Category: Places

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(2Matteo + 2Lucia) – Pietro(Teresa/Antonia) = ?!?!

I have jumped deep into researching my Italian line the last couple of months.  I have been slowly combing my way through baptism, marriage, and death records to piece together my family line.  I am still working on these records but want to share an interesting story of analysis of a portion of my goldmine.  I warn you now that everyone has the same name.  Proceed with caution!

The story begins with my great-grandfather Matteo Ciardonei.  Baptism records show he was born to Pietro Ciardonei and Antonia Ciamporcero.  Additional baptism and death records show that Pietro and Antonia had at least six children as follows (records for this microfilm end at 1898 so there may be children born after that date):

  1. Matteo Stefano Pietro Ciardonei born  27 July 1883, died 14 August 1883
  2. Lucia Vittoria Maria Ciardonei born 30 June 1886, died 21 April 1888
  3. Matteo Ciardonei born 11 February 1889, died 14 March 1921
  4. Lucia Maria Antonia Ciardonei born 28 December 1891, 22 June 1894
  5. Silvinia Maria Ciardonei born 2 October 1894
  6. Stefano Sarino Ciardonei born 16 September 1898, died 21 June 1934
There was also a baptism record for a Matteo Claudio Ciardonei born 8 November 1875 to Pietro Ciardonei and Teresa Salarano.  My first inclination was to think that this was a first marriage for Pietro.
I next went on to find the marriage records for Pietro & Antonia and Pietro & Teresa.  A quick glance had me thinking that these were the same person.  When I arrived home and analyzed the documents a few days later, I was not so sure.  The only thing that was for sure – I was immediately thankful that almost all of the church records listed a person’s father, his father, and sometimes the person’s mother and her father.  In addition each name indicated if the person was alive or deceased.
Pietro Ciardonei married Teresa Salarano on 20 February 1875.  Pietro is listed as the son of living Matteo (who is the son of deceased Pietro) and deceased Lucia Avetta (daughter of living Sebastiano).  Teresa parents are listed as deceased Stefano and living Maria Bonello.
Pietro Ciardonei married Antonia Ciamporcero on 20 March 1882.  I was surprised to see that Pietro’s parents were slightly different than the prior marriage record to Teresea.  This Pietro’s parents are deceased Matteo (son of deceased Domenico) and living Lucia Avetta (daughter of deceased Antonio).
Are these the same Pietro Ciardonei?  It was time to go back another generation to try to find out.
I found the marriage certificate for Matteo Ciardonei and Lucia Avetta on my next trip to the library.  Again, I was finding and scanning as many documents as possible and doing the analysis at home.  Once at home, I looked carefully at the marriage certificate.  This Matteo Ciardonei married Lucia Avetta on 25 July 1846.  This seemed to fit Pietro for a possible estimated birthdate.  Matteo’s father is listed as living Pietro, deceased Matteo, deceased Domenico.  Matteo’s mother is listed as Maria Burghesio, daughter of deceased Domenico.  I paused here thinking, “wait, did the Priest confuse Pietro as the dad?  But wait he wasn’t born yet – these are his parents. O no, I have a problem. Are there two Pietro’s?!?”
I went on to note that Lucia Avetta’s parents were listed as living Sebastiano Avetta (son of deceased Matteo) and living Maria Franesio (daughter of deceased Michele).  I needed another trip back to the library.
On my next trip I quickly made my way back to the marriage records and started searching before 1846.  To my surprise, I found another marriage certificate for Matteo Ciardonei.  This time he was marrying Lucia Avetta in 1835.  Okay, now I was totally confused.  This town was Catholic to their last breath.  How is it that Matteo Ciardonei married Lucia Avetta twice?!
The 1835 marriage of Matteo Ciardonei to Lucia Avetta is a handwritten marriage record.  Although I have been unable to translate the whole thing yet due to a change of language from Italian to Latin, I can definitely see the names written in the paragraph.  Matteo’s parents are listed as Domenico Ciardonei and Maria Giandefio.  Lucia Avetta’s parents are listed as Antonio Avetta and Magdelena Giacometto (daughter of Ignatio).
I also came upon a death record for Lucia Ciardonei ne Avetta.  She died 17 July 1888.  The death record states that she was 74 at the time of her death.  This would give an estimated birthdate about 1813-1815.  Her parents are listed as Antonio and Magdelena.  The spouse is listed as Matteo Ciardonei.
It was time to compile an excel sheet to figure out just what I had here.  My excel sheet included columns for date, record type, name, name of father, father’s father, mother, mother’s fathers, spouse, and estimated birthdate.  After entering all baptism records, marriage records, and death records the families started to shake out.
Once on paper it became clear that Lucia Avetta in the 1835 and 1846 marriage licenses was the key to unraveling this mystery.  Each marriage definitely had a different Lucia (different parents).
I had two different Matteo Ciardonei’s marrying two different Lucia Avetta’s only 11 years apart.  Both of these couples had at least one son named Pietro.  Both Pietro’s had sons named Matteo (about eight years apart).
 
