"Ask! And you shall find!”

 For most people, the idea of sitting in a library building for 10-12 hours a day peering at multiple computer screens and walking less than a block from their hotel to eat out of a mini-refrigerator and vending machines for a week is not their idea of a vacation. But for me, this was an AMAZING vacation and so worth the investment!!

I spent an entire week with Ancestor Seekers and I can’t tell you how much I think it was worth it!! You can see how they describe the “Dream Vacation” here.

I can’t tell you how much I learned in the week! Not only about my family and finding resources to help me find family, but also about researching, in general. One of the biggest take-aways was learning to ASK for help and ASK for things from archives. Let me share two examples.

Asking for help from Archivists

On my first day, when working with Malia (one of the senior researchers at Ancestor Seekers), I shared with her my “brick wall” of my great-grandfather Henry Edward Leach who just appears in the Upper Peninsula in 1880 Census and I can find no records of him prior to 1880. His census, his marriage, record, son’s birth record, and other things pointed me to England for his birth, but I have looked (really hard!) for his death record hoping to learn more but I just can’t find it recorded anywhere. I just received his probate records the week before from the Michigan Archives–very interesting and cool information–but beside providing me the information that he died at home in Houghton County, Michigan on June 15, 1892, there was nothing about parents or a birth location.

Malia asked if I had his obituary and I said that I did not and that the newspapers from the Houghton County area are not yet digitized anywhere accessible to me right now. She then said, “Well, have you asked the archivist where the newspapers are available?” Well, no!! I’m not sure why not, I just hadn’t thought to ask for that!! So, I promptly wrote an email to the archivist, Emily (she has already done some other searching for me, so I already had her email) and within 45 minutes, she sent me the following email:

Emily Schwiebert

Feb 21 2023, 02:56pm via System

Good afternoon, Lynn--

Thank you for your email. I am doing well and hope you are, too. 

I would be happy to see if an obituary exists for H.E. Leach. The surviving newspapers from the Copper Country (both in our holdings and elsewhere) from the 1890s are sparse for unclear reasons: both earlier and later eras tend to be more robust. However, I believe we may have a title on microfilm that covers 1892. 

Preliminarily, it appears that a brief report of his death appeared in the Daily Mining Journal of Marquette, which is available from the Peter White Public Library through the UPLINK service. You can review the death notice on page 7 of the document at the following link: June 16, 1892 Daily Mining Journal. 

I'll consult our holdings to see if more is available from papers closer to home and follow up with the results one way or another, hopefully by the end of this week or the beginning of the next. If you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to email or call.

All best,

Emily Schwiebert

Wow!! I was speechless and so excited. Not that this bit of newspaper told me exactly what I wanted to know, but it gave me important information that is going to help me move forward. (The date of his birth is in conflict with other data, so while Obituaries provide information, take them with a grain of salt because the people reporting this information sometimes don’t know the accurate information.) Since it said that he had been with the company from nearly their beginning, I was able to look up the history of the Hecla & Calumet Mining Company and determine that he had been in Houghton County since at least 1872 and had been working there for 20 years. Also, while I knew he was active in the Odd Fellows, it helped me to understand that he was fairly involved in the organization and might provide me another lead and opportunities.

Emily also did consult her resources and found a couple more articles about H.E. Leach (including the announcement of his wedding to Flora Elizabeth Croft of which I had seen a transcription but not the original). 

What a find, and all I had to do was ASK!!

Now, I will give some advice….when asking an archivist for information, be specific! You need to know dates and people and exactly what you are looking for. They are busy people and don’t have lots of time to do your legwork, but they do WANT to help. And always say “Thank you” especially since you never know when you will have the opportunity to ask for something else. 🙂

Asking help from Communities

Did you know that most countries/regions of the world have Communities created within FamilySearch.org? Nope, me neither!! Well, Heidi–another Ancestor Seeker researcher helped me with this one. She could read some Hungarian and Slovakian, but when I found the marriage record for my great-great-grandmother and great-great-grandfather (parents of Alonzo Sedlock, my other major brick wall), she suggested that I post it to the Austrio-Hungarian Group in Communities.

So, I did. And within 2 hours, I had a translation! 

Hello-

I'm wondering if anyone can read and translate the entry in the marriage record of my gg-grandparents? It's from 1874 under the column about any impediments in the marriage banns. Thank you!

• Julia Szent-Györgyi ✭✭✭✭✭

• February 24

• Announced twice, have dispensation for 3rd announcement. The girl received a dismissal from the parson of Felső-Novaj.

