Aww....how sweet
Adorable!
Ummmmmm--Happy Birthday Ryan!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Dope Slap Genealogy
This is the tale of one of those family history discoveries where you just want to dope-slap yourself for being so stupid. And this particular 1910 census record has already provided interesting surprises in it and is now yielding another.
In the 1900 census, the Coffarelli family lived at 75 Fifth Street. The household included head of house John (your great grandfather) who lists himself as a laborer, his wife Rosa and children Margaret (the eldest and only born in Italy); Mary, Elizabeth, Theresa, Lena, Joseph, Phillip, Lucy and Samuel (your grandfather whom we know as James).
In the 1910 census, the coffarelli family lived at the same address but by now Rosa had died and the household included: John, Elizabeth, Tessie, Lena, Joseph, Phillip, Louise, Samuel, Nicholas (father to John so your great great grandfather) and cousin Michael Pinto.
I had become obsessed with tracking down your grandfather James' siblings so as to demonstrate that indeed there were (and are) lots of Coffarellis out there for you to meet. In some ways this was no small task given what this family seemed to do with first names by changing them seemingly at will. But I did pretty well.
Going up the line from James youngest to oldest, I found that Louise married Michael Barra and I met her grandson. Phillip apparently never married. Joseph married but had no children. Lena married Anthony Fierro and I do believe there are children in this family. Tessie became a nun. Elizabeth apparently never married and was known as Christine when she died. Mary (who was not in the house in 1910) had married John Orabell and had at least one child who died nearly at birth. But I was having a really hard time with the oldest Margaret.
From James' newspaper obituary I knew that Margaret was Mrs. M. Disabto. A great deal of fruitless searching for her left me frustrated but even more determined. Online I located a Disabto family Marco and Innocence and the family tree listed Innocence as Innocence Coffarelli before marriage. When I tracked that family down, I found them living at 75 Fifth Avenue IN THE SAME HOUSE as John and the remaining siblings. Look carefully at the census record and there they are right below cousin Michael Pinto.
I had overlooked that this family was living in the same house. Most maddeningly I had recognized the Disabto name and figured this was how Margaret met her husband because the families were neighbors. Duh. They ARE the family. Margaret is apparently Innocence. I sent away for the two oldest of her children's birth records. They each list a Coffarelli for the mother's maiden name but not quite the same first names: Innocentia and Enogensia--I figure that's close enough to feel comfortable in saying this Disabto family are your Coffarellis. And they were right there all the time!!! Right under my nose just waiting to be recognized.
Innocence/Margaret was Marco/Mark's second wife and it appears he died around 1923. She may have died around 1955 but this isn't confirmed yet. She had at least two boys George and James but I don't see any Disabto names in your mom's address book. Ring any bells?
This family was pretty loosey-goosey with first names it seems. It wasn't until I got the bigger picture that I realized that and can now make it part of my research strategy. I feel like I've gathered up all those siblings and got them accounted for nicely. There you go! A whole bunch of new cousins for you to consider. And they are right here in front of us just waiting to be recognized.
In the 1900 census, the Coffarelli family lived at 75 Fifth Street. The household included head of house John (your great grandfather) who lists himself as a laborer, his wife Rosa and children Margaret (the eldest and only born in Italy); Mary, Elizabeth, Theresa, Lena, Joseph, Phillip, Lucy and Samuel (your grandfather whom we know as James).
In the 1910 census, the coffarelli family lived at the same address but by now Rosa had died and the household included: John, Elizabeth, Tessie, Lena, Joseph, Phillip, Louise, Samuel, Nicholas (father to John so your great great grandfather) and cousin Michael Pinto.
I had become obsessed with tracking down your grandfather James' siblings so as to demonstrate that indeed there were (and are) lots of Coffarellis out there for you to meet. In some ways this was no small task given what this family seemed to do with first names by changing them seemingly at will. But I did pretty well.
Going up the line from James youngest to oldest, I found that Louise married Michael Barra and I met her grandson. Phillip apparently never married. Joseph married but had no children. Lena married Anthony Fierro and I do believe there are children in this family. Tessie became a nun. Elizabeth apparently never married and was known as Christine when she died. Mary (who was not in the house in 1910) had married John Orabell and had at least one child who died nearly at birth. But I was having a really hard time with the oldest Margaret.
