Italian Naming Patterns

In honor of Italian Heritage Month, I offer this little anecdote about the names of my paternal grandfather and his siblings.

Italy has a long standing tradition that determines how children are named:

• The first male is named after his paternal grandfather.
• The second male is named after his maternal grandfather.
• The first female is named after her paternal grandmother.
• The second female is named after her maternal grandmother.

One exception to this pattern is if the first son or daughter dies, the parents will give their next child the same name.  This happened in my family.  My Cimino great grandparents named their first child, Carmela after the paternal grandmother, Carmela Grasso.  The first Carmela was born 28 April 1903 in Carlentini in the Siracusa province of Sicily. She died 14 October 1903 in Carlentini.  The second child was also a daughter and she was born 8 August 1904 in Carlentini and again this child was named Carmela.

My grandfather was the third child and he was born 30 October 1906 in Lentini.    He was the first male child and he was named after his paternal grandfather, Sebastiano Cimino.  Sebastiano took the name Richard when he arrived in the U.S.  We always knew him as Grandpa Dick.   His father arrived in the U.S. for the first time in April of 1907.  He was working in Omaha, Nebraska but returned to Sicily in the fall of 1908.  He returned to the U.S. in February of 1909.  On the 3^rd of July 1909, Uncle John was born in Lentini.  Since he was the second son he was named after the maternal grandfather, Giovanni Ossino.

The other exception to the Italian naming pattern is the impact of immigration.  By April 1911 the entire family had arrived in Omaha, Nebraska.  Shortly thereafter they moved to Sioux City, Iowa.  The next child, Sarah was born 28 Mar 1912 in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa.  She should have been named Concetta after the maternal grandmother, Concetta Bruno.  Concetta may have been her actual birth name, but we always knew her as Sarah.

Uncle Fred, Uncle Sam, Aunt Josie and Aunt Rose were the next children born in 1913, 1915, 1917 and 1918 respectively.

Wedding of Carmela Cimino and Pasquale Defazio. My grandfather, Richard Sebastiano Cimino is seated on far right and my great grandfather, Antonino Cimino is in back between the bride and groom. Jean Defazio Hewitt believes that the man on the far right is John Giudice and the one directly behind the girl with the flowers is, Frank LaScala.  The rest of the people are unknown. Please contact Nick Cimino at AncestorPuzzles@gmail.com if you know their names.

The second Carmela died in childbirth on the 1st of June 1920. On the 29^th of August 1921, the last child Camilla Cimino was born to Tony “Antonino” Cimino and his wife Mary [Maria Ossino].  Even though the spelling is slightly different, we think that the naming tradition insisted that this child should be named after the paternal grandmother.

Analyzing Biographical Evidence in a Timeline

One of my “to-do” list items is to scan all of my paper files and post the scanned documents to genealogy websites.  While reviewing an old file on the Newman Family, I found a paper copy of a biography of my 3rd great grand uncle, Thomas D. Newman. 

Biographies of our ancestor’s siblings can be extremely useful especially if they say something about the parents or grandparents.  I like to transcribe biographies and obituaries because it helps me to analyze them.  Often there are inaccuracies in these biographies so it is worth the time to carefully evaluate the statements and try to corroborate them with other records.

THOMAS D. NEWMAN is a pioneer of Linn County, and resides in Washington Township, on section 27. He is a native of Bourbon County. Ky., where he was born May 26, 1829. His parents were Thomas and Nancy (Johnson) Newman, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Kentucky. Thomas Newman was born Feb. 22, 1788, emigrated to Hendricks County, Ind., and died there March 1, 1848. He left his native State in the year 1836, whence he emigrated to Indiana and pursued the occupation of a farmer all his life. Nancy, his wife, was born Oct. 4, 1795, and died in this county, Feb. 24. 1874. She was born on the banks of a small stream in Kentucky called Boone's Creek, where the brother of Daniel Boone was murdered by the Indians. The place where he was buried was called Buffalo Lick…

Mr. Newman emigrated from Kentucky to Indiana with his parents when he was but a child of eight years. He was reared on his father's farm, and began and completed his education in the common schools. He continued under the parental roof until his twentieth year, when his attention was turned toward the young and rapidly growing State of Iowa. He determined to seek it, with a purpose of establishing a home there, and accordingly, bidding a temporary farewell to old associations, he turned his face Westward. Being pleased with the appearance of the new territory, he at once purchased 104 acres of land on section 28, Washington Township, this county, which tract he still owns. To this tract he added 161 acres, and has made a fine present of land to each of his children..

