POINTers IN PERSON REPORT
Chapter #10-Texas, Central Texas/Austin
Marilyn Maniscalco Henley (#1653)
Lin Onofrio Brinkman (#1388) opened the PIP Meeting with 12 members on Sept 25, 1996 at 6:30 pm at Bank One in Round Rock. Joe Mastrangelo (#2614 and his wife Marie had greetings from member John Generali (#1516), who has been ill and is looking forward to rejoining us. Lin showed everyone the membership directory that John is doing for the club. She then announced that charter member Charlie Glace, age 81, passed away.
Lin said that she learned the official length of time to get her signed return receipt from Italy is 2 months to one year. She received POINTer labels for the areas of Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. We discussed hosting a weekend day quarterly meeting, with a speaker, inviting the POINTer members; the response was favorable.
Lin reported that her Reinzo cousin reunion in Connecticut netted photos of great grandparents that neither she nor her mother had ever seen, and new family information. Her advice to all was keep asking those family members over & over.
Marilyn Maniscalco Henley reported on the Austin Gen Society meeting and passed out research information from the Dallas Gen Society Newsletter. She showed the Facets Italian Video catalog and a family photo she recently received. She passed around the 1908 passenger list for her grandfather, Pietro Maniscalco and copies of her Maniscalco and Martino family crests.
Sheron Appino Nickels has contacted another Appino hoping for a connection to her family.
Joe Mastrangelo received a reply from the State Archives at Bari of birth records of four great aunts with a bill for 1050 lira (less than $1.00). He sent two payments and requested more information. He found his great grandfather's 1893 death certificate from Bari on LDS film and showed a birth record of 1840's from Trani.
Joe mentioned that he is working with PIE member Christy Palumbo Foster, who works in the Italian Dept at UT to find a speaker for one of our meetings.
Tony Abbattista (#2641) told of receiving information from Corato, Bari. He is corresponding with Fabio and Guido Abbattista in Bari; he got their names from a web surname search. He purchased Italian Asst from PC mall for $12.
Tony has put our PIP Chapter on the Web with our own homepage. He is still adding the basics, and it hasn't been announced on PIE yet (you're reading it for the first time here). He showed copies of the main pages for those members who are not on Internet. Those who have seen it agree that he is doing a fantastic job.
Virginia Macri Gerrick (#2730) discovered a different spelling, Magro, for her maiden name when she found her grandparents in the 1910 Connecticut census. James, her husband, mentioned the computer workshop this Sat at the local FHL.
Sheila Bayha Dugosh found her grandfather's Piraino family a few blocks away from the Leone's in Washington Co, PA, also with different spellings from what she has known.
Eugenia Assaibene Luken is searching soundex ship index records for the Assaibene name. She is also looking for Assaibene family who went from Italy to South America.
Joe Mastrangelo recalled that WWII Italian Prisoners, who were kept in the U.S. might be another source. He told about the prison camp Fort Hamilton Fort across from his Brooklyn home, and how he made a connection on PIE with a family who lived across the street.
Lin announced our next meetings Oct 23, at the bank and November 20, at the Brinkman's home in Round Rock.
Web site for Chapter #10 Central Texas/Austin is: http://www.angelfire.com/pages0/pip10/