Pointers In Person, Chapter 22, met at the Italian
Community Center, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 14, 2002.
Present at the meeting were, Frank Balistrieri, Ginny Balistreri,
Jeanne Bieser, Nancy (4317) and Dick Boudreau, Dani Marino Graf , Tina Favero
(4452), Elsie Fucile, George Koleas (1527), Filomena Lea, Jackie Maggiore
(4391), Jean and Steve Scalzo, Marge Schutz (2149) Pat Therkelson (2356),
Joyce Weber (4438), Susan White and new member Rita Carroll.
Also present was our speaker Mary Voell of Legacies.
We received a letter from the
Italian Community Center that asked us to attend a meeting about a 35th
memorial of the destruction of Our Lady of Pompeii (1967-2002). Tina
Favero (4452) attended the meeting. Tina reported that the memorial is planned
for October 20, 2002 at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago Street,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It will
begin with a Mass officiated by Father Timothy Kitzke. A lunch will follow at 2:00 p.m.. The lunch will cost $9.00.
Please watch for an announcement. We
can pre-purchase a table if enough members are interested, so those that go
can sit together. If you are
interested, you can contact me. Susan Petta Nokes (4128), our member in
the State of Washington, had copied records from Our Lady of Pompeii for us.
Nancy Boudreau (4317) is currently reviewing the records.
Others memorialize through celebrations. Genealogists
memorialize through finding and securing records.
On Friday, September 20, 2002 at 1:00 p.m., I will
represent our chapter at a meeting of the Milwaukee County Genealogical
Society at the Central Milwaukee Public Library.
I will be part of a panel describing their Area Interest Group’s
genealogical activities and their ethnic groups particular research problems.
Jim Gumina contacted us from
California, looking for information on his Gumina family. Jim tells us that
his family immigrated to Milwaukee for the fishing. This is very similar to the story we heard at our last
meeting from Joe Dentice. Jim tells us that. “One of my grandfather's
brothers came to California and sent for the others, promising a great
opportunity in the fishing industries. Some of the family left Milwaukee in
the late 30's early 40's and came to California. The whole group of brothers
came to the San Francisco bay area except Giuseppe (Joe) Gumina. He is the
father of Manuel and Rosario Gumina of Milwaukee. As you know there are many
Balistreri's Machi's,Alioto's,and Bellanti's here in the San Francisco area.
I’m sure they came for the same reason, as there are still Alioto's and
Balistreri's in the Fishing industry working as fishermen, wholesalers, or
fish restaurant owners. My grandfather, Vincenzo, had a first cousin named
Providenza, who married a Balistreri. She then married his brother when he
passed away. I know of two of her brothers, Paolo born in 1894, and Francesco
born in 1913. My great-grandfather's nephew, Vicenzo Gumina, born in 1873,
went to Milwaukee in 1909. Other Gumina family names include Vincenzo (died
1961)and Frances (Francesca, died 1971), Sam (died 1972)and Concetta (died
1962), Tom (died 1983)and Katherine(died1961). The names I have not found
anything for are Joseph Gumina (died 1969), Joseph Gumina (died 1974). I have
a Paolo Gumina in 1724 in Solanto, and his brother Gioacchino in Bagheria
around the same time. I am also trying to link the Guminas of Santa Elia to
the Guminas of Bagheria.” If anyone can help Jim, please contact me and I
will pass on the information.
Since we shared the extensive
information sent by Peter Bellanti (4028) on Machi, Alioto (which also appears
as Arioto and Galioto) Balistreri, Busalacchi and many others who descended
from Michele Machi from Santa Elia, Frank Balistrieri, Ginny Balistreri,
George Koleas (1527), Jackie Maggiore (4391)
Joyce Weber (4438) and now Jim Gumina, all made family connections to his
information. Peter tells us to remember that he
has many, many other family tree's in his data base that are not a part of his
Bellanti Family. He tells us if he gets a person’s parents and grandparents
(sometimes Great-grandparents) back to the generation of their family that
came to America, he has been almost 100% successful in giving them their
lineage back to the early 1700s and sometimes to the late 1600s. He has an
extensive website at www.bellanti.org
. For more details, please check out his site.
Mary
Voell from Legacies, was our speaker. Legacies
provides oral written and video history recording and editing,
research, family websites, photo management, house histories and other
genealogical support services. For more information about Legacies. Go to www.legacies-ahomeplace.com.
Mary
told us about online genealogical classes held in cooperation with the
National Institute for Genealogical Studies and the University of Toronto www.genealogicalstudies.com/eng/main.asp
and the National Genealogical Society www.ngsgenealogy.org.
Mary
talked about the 1930 census. The
census has many interesting facts including the first date of marriage and
naturalization information. There are no original documents.
After they were microfilmed in 1949, they were destroyed.
Only a few States were soundexed.
Locating the correct enumeration district is made more difficult by
street renumbering. The 1931 city
directory for Milwaukee and the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society have
conversion records to find the old street name and number as compared with
today’s system. Other finding aids can be found at nara.gov/genealogy and http://home.pacbell.net/spmorse/census/top.htm
. Mary’s family website can be
found at www.voell.com . Jeanne
Bieser is a member of this family.
Jackie
Maggiore (4391) brought a record of alien status from the 1940’s.
If your relative was not naturalized, they had to file a record of
alien status during World War II. For
more information on this document and how to obtain copies, contact the
immigration and Naturalization Service at http:/www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/history/ImmRecs/AREG.htm.
Nancy (4317) and Dick Boudreau , Vincent
D'Orazio(3418) and Pat Therkelson (2356) will attend the POINT
Conference and represent our Chapter. Vincent will also be a conference
speaker.
If you have a New York relative, and are looking
for naturalization records from 1926-1950 from the Southern District Court of
New York, covering Manhattan and the Bronx, an index is posted at http://www.italiangen.org/default.stm
Our next meetings will be Saturday, November 9,
2002 at the Italian Community Center. We
will meet, starting at 11:00 a.m. and take a break at Noon.
Those that wish to will then order lunch and we will continue our
discussions until 1:30 p.m. when we will adjourn. Everyone is welcome to
attend our next meeting.
If you would like to
post a query in the Italian Times, please contact me.
I will collect it with other queries from other members and send it in.
If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact George Koleas at (262) 251-7216 after
7:00 p.m.
Submitted by George Koleas
