family chart that she received from a cousin's son that dated back to the 1700's.
Don VILLONI sent copies of his dad's movie film of a cousin's wedding in Italy in 1958 to the cousins who still live there. The response has been overwhelming; they had never seen the film and could identify the family members in the film, many of whom have since died. Some of the younger cousins had never seen their grandparents, other than in snapshots. Don is still trying to locate the remainder of his grandfather's compositions; he has about 23 of 27 identified.
Warren and Eugenia ASSAIBENE Luken passed around marriage and naturalization papers of Eugenia's mother and told how in 1950, when her parents returned to Italy for a visit, they entered as foreigners.
Tony PIAZZA has just started researching the surnames PIAZZA AND SCARDINA from TRABIA, PALERMO and settled in Pennsylvania.
Janet and Jeanette Green (#3555) have copies of receipts and pay vouchers of laborers who worked on the State Capitol building and thinks one may be Jeanette's grandfather, Francesco CUCCIO and his brother-in-law, PIRANO.
Augie TROIANI is researching the first Italian settlers in Travis Co. He spoke about Garabaldi and his expedition in relation to Francesca's ancestors and will watch for the DiBernardi name as he researches.
Tony ABBATTISTA (#2641) has received a birth certificate from the mid 1800's that gives the parents' names. He has received marriage extracts from BARI that take him back into the late 1700's.
Zina VERSAGGI Graalfs (#3336) reported on the VERSAGGI reunion in San Augustine, FL. She received information from Augusta, Sicily; she sent a $20 bill and they sent back 10,000 lira as change. She is still looking for her grandfather's ship.
Dorothy MANGO Lippincott (Lin's mother) is looking forward to the trip to Germany and Italy.
Frank Henry (INNARINO) (#3258) received an email from Carla MO in Italy that she had received their card, but not the baby gift. Carla may travel to Termini Imerese, Sicily to look up information for Frank.
Marilyn Maniscalco Henley (#1653) reported that the Austin Genealogical Society meeting will be Feb 24 with Juanita Dodgen speaking on Oral Histories. She announced that the Family History Talk Show is now being heard on KTSA 550 am from San Antonio Sunday evenings from 10 pm - midnight. She showed a letterhead of a drawing of Alia, Sicily sent by Vincent Dispenza of Baton Rouge. She received a telephone call from a CALAMIA/ALFANO descendant who lives in Long Island, NY. New films she has received at the FHC are Houston church records. The FHC microfilm rental book circulated.
Sheila BAYHA Dugosh told about the free searches occasionally available on the Ancestry web page and that there is a free Italian translator on Alta Vista.
Bill Brinkman gave new surnames for Lin's family from San Prisco, Caserta, Campania of LITTO, ELISEO, EROMPAXIA and CASERTANO. He gave the phone number to call to register for the new classes of beginning genealogy that he teaches through the Round Rock School District.
Lin announced that Virginia Gerick will run next month's meeting which is March 25 at 6:30 pm.
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