Thomas D. Newman came to this State in 1854…

A fine view of Mr. Newman's residence appears in this work.

Sometimes it is helpful to break down each statement in the biography and put them in chronological order. I have added names, dates places and clarifications in brackets.  Here is how the above paragraphs would read in a timeline:

• 1788 Thomas Newman [Sr.] is a native of Maryland, [born Feb. 22, 1788].

• 1795 Nancy (Johnson) Newman is a native of Kentucky. She was born [Oct. 4, 1795] on the banks of a small stream in Kentucky called Boone's Creek, where the brother of Daniel Boone was murdered by the Indians. The place where he was buried was called Buffalo Lick… [An online article about the the Life and Death of Edward Boone places this site in Bourbon County, Kentucky. https://www.boonesociety.org/edward-boone-life-death]
  
  
  

• 1813 [From other records I know that Thomas Newman, Sr. and Nancy Johnson were married in Bourbon County, Kentucky on the 9^th of August 1813.]

• 1829 THOMAS D. NEWMAN is a native of Bourbon County. Ky., where he was born May 26, 1829. [He was the seventh of ten children born in Bourbon County, Kentucky.  The last child born in Bourbon County was his sister, Elizabeth Sarah Newman.  Their brother Aquilla Newman was born in Hendricks County, Indiana in 1838.]

• 1836 [Thomas Newman, Sr.] left his native State [Maryland???] in the year 1836, whence he emigrated to Indiana and pursued the occupation of a farmer all his life. [It is more likely that he left Kentucky in 1836 and moved to Indiana.  This is supported by the birth information on his last two children described above.]

• 1837 Mr. [Thomas D.] Newman emigrated from Kentucky to Indiana [Hendricks County, Ind.] with his parents when he was but a child of eight years. [1829 + 8 = 1837]

• 1848 Thomas Newman, Sr. died [in Hendricks County, Ind.] March 1, 1848.

• 1849 [Thomas D. Newman] continued under the parental roof until his twentieth year, [1829 + 20 = 1849] when his attention was turned toward the young and rapidly growing State of Iowa. He determined to seek it, with a purpose of establishing a home there, and accordingly, bidding a temporary farewell to old associations, he turned his face Westward. Being pleased with the appearance of the new territory, he at once purchased 104 acres of land on section 28, Washington Township, this county, which tract he still owns… 

• No date  THOMAS D. NEWMAN is a pioneer of Linn County [Iowa].

• 1854- Thomas D. Newman came to this State [Iowa] in 1854 [There appears to be a gap or inaccuracy in the story here based on the 1849 note.]

• 1874 Nancy Johnson [wife of Thomas Newman Sr.] died in [Linn] county, Feb. 24. 1874.

• 1887 A fine view of Mr. Newman's residence appears in this work.  [The view of his farm was found in the source document, Portrait and biographical album of Linn County, Iowa published in 1887; facing page 746.]

Hopefully this illustrates the value in reorganizing biographical information in a timeline. When the information is presented chronologically, it is much easier to see the patterns of residence and migration.  The timeline is also very helpful in identifying additional records which can be inserted into the chronology such as census, vital records, land, taxation, probate, etc.

See my other articles at AncestorPuzzles.com.

PBS- Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Season 2

Despite all of the reminders, we missed Finding Your Roots on Tuesday night.  Presented and written by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., this series journeys deep into the ancestry of a group of remarkable individuals and provides new understanding of personal identity and American history.  The show airs on Tuesday nights at 7 pm in Houston but check your local listings to be sure.

On Wednesday night we were able to watch the full episode online at the website for the show.  We have another conflict this Tuesday night so being able to watch the show online is especially convenient.   Henry Louis Gates has been producing some of the best genealogy related television over the last several years so I highly recommend watching this show live if you can or on the web if you prefer.

