Update from the Seaford Albertinis

We went to see Aunt Rose and Uncle Lou yesterday.  Diana was at work and not able to join us but we were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with Rose, Lou, John and John.  They were very gracious with their time and their stories!  It was a very rewarding visit.

The first thing I need to do is clear up come confusion I may have caused in my previous post about your Dad's birth certificate.  Rose confirmed that "Bob" was indeed the name your grandmother gave him because she always liked the name Bob.  When she went to enroll him in school, she was told that Bob wasn't a proper name so then it became Robert.  There have been times during my school career when I would have liked to advise parents that their children's names weren't proper, but we don't do that these days! 

Apparently this name discrepancy and the lack of the raised seal on the Bob birth certificate caused your Dad a number of problems over the years.  Small wonder, but TODAY it would be an impossible situation.

Rose also confirmed that Graham Ave became 34th Street and that Hancock Street became 10th.  I guess I did not need that street necrology website after all.  You can see the visit was very fruitful.

One of the stories she told was that your grandmother Mary Messa Dalpiaz worked for a short time in the same candy factory as Rose and Josie--the Loft Candy factory.  Your grandfather wasn't really happy about this but apparently put up with it for a little while.  Sometimes she would start dinner before she left and your grandfather Costante would get it on the table when he came home.  One night, Rose was getting ready to set the table and asked Josie to toss a wet rag over so she could wipe the table.  Plop.  The rag landed in the red sauce your grandfather was stirring.  As Rose put it, there was some running around the table that night!
In addition, the rule was "no talking" during dinner so the girls whispered and giggled about the red rag flavored sauce to your grandmother's confusion.

There is a beautiful painting over their fireplace of Lou in his World War II uniform.  He has a chest full of medals, some of which he described for me.  He was interviewed by Ted Malone because he was so decorated.  The interview was broadcast and presented to Uncle Lou's parents on a vinyl record which I believe he told me he now has.  This is an example of a Ted Malone European theatre broadcast.  Lou was drafted and objected to killing people--perhaps some of his own relatives in Europe so he was assigned to the medic corp.  He as even captured by the German soldiers in Belguim for a short time--an experience he says he remembers clearly to this day.  He tried to communicate with the Germans using Italian and hand gestures to be allowed to get a stretcher for the wounded soldiers.  They allowed Lou and another soldier to go get the stretcher, and they informed their American colleagues who went to rescue the remaining soldiers.  The other American soldiers had disappeared by that time, along with the injured.  Lou doesn't know the end of their story but he remembers his story very well.

Uncle Lou also related that his father used to work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania--an occupation that exempted him from being drafted.  I did not previously know that coal miners were considered key workers at that time.

Uncle Tom and Richard are doing well.  Louis called while we were there so James and he got caught up.  Louis and Christopher are opening an air conditioning repair business for themselves.  Sounds a bit like history repeating itself, yes?  It was such fun to visit and we are very appreciative of their time and willingness to share their stories. 

Pulling the threads

I continue to sort through documents I've had for a long time to review them seeking new insights or information. This is your grandfather James Francis Coffarelli's baptismal certificate.  I don't blame you if you're wondering "Is she SURE that's what this is.  I don't see his name listed anywhere."


This was one of the very first documents I used to study your family history.  That was bad luck for me.  I did not know who Jacob Simeon Coffarelli was for many years until I figured out that this document was dated 1923 (just a few weeks before James was married) and therefore transcribed by someone many years after the actual baptism.  I suspect the baptismal record may have said Giacomo which could be Jacob OR James.  I haven't yet figured out the Simeon/Samuel references.  Perhaps if I keep pulling these threads, I will figure it out.  I was convinced it was James' baptismal certificate by the birthdate which I knew to be his. 

Another problem created from using this information first was that I read James' mother's name as Rosa Pidous.  I put that information in all my records and searched using that name.  I've come to accept that her name was likely Rosa Pedano (which you can kind of see in that example above).  Searching for Pedano is a whole different ball game than Pidous--and not just for the difference in spelling--but that's another blog post for another day. 

