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.

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:

 Happy Birthday to us!

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.

This is 1986 when the gorilla visited to wish him Happy Birthday.  He wasn't too happy that it interrupted his Columbus Day parade rehearsal.  Too bad.

I'm sure you all remember his surprise 40th

My, how a mere 15 years has aged us!!!  Thank you all for your good wishes and for being a special part of James' life--even though you didn't have a choice as family!!  But that's what makes it so wonderfully magical. 10/10/10

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.

Two Mile Handicap

We learned so much from the time we spent with Angela in Uncle Johnny's house last weekend!  Of course, as so often happens, each new discovery leads to another mystery.  I learned that your grandfather James was a World War I soldier in the US Army and that his brothers John and Phillip also served.  James took many pictures during his service in Italy and they are very carefully placed and labeled in a precious album that was found in the attic.  His careful notes and thoughtful pictures paint a picture of a man who cared very much about the world around him and the people in it.  I'm certain we will learn a great deal from these records so lovingly kept.

This is from a notebook kept by James Coffarelli probably during his time of service in World War I when he was just about 21 years old!  First of all, note the address for M. Disabto whom I believe to be his oldest sister Marguerite (the only sibling born in Italy)

Perhaps this was well before he met his bride as I see several young ladies listed here along with his sister's address, but no Marguerite Manzelli!  What great handwriting he has.

Now here's a letter sent from a lawyer to someone named HA Kellum in 1886

This obviously has nothing to do with your grandfather James as it was written 12 years before he was even born.  But as it was in your uncle's treasured possessions, we can conclude it meant something to someone in the Coffarelli family over 100 years ago!

This is another item in those treasures and here we see H.A. Kellum again.  I've done a little bit of research and discovered that the Queens Amateur Athletic Club at that time was a raceground for bicycles--thus the two mile handicap.  H.A. Kellum's name appears as a participant in several such races of the time period but I have NO idea what the connection to the Coffarelli family might be.  From bicycles in the 19th century to Mustangs in the 20th!

So we have a bit of a two mile handicap of our own here to figure this out--any thoughts?

James and I decided yesterday to take a drive and visit with Angela and Bill.  Cousin Jim had mentioned in an email that they had begun working on their father's house and had found some interesting things in the attic from your grandfather James Coffarelli.  Angela was very gracious in taking us over to the house (I'd never been there) and showing some of the treasures discovered in the attic.  This is amazing stuff!  It's a wonder it stayed hidden up in that attic for all these years unknown to those closest to Uncle Johnny.   I assume that since he was the oldest child, much of this was left in his care.  There is quite a bit there related to your grandfather including his chauffeur licenses; a journal he kept while in Italy during World War I, pictures and a letter he wrote to his young son John while he was hospitalized encouraging him to be brave but not shy.  Definitely a gold mine.  I appreciate Angela's willingness to take the time and to share.

This picture is one of the pictures in Uncle Johnny's house.  Seeing it there was the final link for me in solving the mystery of this photo.  It appears to be two children celebrating First Communion.  The first time I saw this picture, it was in that big box of pictures from  your family that was in Robert's house.  That meant it could be Dalpiaz or Coffarelli related. 

Then I met your Coffarelli cousin Mike Barra who is Louise Coffarelli Barra's grandson.  Louise was next oldest sibling to your grandfather James (who was the  youngest of 9).  And he has the same picture!  So that meant this was Coffarelli related.  Mike was certain the girl in the picture was his grandmother Louise.  I supposed it was possible the boy was James, her brother but I wasn't sure if siblings would have shared First Communion at that time.  We certainly aren't used to that in the Roman Catholic Church today and I just didn't know enough about Church tradition of the time.

When we saw this picture in Uncle Johnny's stuff, it pretty much confirms for me that the boy is most likely James.  So although I am still not certain, this picture went from being largely unknown to fairly confirmed through the (sort of) random visits and picture shuffling with relatives.  Deliberate work with random luck pretty well defines family history research.

More to come.....

For the first time in 17 years, we aren't taking a "First Day of School" picture.  I honestly don't know what happened; how my life got to this stage with me barely noticing the months and years go by.  You just put your head down and do what needs to get done day to day then POOF --it's gone and you don't need to put your head down except to regain your composure when it's time to leave the dorm room.

The house is too quiet and the afternoon hours drag their way into the evening hours.  The quiet has a different tone now that Amy's starting her life as a real grown up and Ryan has started college.  It's scary and it's deep and I suspect I'll get used to it.  In the past 17 years there have been times I said to myself  "My mother told me there'd be days like this" (she didn't) and "Someday I'm going to miss this" racket chaos and confusion.  How did we get to "Someday" so fast?

Ryan wanted to come home this first weekend; he and I both knew it was too soon.  It was one of those times when you do what's incredibly hard for you for their benefit and I told him I thought it wasn't a good idea.  When we discovered he was scheduled to work the entire weekend at the Mets, a lovely door labeled "Excuse" opened right up.

Ryan is adjusting really well to college and I'd misjudged his reasons for wanting to come home.  It healed my heart to see him and hear his stories about his classes, his room and his friends.  For these few days, we each got to judge the other's state of mind and the silence slipped away.  Taking him back was a joy since I knew he was happy, ready and able to start this next phase with confidence. 

I think I can face this opening day with this visit in my memory bank.  How ironic that this weekend was so healing yet it went against every single piece of advice given to parents of college students.  Sometimes you just have to go with what's in your heart in order to mend it.

 This is especially for Linda and Jean--I'm right here with you!