POINTers IN PERSON Minutes
Central Texas/Austin
Marilyn MANISCALCO Henley (#1653)
Lin ONOFRIO Brinkman (#1388) opened the monthly PIP meeting Wednesday, May 27, 1998 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bank One in Round Rock, TX, with 13 members in attendance. Minutes of the last meeting recorded by Jim and Virginia MACRI Gerick (#2730) were passed around. Lin read from the NAIF Spring 1998 newsletter, which stated that Texas has the 10th largest Italian population in the U.S. She had NAIF membership applications available. Lin mentioned that our PIP Chapter has 12 members and spouses attending the POINT Convention in October and that the registration deadline has been extended to August 1.
Marilyn MANISCALCO Henley (#1653) read a translation of letters she and her mother received from cousin Filippa Augello of Poggioreale, Sicily expressing condolences on the death of Marilyn's father last year. (Member Augie Troiani translated them.) She passed around an Easter Guardian Angel picture and prayer sent by cousin Johnny Grizzaffi of Bryan, TX. Marilyn bought a signed copy of sculptor Pompeo Coppini's autobiography, From Dawn to Sunset through the internet for only $25.00. She passed around the Family History Center microfilm rental lists, latest Italian organization newspapers from New Orleans and Houston. She noted that Clayton Library in Houston has acquired microfilm of some Louisiana State and Orleans Parish vital records.
Marilyn stated that she, her husband, her mother and daughter & son-in-law will attend the POINT convention. She announced the June 23rd speaker for the Austin Genealogical Society will be private investigator Ken Bates who will speak on research techniques to find living relatives. Marilyn announced that her daughter Lisa graduated May 17 from South Texas Law School in Houston.
Jeanette Green (#3555) is following up on her letter to the Sicilian town of Mezzojuso. Jeanette and Janet Green are planning to attend the POINT convention.
Virginia MACRI Gerick (#2730) reported that she may have found her paternal grandfather Pasquale MACRI and grandmother De ANGELIS on a ship that sailed from Bordeaux Chateau in the Italians to America book. Virginia and Jim have also made POINT reservations.
Dorothy MANGO Lippincott announced that her cousin and her husband Angela MANCO and Felice CICCONE of S. Angelo in Formis, Italy will arrive Wednesday, June 24 for a three day visit. These are the same cousins Dorothy and her family visited during their March trip. She will bring them to the June PIP meeting. Member Lori TROIANI offered her assistance with translating and to have them over for coffee.
Bill Brinkman (#1388) revealed that he has straightened out some of the branches of Lin's family tree after getting more complete information during the trip to Italy. One wrong name led him to an incorrect family. He noted that the POINT convention is offering a seminar on reading Italian records.
Francesca Sutton was elated to report that she has received a positive response from Giulio Salemme, the professional Italian researcher she had hired to find some family records. He located three generations including the children. The written report and family records were in the mail and she will bring them to the June meeting. She passed around a photo of Palazzo Italy. Francesca is going to help Guilio with some research in Tampico Mexico.
Don VILLONI reported that he has purchased a new computer with lots of memory that will handle all of his family info. He purchased Discovering Your Italian Ancestors by Lynn Nelson after hearing Joe Mastrangelo's review last month. In the last month, Don has written letters to cousins in Bologna, Caserta and has found some leads in a 1910 census with the Villoni and Rizzo names. He has a tape of his grandfather's music that was performed at a Good Friday celebration in Millville, New Jersey. Three funeral marches written by his grandfather Dominic VILLONI were performed by an Italian band in Philadelphia during a Station of the Cross procession.
Don thanked Joe Mastrangelo and Marilyn Henley for email messages with genealogy information. Augie TROIANI loaned Don two books, Italian Americans and Communities of Cleveland and another about music, marches and ethnics involved in music, which included Italians, to aid in his research.
Sheila BAYHA Dugosh reported that she found a PIRANO on an Italian genealogy page on the Internet and emailed a message only to have her computer crash before she received a response.
Visit our homepage at: http:www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3752/index.html