I was curious about his sponsors Frank Scaretta and Margherita Nigra but haven't found anything in particular about them--not long lost cousins as far as I know today. 

This is why James needed the baptismal certificate.  How nice that this is seasier to read and makes much more sense in the overall picture.  We see familiar names.  It has a raised stamp.  It fits perfectly.  Enough to make a family historian smile a little as she falls asleep.

Very interesting........

It pays to take a second (or third, fourth etc) look at things when you work on researching family history.  Sometimes it leads to interesting places or information.  Sometimes it doesn't.  This is one of those times. 

This is a Certificate of Birth for your father from the New York City Bureau of Records.  Despite its  official looking appearance, this is not an "official" birth certificate acceptable for establishing identity as required by various government agencies when you apply for a passport or seek a driver's license.  This piece of paper does not have the required raised stamp of authenticity deemed acceptable by government authority.  That's one problem.  The other is that it says "Bob" which wasn't your father's actual given name.  It's very possible that this was an acceptable proof of birth many years ago however and likely served in exactly that capacity for him.  It's been folded up into wallet size and taped for reinforcement, keeping it in amzingly good shape for its age.

One particular item of interest here is the location of your dad's birth:  88 Graham Ave in the Boro of Queens.  This set me off on a hunt for the current day location of 88 Graham Ave circa 1928.  The 1930 census indicated the young Dalpiaz family lived at 25-31 Steinway St.  I took this to be a clue that 88 Graham was probably not too far away from there as people tended to stay in the same neighborhoods.  Steinway Street still exists in Long Island City but Graham Avenue went the way of birth certificates lacking raised seals.  And the hunt was on..........

I was looking for what the old Graham Avenue in Long Island City was called today--did you know there's a name for this kind of information?? Street Necrology.  I kind of like it.  A website called Forgotten New York indicates Graham Avenue became 34th Ave from Vernon Blvd to Northern Blvd.  If you look at a map of Long Island City, you will note Vernon and Northern seem to be boundaries and 34th joins them across Long Island City.   But Steinway cuts across 34th closer to Northern Blvd.  I haven't yet discovered where 88 Graham was but I believe it wasn't too far from Steinway.  25-31 Steinway still exists and, though I assume the numbering system stayed the same, I can't be certain of that.  I encourage you to look at the map to put a mental pinpoint in the area of your father's birth. 

This is your grandfather Costante's naturalization certificate which was awarded the same year your father was born, at which time he also lists 88 Graham Ave Long Island City as their residence.  At the very bottom of this certificate, I looked for the date, at first noticing the 53 and made the assumption this was awarded in 1853.  I quickly realized that didn't seem right and took note that our naturalization certicifates at the time listed how many years independent the United States was: 153 in 1928.  Interesting.

If you take another look at Costante's Social Security application made in 1936, you will note he lists 9-06 34th Ave (the old Graham Ave) as his residence.  REALLY interesting.

I also took another look at Costante's Certificato di Nascita:

One thing I always check is when the certificate was issued.  It's easy to assume it was issued at the time of the event listed, but often is a copy obtained later for another purpose--such as for when you get married or the government requires it.  This certificate seems to have been issued in 1938, when your grandfather was 37.  I don't know why he needed this birth certificate in 1938.  Passport perhaps?  Perhaps it had something to do with Germany extending its nationality law to include Austria in 1938 ?  Perhaps Robert and Bobbie can help with the Italian on this certificate, but I'm not sure it says country of Italy on it anywhere (or Austria for that matter).  REALLY REALLY interesting.

So I wasted away several hours studying these again but learning very little new information directly related to your family history.  But it was interesting and I hope you feel the same.

What's your login?

My creativity seems to be a bit clogged up recently.  Just like our dishwasher, washing machine and toilets!  Must be the cold.  I was thinking I might blog about celebrity scandals in your parents' lives since the whole Justin Bieber DUI arrest business has taken up much more media space than necessary these last few days. 

Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis.  I have to wonder what your parents and grandparents thought of these situations.  Did they yawn in a manner similar to my own when Justin's booking photo appeared all over the news?  I realize society wasn't surrounded by news the way we are today, nevertheless I'm quite certain there was a great deal of ink consumed by such scandals back in the day. 

Which led me to think about what I'm tired of hearing about or seeing as I sit down every evening to watch television.  Mostly it's the content of the advertising.  You have to wonder how much further it can possibly go:  "light bladder leakage"; "cleansing the V" (good God); "ED". 

But I can sit myself back and watch Downton Abbey or the like and relish in the past.  Downton Abbey family and staff are dealing with the after effects of the death of one of the leading characters and the financial foundation he created for the estate.  So, of course, this led me back to thinking about my family history research work and its future.  I often worry about what will happen to all this work when I am gone, but I don't take the opportunity often enough to make public my wish that it be well taken care of.

For your family, almost 30 years worth of work now is summarized in a software program meant for that purpose.  A fair amount of paper remains.  And I don't think it should be chucked into the recycling but I'm not sure that I can guarantee it won't meet the fate of such work done for years by many gone before me. 

I'd like you all to make a collective promise to take care of this work when I no longer am able.  There will be a descendant somewhere in the line for whom this will be more valuable than gold or platinum.  When that person reveals him/herself I hope these things will find a good home.  No, I am not sick or dying.  :)

This brings to mind the need for us all to prepare our online presence for our absence.  We all have accounts, profiles, logins, passwords and the like that we maintain for a variety of purposes.  But the aliens may take you away and leave your family clueless as to how to pay the electric bill.  This is not something your parents had to worry about for the most part, but it is definitely something we need to be concerned with.  Just something to think about for this week's post.  And, again, I am not sick or dying :)

Don't forget to check out Gathering the Cousins public blog.  One of the podcasters I listen to referred to such efforts as "cousin bait" which I find appropriately amusing.  I am hoping to lure in one of those heretofore unknown cousin. 

Announcing a new blog!

As you may know, the Dalpiaz blog has been a "private" blog since the beginning so as to protect the innocent :)  This has worked out great but I wanted to take it to the next level by creating a public blog through which I could share the research with ALL the cousins out there.  It will also serve to exercise my creativity in writing to a new audience.

I hope to make some new family connections this way.  For now, I plan to re-tell the stories I've already shared on the family blog.  This new public blog will contain stories from the Irish Ryan side as well as the Italian Dalpiaz side.  I hope you enjoy. 

It's called Gathering the Cousins and is at www.GatheringTheCousins.blogspot.com     Spread the word!  Enjoy and comment away. 

Papa

As you know, your grandfather James Coffarelli served in Italy during World War I with the Ambulance Service.  Thomas has always been intrigued by the fact that Ernest Hemingway also drove an ambulance in Italy during World War I; wondering if there was any way the two may have crossed paths.

I think it is unlikely that James and Ernest were in the same place at the same time during World War I but their timelines and experiences are curiously similar.  Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois on July 21 1899, just a few days short of your grandfather's first birthday.  While James enlisted, Ernest was volunteered because his poor eyesight did not allow him to enlist.

James served for Sect 566 in the USA Ambulance Service attached to the Italian Army.  Interestingly, this section originated in Pasadena California, but soon lost any trace of that connection as more than expected time was spent at Camp Crane preparing for the departure.  Your grandfather mentions Camp Crane and there is an interesting account of this Section's history here .  The names of the ranking officers listed in this article can also be found in your grandfather's handwriting.  The Section left for Italy on June 13 1918 for Genoa.

One July 8 1918, just a few days before his 19th birthday, Hemingway was wounded along the Piave delta.  Apparently he was handing out chocolates to the Italian soldiers when he was struck by an Austrian mortar.I believe this is near Venice which is across the country from Genoa.  He spent several months recovering in a Milan hospital, where he famously fell in love with an older nurse (and A Farewell to Arms was born).

Your grandfather also spent time during Oct 1918 in the infirmary at Dural Palace recovering from the Spanish flu.  I do not know where this might be but his unit may have been in the vicinity of Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza at the time if I'm reading its history correctly (this is a big if).  Regardless, I believe James was not near Hemingway's Milan hospital but did experience a lengthy recovery in a foreign country.