Yeah, Googletranslate was not going to provide me this!! This bit of translation was the KEY to unlocking so much more about Alonzo's family!! By learning about Felső-Novaj, I found the church which holds all of the baptismal, marriage, and death records for the Kristoff (Alonzo's mother's) family.

I went on to use the community several more times during the week. The Community was amazing and everyone wants to help each other. As my daughters would say, “10 out of 10”, definitely will keep on using!

And I will be doing a lot more ASKing!!

National Archives–St. Louis

 I finally figured out what records I could find at a National Archives and hit the jackpot! 

Background

The National Archives can be a robust source of genealogical information, but its primary purpose is to hold the records for government work and as such they organize their records much differently from how a family historian tends to think and work. Before investigating, I highly recommend watching Lisa Louise Cooke’s Elevenses with Lisa Show–episode 40 “How to Search the U.S. National Archives Online Catalog for Genealogy” from January 21, 2021. 

My Find

As I was planning my 6-week trip, I was hoping to make use of one of the National Archives on my way out to Salt Lake City. I had originally thought that the Kansas City National Archives was my destination but I learned that the Naturalization Records I was looking for were not at this National Archives (they are in the DC Archives, so I will hopefully hit it on my way back to home.). 

I switched gears and learned that the National Archives in St. Louis is the site for all of the military records for discharged soldiers (among other things). My grandfather, Walter Elliott Tubbs, was a career military soldier and retired in September 1960. His Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR) would be there. CMSR are available to anyone 62 years after the soldier was discharged, although you need to know their Service #, Social Security #, their birth and death dates, and the names of their parents.

I was lucky, if I had been doing this trip last year at this same time, his records would not have been available! I was doubly lucky because there was a devastating fire in the St. Louis Archives (a photo display of the historic event is in the lobby). Unfortunately 80% of the military records of soldiers discharged between 1812 and January 1, 1960 were lost or destroyed! 

The archivists were fascinated by my grandfather’s records because they are among the first that they’ve seen that were fully in tact and have been released!! I spent hours photographing and scanning his file which was several inches thick. There were lots of duplicates, this is typical since these files are collection of ALL records for a soldier and the Army is very good at documenting and sending copies to various offices.

The archivists were also very interested in seeing the photographs of my grandfather included in the file. They said that it was atypical to have full length photos included and said that I was very lucky!

I knew my grandfather well, since he lived until I was in my mid-20s and I spent every summer just two houses away from my grandparents. I have very fond memories of him. While he was loud and opinionated and might be seen as gruff, he was a total mushball and cared deeply about people. I remember him always looking out on the lake and if he ever saw any boat in distress, he was the first one to head out to help! He rarely talked about his experience in the military, I heard more about his teaching days after he retired from the military. He served through WW2 landing on Normandy (D-Day+1) and was on the “clean up” crew in Germany at a concentration camp. It’s not surprising that he didn’t want to talk about what he had seen.

Someone recently asked me what was the most interesting or “best” part of the file. While I haven’t had time to fully digest what I found, it was really wonderful to read some of his officer evaluation reports. I laughed, and cried, because they had captured his personality and his essence so consistently with what I remember about him. Like this one:

“Strong, temperamental mannered. A strict military commander who is physically able to perform his duties in time of war. His personal habits are the very best. He is neat, punctual and very aggressive. Has a good sense of humor. Excels in self-confidence and drive. Inclined to be stubborn in dealing with superiors, but not to a degree that it would affect his overall efficiency. I have informed this office of his weaknesses her noted and he is attempting to correct them.

A very fine officer, rather hot-headed and set in his way, however, has gone along well with command decision which has not fully coincided with his thoughts on the subject.”

So very glad that I made this stop and look forward to really diving into the records in the months to come.

The Practical

You really need to read the National Archives website. If you find that records of your loved ones can be found there, then you MUST schedule an appointment at least a week in advance, and there is paperwork that you will need to fill out ahead of time (Application to Research), along with taking an on-line orientation about how to properly interact with the archival materials. For example, every time I came across a staple, I had to take the portion of the file that I was working on up to the desk where the attendant would carefully remove each staple. They keep a watchful eye over you as you are reviewing the materials since it’s important that you keep everything in the same order and in the same condition that you found it.

They were, however, extremely kind and helpful and I could tell that they wanted me to have a good experience. It was surprising to me, but all of the other researchers in the library were actually employed to be there. They had fancy equipment and clearly knew the workers. Overall, it was a fascinating experience!