The death record for Lucia Ciardonei ne Avetta helped to solidify my argument for which Matteo and Lucia marriage was mine.  If you look back to the marriage certificates for Pietro & Teresa and Pietro & Antonia, you will notice that one Lucia is living while the other is already deceased.  “My” Lucia (daughter of Antonio and Magdelena) is listed as living.  This jives with Lucia’s death in 1888. The “other” Lucia passed away before 1875.
Here is a sketch of each family:
  1. Matteo Ciardonei (1889-1921)
    1. Pietro Ciardonei
      1. Matteo Ciardonei
        1. Domenico Ciardonei
        2. Maria Giandefio
      2. Lucia Avetta
        1. Antonio Avetta
        2. Magdelena Giacometto
    2. Antonia Ciamporcero
  1. Matteo Ciardonei (1875-1878)
    1. Pietro Ciardonei
      1. Matteo Ciardonei
        1. Pietro Ciardonei
        2. Maria Burghesio
      2. Lucia Avetta
        1. Sebastiano Avetta
        2. Maria Franesio
    2. Teresa Salarano
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An Italian Baptism

Adele Siletto is my paternal grandfather’s mother.  She was born in Cossano Canavese, Piedmont, Italy on January 10, 1893. This image was scanned from the FHL microfilm I have been researching ( Registri Ecclesiastici di Cossano Canavese (Torino), 1651-1899).

With the help of the book Italian Genealogical Records: How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Other Records in the Family History Research by Trafford R. Cole, a rough translation is:
Certificate No. 1
Siletto Adele
The year of the lord one thousand eight hundred ninety two the twelfth of January was presented to the Church an infant born ten of January at ten pm, daughter of Siletto Guiseppe, son of living Stefano, native of Cossano, and daughter of Maglione Ana Stasia, daughter of deceased Giacinto, native of Cossano, of the family Siletto live in Cossano to whom the baptism was administered by ??? the delegated priest, and to whom was giving the name of Adele, the godfather being Avetta Pietro, son of deceased Stefano and the godmother Siletto Margarita, daughter of living Stefano. Represented by ? Pietro ??
The indication of the birth, with the request for baptism, was made by the underwritten father of the infant.
Signature of the person who requested baptism – Guiseppe Siletto
Signature of the parish priest – A. Banedetto
Written in the left column:
Joined in matrimony to Ciardonei Matteo 22 -12-13 (22 Dec 1913)
Last rites given 18-1x-1919 (18 January 1919)

 

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William Bender 1868-1902

William Henry Bender is my 3rd great grandfather.  (William Lawbaugh > Effie Bender>William Henry Bender)  He was the first child born to John Bender and Matilda Shireman on May 23, 1868.  Records show he was born in Pennsylvania.  The family moved to Kansas in 1876 or 1877.  They settled on land between the towns of  Halstead and Sedgwick which are located about 25 miles northwest of Wichita.

William had 5 younger brothers and 2 younger sisters.  Tragedy struck the family when the youngest, Leroy, died in 1884 at 6 months old.  There were more happy times as William married Mary Bradley on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 (November 24).  Mary was from several miles down the road in the town of Halstead.  On my trip to Kansas in October 2010, it was easy to imagine William riding a horse to town to see his girl.

William and Mary Bender age 19 and 18

William and Mary quickly started their own family.  Their first born, a son named William, arrived in 1888.   I have not found any death records for William but he may have died in 1889 around the same time of his Aunt Ella.  Ella was William’s youngest sister who passed away just a few weeks after her 8th birthday in April 1889.

William and Mary lived in the Riverside Park area of Halstead.  This is just north of the downtown area and across the river.  We tried to find the home on our trip to Kansas but it was no longer there.  There was evidence that a home had been on the property at one time.  The 1900 U.S. census lists William working as a Teamster.

William and his wife, Mary, had 6 more children.  Benjamin was born in May 1890.  Effie (my 2nd great grandmother) was born 30 December 1892.  Walter was born 15 march 1896.  An unknown child was born after Walter between 1896 and 1898.  This child did not survive.  Charles was born May 1899.  Last was Matilda born in 1901.