Since the premiere of his groundbreaking series African American Lives (2006) through the first season of Finding Your Roots (2012), noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees.  Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.

The first episode of Season 2 featured novelist- Steven King, actor- Courtney Vance and actor/singer- Gloria Reuben.  The common theme for all three guests was that they did not know their fathers and were cut off from their family history on their paternal lines.  All three guests also had ancestors that were profoundly affected by slavery.  It was a fascinating episode with many exciting discoveries.

If you are a sports fan, you will enjoy this week’s episode which premieres September 30th at 8PM EST (check local listings).  Episode 2 features three of America’s greatest athletes whose determination and love of sports were deeply shaped by their families, but who were all cut off from their true origins.

• Billie Jean King learns the true story of her grandmother, who had always kept the secret of her orphan birth.
• Derek Jeter confronts his own ancestors’ lives as slaves and discovers that they were owned by a white man named James Jeter – the source of the Jeter name and Derek’s 3rd great-grandfather.
• Rebecca Lobo finds out that her Spanish ancestor fought side by side with a famous revolutionary and was forced to flee Spain because of his democratic ideals.
• All are also reunited with the foundation of their American roots through the stories of immigrant ancestors who courageously set out across the Atlantic to build a new life.

The Finding Your Roots website has some tremendous resources for teachers on the "CLASSROOM" link.

Don’t forget to check out the website for extra features and to watch full episodes from the previous season.   http://video.pbs.org/program/finding-your-roots/

Free Genealogy Classes at 1867 Settlement Celebration this Saturday

I am offering two free beginning genealogy classes this Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 106 Bell Drive in Texas City at 2 PM and 4 PM.  The first class will be geared toward children and the second class will focus on adults.  These classes are being offered in conjunction with the annual celebration at the 1867 Settlement National Historic District.   The 1867 Settlement celebration begins at 1 PM and ends at 6 PM.



The African-American Historical Preservation Committee of The 1867 Settlement’s fourth annual Western Celebration will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 27 on the Bell Drive Strip, 117 Bell Drive, in West Texas City. Wayne Dehart performs and gives the history of the Buffalo Soldiers. Source: KEVIN M. COX/The Galveston Daily News file photo.

The end of the Civil War in Texas was a time of new beginnings for four freed slaves who made a lasting impression upon Texas history by building the only Reconstruction-era, self-sustained African American community in Galveston County.   They and their families called it “Our Settlement.”
The land of the Settlement was purchased and established as a community in the late 1860s and early 1870s by a group of African-American cowboys after their days on the Chisholm Trail.  Kneeland Britton, Thomas Caldwell, Henry Hobgood, and Calvin Bell were the original settlers and many of their descendants still live in the vicinity today.

George Washington Butler was a rancher, a slave owner and then the employer of these cowboys and he helped them to purchase the land.  He provided letters in support of their character that testified that these were trustworthy, hardworking men who should be able to buy property.  The Butlers ran longhorn cattle on their ranch and the history of the Butler family has been preserved in the Butler Longhorn Museum.

The eastern and oldest part of the Settlement forms the current historic district about a quarter of a mile along the main street, Bell Drive. The original boundaries of the land bought by the founding families covered about a square mile.  The historic district is located very near the corner of Highway 3 and FM 1765 on the border of Texas City and LaMarque.

The 1867 Settlement celebration will include a cowboy trail ride, historical programs, street vendors, live entertainment, raffles and prizes.  Bring your lawn chairs and shade tents to set up on the grass.  Enjoy a living history reenactment by a Buffalo soldier.  Read the historical marker, see the historic buildings and help to celebrate Texas history.

And if you are interested in a free beginning genealogy class come see me!

For more information, the National Register of Historic Places Registration form is here.

Anatomy of a Slave Narrative: The Recollections of Agatha Babino

 I happened upon one of the most fascinating short stories that I have ever read while preparing for a presentation on African American genealogy.  While searching for slave records in the Ancestry.com card catalog, I noticed that there was a database entitled U.S., Interviews with Former Slaves, 1936-1938.  I was looking for Texas examples to cite in my lecture so I began to browse the names of those interviewed in the Lone Star State.  