From James' newspaper obituary I knew that Margaret was Mrs. M. Disabto. A great deal of fruitless searching for her left me frustrated but even more determined. Online I located a Disabto family Marco and Innocence and the family tree listed Innocence as Innocence Coffarelli before marriage. When I tracked that family down, I found them living at 75 Fifth Avenue IN THE SAME HOUSE as John and the remaining siblings. Look carefully at the census record and there they are right below cousin Michael Pinto.
I had overlooked that this family was living in the same house. Most maddeningly I had recognized the Disabto name and figured this was how Margaret met her husband because the families were neighbors. Duh. They ARE the family. Margaret is apparently Innocence. I sent away for the two oldest of her children's birth records. They each list a Coffarelli for the mother's maiden name but not quite the same first names: Innocentia and Enogensia--I figure that's close enough to feel comfortable in saying this Disabto family are your Coffarellis. And they were right there all the time!!! Right under my nose just waiting to be recognized.
Innocence/Margaret was Marco/Mark's second wife and it appears he died around 1923. She may have died around 1955 but this isn't confirmed yet. She had at least two boys George and James but I don't see any Disabto names in your mom's address book. Ring any bells?
This family was pretty loosey-goosey with first names it seems. It wasn't until I got the bigger picture that I realized that and can now make it part of my research strategy. I feel like I've gathered up all those siblings and got them accounted for nicely. There you go! A whole bunch of new cousins for you to consider. And they are right here in front of us just waiting to be recognized.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Adventures of Hardy James and Fleet-of-Foot Pat
We have recently returned from a glorious weekend in Boston and Gloucester. I had a genealogy conference to attend on Saturday so James was let loose on the city of Boston for the day. He managed to get to see Drew and Obama in the same day (well, almost--he actually got to visit Drew and found himself caught up in the rally prepping for Obama's Boston visit on Saturday).
From there we proceeded to Gloucester to celebrate our birthdays with some serious family time, sightseeing and other weekend fun. We visited a couple of Gloucester highlights that we've never been to before, including the Eastern Point Lighthouse and Dogbar breakwater. We learned how to get out there from a self guided tour provided by our hotel. Regarding the breakwater it stated: "If you are hardy and fleet of foot you can walk out to the end of the breakwater." And we did get out to the Breakwater Light. I think the breakwater itself might be more than 1/2 mile of almost unfinished granite blocks. You could see the city line of Boston in the distance.
We were hardy and fleet of foot enough to get out there and back without serious injury. From there we went to Halibut Point State Park which is a large (former) granite quarry sitting right at the ocean's edge.
Here you see the old quarry in the front and the ocean behind. We walked around the quarry to the ocean side. Hardy and fleet of foot once again allowed us to have this rare picture together--I had to set the timer and dash across the boulders in time for the camera to take this token of the day:
From there we proceeded to Gloucester to celebrate our birthdays with some serious family time, sightseeing and other weekend fun. We visited a couple of Gloucester highlights that we've never been to before, including the Eastern Point Lighthouse and Dogbar breakwater. We learned how to get out there from a self guided tour provided by our hotel. Regarding the breakwater it stated: "If you are hardy and fleet of foot you can walk out to the end of the breakwater." And we did get out to the Breakwater Light. I think the breakwater itself might be more than 1/2 mile of almost unfinished granite blocks. You could see the city line of Boston in the distance.
Happy Birthday to us!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
10/10/10
Well, it's official. James is now officially retired and celebrated in grand fashion at his retirement/birthday party at the Binghamton Mets Stadium on Sunday. We were glad that Ryan, the Bulmans, and Robert were able to be part of the big day. We were also treated to a musical birthday wish from Brandon and Thomas--which I have recorded for posterity. You never know when something like that will come in handy. Thomas called with some pondeirng about the significance of 10/10/10 and tuning 55 (therefore born 1955). I heard many people chose to be married 10/10/10 for good luck. Seemed pretty special to me as well but James has had his share of epic birthday celebrations.
I'm sure you all remember his surprise 40th
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sorry for the Delay
I hope you missed me! I'm not sure how two weeks slipped by without a blog post. Must be this new rhythm James and I are trying to get used to around here. This will be James last week at work. We are very grateful that teaching allows you to retire relatively early with financial security that many people don't enjoy. It's hard work that takes its toll physically, mentally and emotionally but is balanced by great rewards. Congratulations James.