William died at the early age of 34 on October 4, 1902.  His children ranged in age from 1 to 12 at the time of his death.  His obituary says that he had been ‘in poor health for several months’ before his death. William’s headstone is located next to his parents and younger siblings at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery just outside of Sedgwick.  It reads ” W. H. Bender, born May 23, 1868, died Oct 4, 1902, dearest father thou hast left us and our loss we deeply feel. But tis god that has bereft us he can all our sorrows heal.”

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Sunday’s Obituary – Matilda Shireman Bender

Matilda Shireman Bender is my g-g-g grandmother on my mother’s paternal side (William Lawbaugh> Effie Bender > William Bender > Matilda Shireman).  The following articles were found on my trip to Kansas in October 2010.  I got to spend a wonderful day at the Kansas Historical Society State Archives Library in Topeka, Kansas.  


CARD OF THANKS
We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the many friends and neighbors for the numerous and beautiful flowers and the kind deeds and words of sympathy extended during the illness of our beloved mother and grandmother.
Mrs. Nora Bastin
Irvin Bender
Lewis Bender and Family
Walter Bender


“Card of Thanks”, Halstead Independent, Halstead, Kansas, 3 March 1932, page 2, column 2: microfilm no. H1640, Kansas State Historical Society Archives, Topeka, Kansas.

MRS. M. BENDER IS NOW AT REST
Well Known Pioneer Woman Passes Following a Long Illness.
The last rites for Mrs. Matilda Bender who passed away at the home of her son, Irvin, south of town, on February 22, were held Thursday after noon at 2 o’clock from Pleasant Valley Church with Rev. D.H. Sills of Sedgwick, assisted by Rev. Moorehead of Wichita, and Rev. Bessie Koontz conducting the services. Music was furnished by the Pleasant Valley Church choir accompanied by Mrs. Virgil Wilson at the piano. The many beautiful floral offerings and the large attendance at the services gave evidence of the love and esteem in which Mrs. Bender was held.
The body was laid to rest in the family lot in Pleasant Valley Cemetery and those who served as pallbearers were Robert Trego, Joe Neal, Charles Berger, Will Hoke, Jas. McIntire and Lou Biggs, neighbors of the deceased.
Matilda Shireman Bender was born in Union county, Penn., December 21, 1847, and passed away at the home of her son on February 22, at the age of 84 years, 2 months, and 1 day.  Her death was attributed to a fractured hip received October 19.
She was united in marriage to John Bender, August 8, 1867.  They lived in Allenwood, Pa., until 1878 and moved to the farm south of Halstead.  For the past 54 years they lived within on half mile of the present home where they endured the hardships of pioneer days.
To this union were born eight children, four of whom with her husband preceded her in death, Mr. Bender having passed away February 15, 1925.  Those who survive are one daughter, Mrs. Nora Bastin, three sons, Irvin, Lewis, and Oliver and Walter, a grandson, whom she raised as her own.
Mourning her besides her children are two brothers, John and Samuel Shireman and one sister, Mrs. Emma Vaneida, all of Pennsylvania; a nephew, Herbert  King of Atlanta, Kans., who has been devoted to her during the weeks of her suffering; ten grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
Grandma Bender, as she was familiarly known, was a faithful member of the United Brethern Church at Pleasant Valley, always showing a keen interest in all the affairs of the church and Sunday school whenever possible until a failure of hearing and poor health kept her at home.
She loved her church, her home and her community and was always ready to lend a helping hand, a cheery smile, and a word of comfort to the afflicted and unfortunate.  Grandma Benders’s happiest moments were when she was surrounded by her family and friends.  Her sunny disposition had endeared her to all who chanced to make her acquaintance, and while suffering intense pain during the last few weeks her faith in her Saviour was unwavering.  She displayed great patience and fully appreciated the worth of true friends who helped to ease her and who were with her during the long days and night of suffering. 
“A heritage of Faith and love you left us all.
Seems to me the sun shines brighter,
Seems that life is more worth while
Seems to me the load is lighter,
Having been blessed by the sunshine of your smile.”


Matilda Bender obituary, Halstead Independent, Halstead, Kansas, 3 March 1932, page 1, column 3: microfilm no. H1640, Kansas State Historical Society Archives, Topeka, Kansas.
 
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Another Self Addressed Envelope

That tingle of excitement is back!  There was a self addressed envelope in the mail today.  I want to repeat just how much I love these envelopes.