The name Agatha Babino immediately caught my eye.  My friend, Rev. William Henry King III, had agreed to let me use his family history as a case study for my class.  Pastor King’s mother was Madell Babino and Agatha Babino was his mother’s great grandmother.  This was one of those times when I felt that the spirits of the ancestors were calling me to uncover their long forgotten stories.

Ancestry.com user "bobknow" originally shared this to her Babineaux Family Tree, 26 Mar 2011

As I read the narrative, I was impressed by her courage in telling the details of her life.  She remembered that the slaves were given “shabby houses” built of logs with dirt floors.  She knew the names of her “Old Marse” and “Old Miss.”  Her plantation master was a “bad man” who would beat his slaves until they bled and then rubbed salt and pepper into the wounds.   Her uncle was brutally killed by the Ku Klux Klan for refusing to vote Democratic.

Mrs. Babino’s story was jam packed with names, dates, and stories which revealed a life filled with triumphs and tragedies. I felt like I was a CSI Investigator examining the evidence from the scene of a crime.  Armed with the names of people and places, it was relatively easy to find corroboration for her story in online history and genealogy.  I could not find “Carenco” but I was able to find a place called Carencro in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.

Source Information:Ancestry.com. U.S., Interviews with Former Slaves, 1936-1938 [database on-line].

The name of her slave owner, Ogis Guidry was a challenge at first.  His actual name was Augustin Guidry and he lived in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana from 1806 to 1872.  The transcriber of the interview apparently spelled the name phonetically.  Census records show him in Lafayette Parish in 1850, 1860 and 1870.  Her father’s slave owner, was Placide Guilbeau.  The Guilbeau family history is well documented here.  

The real gem was the fact that she listed the names and birthplaces of her parents, Dick and Clarice Richard and all of her siblings.  Their names did not come up in the 1870 census index at Ancestry.com.  I prepared myself for the tedious task of scanning every name in the township where the former slave owners where residing.  I scanned ten pages after the listing for Augustin Guidry but did not find them.  I found them two pages prior.  The last name was given as Richardson instead of Richard.  Dick and Clarice were the parents and the names of the children matched with the account given by Mrs. Babino.  Now I had the ages and the birthplaces from the census to add to the family record.  This helped to uncover many more records including census and vital records in both Louisiana and Texas.

Census Year: 1870; Census Place:  , Lafayette, Louisiana; Roll: M593_516; Page: 316B; Image: 126; Family History Library Film: 552015.

The interview with Agatha Babino included many pieces which are helping to solve this “Ancestor Puzzle.”  By revealing a more complete image of the family story, we can see that there are more records to be consulted.  Mrs. Babino stated "When freedom come we have to sign up to work for money for a year.  We couldn't go work for nobody else.  After de year some stays, but not long."  The agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau encouraged the former slaves to continue working for their former masters,  The agents wrote contracts between the planters and the farm workers.  Copies of many of those contracts have been microfilmed and some have been digitized in the Freedmen's Bureau records which are online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.

Pastor King attended my presentation so he could see the richly detailed picture of his family history that was emerging.  He told the audience that he was especially moved about the story of the uncle who was killed for exercising his voting rights.  He currently serves on the city council of Dickinson, Texas and has always treasured his right to vote.   Now he understood that there were profound historical reasons for cherishing his voting rights.  We embraced in appreciation for the bond we now shared.

If you would like to order a copy of my full report on this topic, please contact me through the contact box in the right hand column. 

Do You Have Famous Kin? Can You Prove It?

Many people have stories in their family about being related to famous people.  Do you have famous kin?  Can you prove it?

I am working with a client right now that would like to have proof that she is related to an American President.  She is a member of the DAR and she has a pedigree that connects to an ancestor of President Calvin Coolidge.  The ancestors of many presidents can be found on a website called FamousKin.com.  The advantage of this particular website is that it includes sources.

The founder of FamousKin.com is Rich Hall. He cites an example of a poorly documented relationship between Madonna and Lady Gaga by a genealogist at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society.  Even a highly respected organization like NEHGS can make mistakes.   In his “About” page he states “my pet peeve with most genealogy websites is that they don't share their evidence or sources, I made sure that I share mine. I may not always be right, but at least you know my sources and can judge that for yourself.”    I appreciate the fact that he shows his sources because it enables me to evaluate the evidence in those sources. 