Although he hasn't begun official retirement quite yet, we find ourselves easing into a new lifestyle. Weekends are especially open now and we took some advantage of that this weekend. I travelled to Cortland on Friday with Ron and Marilyn Henry to watch another student play field hockey against Cortland and Ryan joined us. I'm happy to say my alma mater Geneseo defeated Cortland in overtime! Anyhow, it was good to spend some time with Ryan on his campus and give Ron and Ryan some time together again.
Saturday James and I drove to Erie to see Amy just because we could. Amy gave us an abbreviated zoo tour (rain and cold) introducing us to all her animal friends by name. She entertained us with their back stories and trivia. Other zoo visitors were drawn to her as she was telling these stories. It seemed she didn't even notice that others were really interested in what she had to say about these animals. She was very comfortable, even in scolding an errant bird trying to escape its habitat. It obeyed! It was a quick tour but we can see she is very happy and thriving in this job. It was gratifying to see and allowed me to relax a bit about her being so far away seemingly yanked from my grasp so quickly.
We took her to dinner then sent her off to her own apartment. She had to work today on an outreach almost 100 miles away. This morning we headed back to Harpursville feeling pretty good about both children.
Then the phone rang. Ryan awoke in the night with an ear ache. He is prone to ear infections that can go bad really fast. He said the student health center was closed and he didn't know quite what to do. So we detoured to Cortland to take him to get some medical attention. Apparently the only walk in option in Cortland is the hospital which hosts a "prompt care" clinic in conjunction with the emergency room. Although it "only" took two hours to get him treated and medicated, he was a bit impatient but I was very happy to know he still needs me! And I have the added benefit of knowing he's not going to find himself in nasty sudden pain from this just as he's preparing for midterms.
I don't know if you watch the TV show The Middle which is just starting its second season. It's about an average family in average situations (well, maybe the situations are 2-3 steps beyond average but they are quite real). This week's episode focused on the Mom wanting to share some time in the spotlight with her teenage son that didn't go quite as planned but at the end he needed her too and it was very sweet. We are both very lucky.
Although he hasn't begun official retirement quite yet, we find ourselves easing into a new lifestyle. Weekends are especially open now and we took some advantage of that this weekend. I travelled to Cortland on Friday with Ron and Marilyn Henry to watch another student play field hockey against Cortland and Ryan joined us. I'm happy to say my alma mater Geneseo defeated Cortland in overtime! Anyhow, it was good to spend some time with Ryan on his campus and give Ron and Ryan some time together again.
Saturday James and I drove to Erie to see Amy just because we could. Amy gave us an abbreviated zoo tour (rain and cold) introducing us to all her animal friends by name. She entertained us with their back stories and trivia. Other zoo visitors were drawn to her as she was telling these stories. It seemed she didn't even notice that others were really interested in what she had to say about these animals. She was very comfortable, even in scolding an errant bird trying to escape its habitat. It obeyed! It was a quick tour but we can see she is very happy and thriving in this job. It was gratifying to see and allowed me to relax a bit about her being so far away seemingly yanked from my grasp so quickly.
We took her to dinner then sent her off to her own apartment. She had to work today on an outreach almost 100 miles away. This morning we headed back to Harpursville feeling pretty good about both children.
Then the phone rang. Ryan awoke in the night with an ear ache. He is prone to ear infections that can go bad really fast. He said the student health center was closed and he didn't know quite what to do. So we detoured to Cortland to take him to get some medical attention. Apparently the only walk in option in Cortland is the hospital which hosts a "prompt care" clinic in conjunction with the emergency room. Although it "only" took two hours to get him treated and medicated, he was a bit impatient but I was very happy to know he still needs me! And I have the added benefit of knowing he's not going to find himself in nasty sudden pain from this just as he's preparing for midterms.
I don't know if you watch the TV show The Middle which is just starting its second season. It's about an average family in average situations (well, maybe the situations are 2-3 steps beyond average but they are quite real). This week's episode focused on the Mom wanting to share some time in the spotlight with her teenage son that didn't go quite as planned but at the end he needed her too and it was very sweet. We are both very lucky.
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