I now have a death certificate for Salvatore Siletto.  To refresh your memory, Sal Siletto is my grandfather’s, Celio “Jay” Capelli’s, uncle.  His wife, Anne, was a witness in my grandpa’s naturalization paperwork.  Since Siletto is the maiden name of my great-grandmother, I asked family if there was a connection.  My grandmother confirmed that Sal was the younger brother of grandpa’s mother, Adele.  I now know that Sal immigrated to the United States in March 1921, he became a naturalized citizen, and was a baker in Pittsburgh.  Sal’s passenger manifest listed his mother as Dominica Brunero.  I also found a 1938 passenger manifest entry for a Lucia Siletto Brunero who was going to visit her son, Salvatore Siletto in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sal’s death certificate confirms most of the information I have already found.  His wife was Anne Bordone.  He was born 17 December 1900 in Italy.  He worked as a baker and lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The death certificate also lists some new information.  Sal died 27 July 1967 of carcinoma of the lung.  He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The best part is that Sal’s parents are listed as Joseph Siletto and Lucia Brunnero.

I now have indirect evidence that proves Salvatore Siletto is my grandfather’s uncle.  I am so excited that I have made so much headway in researching my grandfather’s family.  I have another piece of the puzzle since Sal was not listed in the baptism records from Cossano Canavese, Italy.  The church records only went through 1899.

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Tuesday’s Tip – Verify You Have The Right Vital Record

Yesterday I was so excited to see an envelope in the mail with my handwriting on it.  Self addressed envelopes always get opened first!  I tore open the envelope with excitement at what new information may be waiting inside for me.

Due to budget constraints, sending off for vital records is not an everyday occurrence in my house.  This makes them even more special.  I am always very careful to fill out request forms with all of the information I have about my ancestor.  I have found that sometimes even with the information listed, I receive a record that is NOT my ancestor.

Last year, in preparation for my genealogy vacation to Kansas, I followed up on missing information.  I ordered several vital records and updated my searches on Internet sites.  I received a death certificate for Mary Switzer.  I had used a date range for her death in my request using dates my grandma vaguely remembered.  When the certificate arrived I was so excited and immediately jumped onto the Internet to see what else I could find using the new data.  After about an hour of finding lots of new information, I realized there were also lots of inconsistencies.  After some analysis, I found that there are two Mary Switzers who were married to a Frank Switzer around the same time and same area of Kansas.  The death certificate was not my 2nd great grandmother.  Thankfully, I was able to obtain the correct death certificate before my trip.  The correct death certificate led me to the cemetery in Halstead, Kansas.

I learned an important lesson that day – always take a moment to check your records and see if the vital record you received is really the ancestor you are looking for.

Yesterday, that self addressed envelope was a bright light on a difficult day with my almost 3 year old.  I have been waiting about 3 months for a response from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.  After opening the death certificate for Edward D Lahey, I went to my computer to verify that it was my Edward.  Almost immediately my spirits fell.  This was obviously not my Edward.  This Edward died in 1973.  My Edward died between 1910-1920.  I am going to see if I can find any further information narrowing down the date of death before attempting to order this death certificate again.

After some irritation at the Department of Heath for not looking the details listed in my request, I poured myself a glass of wine and got over it.  I decided instead that the next time I go to Northern Virginia to visit my parents, we will just have to take a mini genealogy vacation to Pittsburgh.  We still have some relatives living there to visit, cemeteries to document, and prove the parents of Edward if we can.

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Treasure Chest Thursday – Catharine Offerman Pope Death Certificate

Catherine Offerman in my husband’s 2nd great grandmother.  She was born in Germany in 1865.  She immigrated to the United States in 1887 or 1888 with her husband, John Pope.  They lived at 3335 26th Street in San Francisco.  Catherine died a horrible death.  She received 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her body after gas on the floor of her home caught fire.  I am told by my husband’s grandfather, who was 5 at the time of the accident, that Catherine was cleaning the floor with the gasoline.  The house burned down and was rebuilt.  I scanned the copy of the death certificate (below) from the genealogy stash at my husband’s grandfather’s house.  I plan on visiting the San Francisco Library to see if there were any articles written in the newspaper about the fire.  Hopefully, I will be able to add more to this story at a later date.

3335 26th Street, San Francisco, CA
Left: in 1989. Right:early 1900’s before burning down.