A publicity photo of Judy Garland used in conjunction with "The Harvey Girls" 1946
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Our family has stories of famous kin too.  My wife and Judy Garland are 3rd cousins.  Their common ancestors are from Ontario, Canada: Hugh Fitzpatrick 1809-1878 and Margaret Ross 1807-1845.  Ms. Garland remained very close to her Milne and Fitzpatrick extended family until the death of her Grandmother (Eva Fitzpatrick Milne) who lived with her in California until 1949.  My work on this family was cited as a source by Biography.com

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Finding famous cousins and proving our relationship makes for fun dinner conversations.  People love to talk about these connections.  But some of these claims turn out to be family legends.  Once you are able to prove a famous connection, you will be surprised at how many more connections you will find with other famous people.  Proving a genealogical relationship can be hard work but I am always happy to help!

FGS 2014 San Antonio Wrap-Up

We made it home safely from the Federation of GenealogicalSocieties, 2014 Annual Meeting in San Antonio with bags full of papers and trinkets.  The registration desk gave me a name tag and then offered me ribbons to attach to the name tag.  My first ribbon says “I’m Connected” which was a conference theme descriptive of the connection that you make with all of the old and new friends and colleagues in the genealogy network.  I was glad to see such a good showing of attendees from the greater Houston and Galveston area.  I recognized a lot of faces from the TexasState Genealogical Society.  I got a chance to shake hands with the TV stars so now I really am “Connected”.

The first day was focused on development and improvement of genealogical societies.  I belong now and have belonged in the past to a variety of societies based on geography, ethnic origins or family names.  Some are better organized than others and the Society Day on Wednesday was geared toward dragging them out of 19^th century practices to better serve a 21^st century world.  We heard from luminaries in the genealogy world such as Curt Witcher of Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center and Josh Taylor of the PBS Genealogy Roadshow. 

Mr. Witcher made a comment that I found particularly memorable: a 2013 U.N. study found that there are more cell phones in the world than toilets.  Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones. However, only 4.5 billion have access to toilets or latrines – meaning that 2.5 billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation.  This statistic helps to put genealogy in perspective to more urgent issues of world health.  This fact also points to the omnipresence of cell phones with all of the amazing technological potential that is implied.  The promise for reaching the genealogical audience through mobile technology is being pursued vigorously by Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.  Genealogy societies need to do the same.  Mr. Witcher had dozens more observations on the changing nature of our world and how genealogists should use environmental scanning to refocus our goals and objectives.

The Bay Area Genealogical Society has asked me to formulate a Special Interest Group on German genealogy for presentation beginning in January 2015.  The German genealogy classes at FGS were particularly useful toward that goal.  I especially liked the presentations from Dr.Michael D. Lacopo.  His sessions were both entertaining and action packed.  His case studies demonstrated some clever techniques for uncovering the roots of German ancestors. 

The ever changing jurisdictions in the political history of the German speaking people make local geography especially important.  Dr. Lacopo recommended that all serious German researchers should get a copy of How to Read & Understand Meyers Orts by Wendy Uncapher.  The German title of Meyers Orts is: und Verkehrs-Lexikon Des Deutschen Reichs and the English translation is: Meyers Geographical and Commercial Gazetteer of the German Empire 1912.  This gazetteer describes place names of the German Empire as they existed before World War I. 

Since many important records were kept at the local level, finding the towns of origin and residence is especially important in German research.  Dr. Lacopo presented a slide based on the work of Dr. Roger Minert at BYU about the “Success Rates of American Sources in Revealing German Hometowns”.  The striking fact is that Church Records are the most likely source for determining the German place of origin.  You can read more about this fascinating topic here at the Family Search blog.

I learned so many useful facts in four days of lectures that my brain is overflowing.  Fortunately, I took good notes and I have the syllabus for future reference.  Feel free to contact me with your genealogy questions.  Between my resources and my “Connected” colleagues, we are sure to have an answer to even the most difficult genealogical challenges.