Apparently Hemingway's return to the United States was newsworthy (remember he was not yet a famous or infamous author in January 1919) and your grandfather's was not except in the neighborhood.  However, I find it interesting to note that Hemingway returned to the US via the Giuseppe Verdi while your grandfather was ferried to Italy aboard the same!

Ernest Hemingway in his volunteer uniform

I am pretty sure this is James but it could be his brother Phillip

Looks like the same guy as above in the photo album

Type of ambulance used by the USA Ambulance Service--the volunteer units were basically the same and emblazoned with American Field Service.

So Papa Hemingway and your "Papa" Coffarelli shared similar and yet very different experiences in Italy during their service in World War I.  I'm happier to be associated with Papa Coffarelli. 

2014 begins with This and That

Welcome to a new year:  2014.  It promises to be a big year for the Dalpiaz clan.  I'm quite sure that Brad and Cheryl as happy to see the calendar turn over to 2014 as Linda and Scott are!  It's been a very busy holiday season for us and we are just now getting ourselves back on a more regular schedule.  It was great to see everyone for Christmas at Linda's.

My brief and interrupted conversation with your brother Thomas reminded me that the occupations of your ancestors provides an interesting peek into the culture and history of the time period. 

This Michael Manzelli is a great grand uncle to you all and he seems to have been among those who helped set a template for the family work ethic.  At first, I thought a street sweeper was a man with a broom.  However, my research for this post seems to indicate that he may have been driving some kind of street sweeping machine.




This is an undated photo of a street sweeper in the NYC snow from The New York Historical Society
 
 View of West 47th Street after heavy snow, looking east from Sixth Avenue, New York City, 1929. William J. Roege photograph collection, 1910-1937, New-York Historical Society Library

This is apparently after the street sweeper works his magic.  It seemed particularly appropriate this week to consider the job Michael did for so many years.  You should note this picture was taken in 1929, the same year as the newspaper article above.  A 74 year old man vs. piles and piles of snow!!!

To study some of the other occupations running through your family line, I looked more carefully at the Coffarellis from about 1910-1930, when your grandfather James was a young adult growing up among several working siblings.  His brother Joseph seemed to hold some interesting positions including "battery storage" (1920) and "bandage winder" (1910).  I did not have much luck figuring out a whole lot about "battery storage", but there was a Municipal Storage Batter Company in Long Island City in this time period.  Sister Elizabeth was a "flower maker" in 1920 and machine operator in 1920, by which time their father John (your great grandfather) had retired.  In 1910 John is listed as a paper bag laborer.  Surprisingly (to me), there were a number of paper bag manufacturers in the area at the time:  he may have worked for the Columbia Paper Bag Company.  Prior to becoming a nun, Theresa was a candy store saleslady. 

Your grandfather James was listed as a "varnish worker" in 1920 and as the manager of the Wm. J. Martin Coal Company just a couple of years prior (about 1918).  This article from 1906 seems to indicate the varnish company suffered a fire in the vicinity of the Columbia Paper Bag Company.  This is the W.J. Martin Coal Company from the Freeport Memorial Library!

Average wages in the 1920s for skilled workers (men) was around $29.16 per week--for women (I think they were considered "unskilled") it was about $15.14 per week.  There would have been perhaps 4 or 5 working adults in the Coffarelli household.  I'm not sure where that put them on the economic spectrum but they were certainly set good examples.

On another interesting note, James was watching On the Waterfront last night and asked where your parents held their wedding reception.  I remembered I'd included that in a past blog post, so I checked again and it was The Pheasant Tavern, where Tony Bennett had worked as a singing waiter.

Here's an ad from 1950 for the very popular Pheasant Tavern.  This research led me to learn that Tony Bennett called himself Joe Bari at one point early in his career--named after the Italian city of his ancestors (and yours!). 

I hope you enjoy these little treats to start 2014.  Stay warm and cozy during this historic frigid snap.