State of California, Department of Public Health, Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Death # 32-005460

1. Place of Death: Dist. No 3801, City and County of San Fransisco, Franklin Hospital
2. Full Name: Catharine Pope
3. Sex: Female
4. Color or Race: White
5. Single, Married, Widowed, or Divorced: Widowed, wife of the late John Pope
6. Date of Birth: August 27, 1865
7. Age: 66 years, 4 months, 24 days
8. Occupation: At Home
9. Birthplace: Germany
10. Name of Father: C.H. Offerman
11 Birthplace of Father: Germany
12. Maiden Name of Mother: Anna Hink
13. Birthplace of Mother: Germany
14. Length of Residence: 45 years, in California 45 years
15. Informant: Per Mr C H Offerman, 547 Guerrero Street
16. Date of Death: January 21st, 1932
17. Cause of Death: Second and third degree burns of body. (One half body area) Accidental ignition of gasoline.
18. Special Information, Former Residence: 3335 26th St.
19. Place of Burial: Cypress Lawn Burial
20. Date of Burial: Jan. 23, 1932
21. Undertaker: H F Suhr Co, 2919 Mission Street

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Tombstone Tuesday – Yosemite Cemetery

We are very lucky that my brother-in-law and his wife work and live in Yosemite.  They live in a small house in between Yosemite Village and Yosemite Falls.  We got to spend a long weekend with them in July.  Our older daughter was in heaven since her favorite book is “Ty Cooney and the Big Yosemite Race.”  She was so excited to see all of the landmarks (El Capitan, Half Dome, etc) that are chronicled in the book.

I, on the other hand, was excited to take a few minutes to walk through Yosemite’s Pioneer Cemetery and pay my respects.  It is a small cemetery that is sandwiched between Yosemite Village and some of the park housing.  I always enjoy walking through the cemetery because it is not typical at all.  There are a wide range of markers in the cemetery including stone monuments, wood markers, and names carved into large rocks.

There is an excellent website ( http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/pioneer_cemetery/ ) that is a digital copy of a booklet called Guide to the Pioneer Cemetery by Lloyd Brubaker, Laurence Degnan, and Richard Jackson.  This website includes all of the names found on markers in the cemetery and short notes about each person.

Here are some photos from my visit this summer:

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Tuesday’s Tip – Review your previous work

I was doing some work on my re-organization of digital genealogy files yesterday.  I found a digital census image that was not added to my genealogy software.  It was the 1900 Federal Census for James Dempsey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I printed a census form and transcribed the image.  I also added the citation to my genealogy software and to the digital image.  I was reviewing the transcription and realized that I had no note of James Dempsey being a naturalized citizen in my software.  I was so excited to find a new piece of information!

I quickly felt like a fool when I took a look at the 1910, 1920, and 1930 census images for James.  I already had this information and had missed it.

I did not understand the importance of those two little letters “Na” when I started researching my family.  I am sure that I was in such a rush to find more census images that I did not follow up with the information that I had.

So learn from my mistake.  Review the research you have already completed.  There might be a little gold nugget hiding in what you have already collected.  I am adding to my goal list to do a complete review of the documents I have when I finish my organization project.

I ordered the naturalization paperwork for James Dempsey from NARA.  I am hoping that this will lead me to information pinpointing exactly when he immigrated to the United Stated from Scotland.  It might also have information about where in Scotland he is from.

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Thriller Thursday – Falling down an elevator shaft

Dudley M Mitchell is my mother’s maternal grandfather.

Dudley was born October 20, 1875 in Valley Fall, Kansas.  He was child number 7/8 born to Mary Frances Coffey and Moses Mitchell.  He had a twin sister name Mary (aka Dolly).  She passed away between 1895-1900).

I heard this story last October from my mother’s Uncle Raymond.  He is Dudley’s second child.

Raymond remembers his mother being pregnant with his younger sister, my grandma, when this incident took place.  Since Raymond was born in 1921 and my grandma is 10 years younger, it was approximately 1930.

His father worked as a laborer in a cold storage unit in Topeka, Kansas.  The cold storage building did not have lights in it because they created heat.  There was an elevator that ran to the second story of the building.  The men were supposed to ride the elevator one at a time.  Someone had used the elevator while Dudley was on the upper floor.  They did not return the elevator to the second story when they were finished.  When Dudley completed his task upstairs, he worked his way back to the elevator in the dark.  Not realizing the elevator was gone, he stepped into the elevator shaft and fell.  He badly injured his back.

Dudley did not return to the cold storage unit after he recovered.  He opened a grocery store in Topeka.  Because of his generous nature, the grocery store would eventually fail during the Depression.  The family moved to Hutchinson where Dudley found a job in another grocery store.