Pietraroja Italy

I was going through some of my papers and came across a couple of interesting pieces of information about Pietraroja Italy, where the Manzellis came from. Actually, there are apparently 2 Manzelli families currently listed in the phone directory for Pietraroja. That's a lead I may want to follow.

According to Steve Barbieri, one of your Manzelli cousins, the village of Peitraroja (spelled with a j) was founded a very long time ago and gets its name from a Spanish dialect and it means "red rock". Guess we might have been able to figure that out with Spanish 101. The village got its latest name in the 17th century when the townspeople mined red rocks for making cosmetics. The letter "j" was replaced by "i" when another dialect became the national language. This dialect did not contain letter "j". After WWII the letter "j" was put back into the name as proudly displayed by the town monument.

Apparently there had been a tradition in Pietraroja to conduct a town fair the first weekend in Sept. At this fair, the single women auctioned off baked goods to all the single men (do I hear an "Oklahoma" refrain in the background?). The winner "kept" the woman. Again according to Steve Barbieri, at least one ancestor may have obtained her spouse in this manner--but not your direct ancestor (whew).

This picture Steve sent me back in 2001 seemed to say it all for Pietraroja. He describes it as a mountain top view of the village. I think it's beautiful.

Spring update from Harpursville! This is one crazy place. Did you hear about the stabbing we had on campus last week? Here's the lowdown and maybe it's not that big of a deal for some of you, but it was pretty disturbing for us. Ryan was one of the witnesses they questioned. It's not that much like Law and Order! Makes the bomb threat evacuation pale in comparison. Never a dull moment.

Amy finished her sophomore year and is now on Wallops Island for her summer course. I took her down last weekend and we got to spend Mother's Day morning at the Wildlife Refuge on Chincoteague--just the 2 of us.

Ryan's season is going fairly well. He expects the team to go to sectionals. He plays second base for the team this year and is very happy to be on the infield. He's done a very little bit of pitching. James' team should also go to sectionals. He is doing a great job with them. He's doing really well as a varsity coach.

We are sorry we will miss the baby shower. Best wishes to Lindsay and Jake!

Happy Birthday Mr. Brandon! 7 years old..where does the time go? We hope you had a great day. Let's see, what else does May bring? Mother's Day!! Happy Mother's Day to Bobbie, Jean, Pat, Linda, Michelle (special blessings on Michelle this month).

And May brings college students home, so I will be spending Mother's Day with Amy traveling from Kutztown to Wallops Island VA for her summer course. She calls it "Harpursville-by-the-Sea" honoring its desolate location and lack of amenities. She has begun to send her stuff home, including a new aquarium and residents. So far, no casualties under our inexperienced care.

James' softball season and Ryan's baseball season are going along relatively well. They each have 3-4 games a week so this keeps us all out of trouble.

Unfortunately Amy and I will have to miss the baby shower (we love reading the Baby Blog, though!). One of my favorite shower gifts to give are books so I'm happy to have an excuse to dwell on those titles that bring back smiles.

What are your favorite childhood books? Amy always loved the Mother Goose stories that went with the talking Mother Goose your Mom gave her. Both of them liked Farmer Patrick Pig. Ryan and I love Is Your Mama a Llama? and the Stinkyface books. Love those Stinkyface books!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Calvin Coolidge was in the last year of his presidency. Charles Lindbergh was Time Magazine's Man of the Year. Amos n Andy was popular on the radio and Mickey Mouse made his debut in Steamboat Willie. The year was 1928, the year your Mom was born. Johnny was 4 years old when he greeted his new sister.

It's a little hard for me to imagine your mom at 80 years of age as she would have been this year. I'm sure she's in your minds at a certain age--probably not as shown in this picture. I love this classic pose, labeled June 1938 making Mom 10 years old. And both her parents already gone! The love and support of her extended family served her well as demonstrated by how she raised her own family. Happy Birthday.

Feel free to share some of your favorite Mom Memories.

A New Branch on the Family Tree

Perhaps you don't know the Isoldi family too well. Giovanna Isoldi married Joseph Manzelli (a barber) in November 1896 in Long Island City. Your grandmother Marguerite Manzelli was their first child.

Giovanna(Jennie) was born in New York City and her parents were Graciano and Antonia Isoldi. Her siblings were Ralph and Amelia, according to Marilyn. The census seems to indicate another sibling Michael.

Antonia died of pneumonia in 1912 aged 55. Her death certificate lists her parents as Ralph and Sarah Curcio (surname is a little hard to read). Ralph and Sarah may be the new branches on the family tree (if I have the right Antonia Isoldi).

Two years after Antonia died, her widow Graciano remarried a neighbor lady Maria Saraceni. I can just about picture Graciano (about 60 years old) casting his eye about the neighborhood for a potential mate! Maria was a 55 year old widow living a few doors down the street. Anyway, he died in 1934 and she survived him. This Isoldi family lived in the same Astoria house for at least 35 years.

This picture shows "Joe and Jennie" and their family members. Joseph (Guiseppe) is the guy with the moustache and Grandma Jennie (according to Angela Ruska) appears next to him. Angela was unsure who the older lady at the end might be but perhaps it is Marie Isoldi, the second wife. You can see Marguerite and James behind her. I am a bit unsure about the others but I believe they are Manzellis.

So I feel pretty certain that Sarah and Ralph Curcio are your great great great grandparents. Congratulations!

Springing forward

Happy Spring to you all! Happy birthdays to Danielle, Robert and to Nick, Thomas and Lindsay coming right up. All is well here with us. The spring season is underway and this seems to be our busiest time. It will be nice to get outside, won't it?

A little bit of news in your family history: I need to confirm this, but I think I have reached back another generation and have located the parents of your great-greatgrandmother Antonia Isoldi (Marguerite's grandmother). And--here's something special to note: Antonia's mother's name is SARAH!! Isn't that interesting? As I said, it still needs to be confirmed but it's always very exciting to find another generation. I just love the way names flow through the generations.

Easter Mystery

Can you believe it's almost Easter? It doesn't seem quite right, but here's a little mystery for you to ponder as you enjoy the Easter ham and jelly beans. Who ARE these people? Aunt Josie thought perhaps the older girl might be Madeline Manzelli and the boy her brother Joseph, but Madeline was about 6 years YOUNGER than Joseph so something isn't right. Any ideas?

And Happy Easter to you all!