September 26, 1998 Meeting Minutes

POINTers IN PERSON Minutes
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
George Koleas (#1527)

Chapter #22 held its meeting at the Italian Community Center, 631 N. Chicago Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 26, 1998.   Our members are dedicated!  The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department had closed off all freeway exits that lead to the Italian Community Center and all the “regular’ routes that you would use to get there because of a charity run/walk that was taking place.  By travelling ‘lesser known” side streets, nine people still made it to the meeting.  In attendance were, Lois Cozzuli, #220, George Koleas #1527, Barbara Roberts #1202, Marie Roth # 766 and her sister,  Eddie Rober #2772, visiting from the Phoenix Chapter, Susan White and Margaret Schutz #2149 and new members Sharon and Rich Paxton.

Our meeting began with reviewing correspondence we had had with the Italian Community Center and other members who could not attend the meeting. We discussed our PIE postings and experiences.

Barbara Roberts brought a letter she had received from Archivo Stato Civile Messina for translation and advice.

Because we believe that we should try to reach the largest group of Italian researchers in Milwaukee as possible, we decided to contact the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society to make their members aware of our group. I will make the contact since I am also a member of theirs.

Our database of the surnames that members are researching and their corresponding villages was updated.

Members then updated one another on new progress that was made in their individual research and offered suggestions to one another. New members, Sharon and Rich Paxton got lots of advice about sources of information in Milwaukee, websites, mailing lists and correspondence. Rich Paxton brought the latest edition of The Italian Times, a publication of the Italian Community Center, which was just being mailed, to members. The Italian Times had an article about P.O.I.N.T. and our P.I.P. Chapter #22, based on information I supplied.

Marie Roth informed the group of a street directory, used by Italian truckers, called ‘Stradario’ in Italian.  This map has every little town pinpointed.  It is a great resource for finding those small villages that regular maps don’t show.

Barbara Roberts described an experience she had with a researcher, when after waiting for an extended period of time, she wrote to the Mayor of the town.  The Mayor dispatched the local Police to the researchers home!  Marie Roth suggested that when using a researcher, it could be helpful to follow up with a visit to retrieve the researcher's results.

In discussing member’s experiences in Italy, a common thread appeared in the discussions.  The Italians that were encountered on the trips by members were very interested in making connections with living Italians, but much less interested in the ancestors.  This suggests that the best strategy, when visiting is first ask about the living before trying to find the dead.  

I reported success using Lineages, a search firm.  While you can get the same information for free by requesting microfilm from a Family History Center, when you don’t have time or need expert help reading or translating a record, they have been reliable.  For more information, their website is www.lineagesnet.com.  

We adjourned to the Italian Community Center Restaurant to continue our discussions over lunch. Over lunch we determined that most members were using or about to use Family Tree Maker by Broderbund. Their website is www.familytreemaker.com.The only other software used was Ultimate Family Tree Deluxe.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, January 16, 1999 at the Italian Community Center, 631 N. Chicago Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  For further information contact me, George Koleas #1527

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