Gem in Indiana...The Allen County Public Library

 The ACPL Library

Last week I spent two incredible days at the Allen County Public Library and when I say two days, I mean two FULL days! Over the 2 days, I was in the library and researching a total of 21.5 hours! The resources available there are incredible and could be a bit overwhelming. On the first day, I chose not to take a break to eat, I just didn’t think I would have enough time. I was famished by the time I returned  to my hotel room and couldn’t make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich fast enough! I learned something. Tuesday, I chose to break for lunch, a great pizza place where I could eat a pizza by the slice, and felt much better late afternoon and early evening. This was a GREAT practice for my weekly long visit in the Salt Lake City Family Search Center, starting Tuesday!!

The true treasure though are the research librarians!! They were amazing and everything is FREE. If you ever go, I highly recommend that you make an appointment ahead of time for a consultation and share with them ahead of time your research question and goals. I started my first day at 10am with a meeting with Sarah. Sarah was assigned to me because she specializes in the midwest. She had done lots of research ahead of time and provided me with a printed list of suggestions specific to me and we went over it together. She acknowledged that my brick wall of Henry Edward Leach was truly a brick wall and I felt a little bit better that a professional acknowledged that this was a hard one. She then gave me a tour of the library and set me up with my first task of searching the microfilm for the death records for Henry. 

You can have your own book cart!! That was so cool and I really learned how to best use my brand new scanner.

My First Brick Wall

I didn’t end up finding out much about Henry, although I chased down a lead given to me by Sarah that  might end up netting something in the future. Sarah reminded me about the FAN Club Principle in Genealogy. This concept was developed by Elizabeth Shown Mills, a guru in genealogy, and it’s simple but very effective. FAN stands for family/friends, associates, and neighbors. If you are ever stuck, you might find leads in the FAN Club. 

Sarah suggested that I look to the people who hosted the Boarding House that Henry Edward Leach was living at in the 1880 census, since it was reported that he was from England and so were the owners of the boarding house and one of its other boarders. She reminded me that it is possible that there was a connection among them or that they knew each other in England or knew people who knew them. It was a great thought and although I don’t think there was a connection, it heightened my awareness of the boarding house owners for later reading! I came across a photo and some background of the couple and gave me a better understanding of where Henry was living in 1880.

Other Cool Stuff

After those first 4 hours, I chose to turn my attention to other parts of Jim and my family trees. I found several plat maps that show various family members' farms...like the Tubbs farms in Washtenaw County (my side) or another the plat map that identifies where Jim's great-grandparents had a farm in Crystal, Michigan. It's always cool to see the relatives' names on these maps. (Peter Monroe Baucher is my my husband's great-grandfather and his property is in the right side of the NW corner of section 7, just above and to the left of Crystal Lake.)

I also found a not so old...1986..Sesquicentenniel Celebration book of Three Rivers, Michigan complete with a Prophecy for 2011. What was amazing is that one of the students who was making the prophecies is a woman that Jim and I met while studying abroad at the University of Aberdeen (she was another American!!). We don't think of ourselves making history, but we are! Makes you wonder what remnants we will each leave behind for future generations to find.

The Mayflower Society

Another goal I have during this year is to solidify the connections to hopefully submit an application to the Mayflower Society. I’m doing this as a genealogical challenge. 

If you think you have a line that goes back to one of the original 26 families of passengers on the Mayflower, I suggest starting with the Silver Books. They provide all of the proof for the first 5 generations of descendants from the original 26 families with descendants. (There were actually 106 passengers on the Mayflower, but over 50% died in the first winter and only 26 families had descendants that lived on.)  I had used the Silver Books at the DAR Library in DC (anyone can use the library, you don’t have to be a member) to investigate the two lines that I think I descend from. 

The Book that provided the connection
between the Walkers and Orcutts.

The ACPL has an amazing collection of Family Histories and I was able to find a book that provided to me the confirmation and link I needed! Now I “just” have to find copies of all of the birth, death, and marriage records. That’s part of what I am doing at the Family Search Center now!

Highly recommend the ACPL and I definitely think I will be back!

An Unplanned Excursion Worth Taking!

 Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a planner. I'm detailed and goal oriented. I make a plan and I follow it! I have learned to deal with ambiguity, but I prefer a plan.

Today, I knew the route I was taking to get from Riverside, PA to Ft. Wayne, IN. I could have taken a route I know well, it was 3 minutes faster but it was along I-80 and had tolls. But I chose to take the alternate route and that was my plan. It was a direct shot to Ft. Wayne and I didn't plan any site seeing along the way.

The Excursion

Me in front of one set of Jim's
Great-Great Grandparents Graves

As I was half-way through Ohio, and not on the part of Ohio we normally travel to Michigan, I realized that Molly and I might just be passing close by a cemetery where my husband's family was laid to rest. Since I was driving and couldn't do this on my own, I quickly called Jim, who happened to be talking with one of our daughters and I asked them if they could help navigate me to the Liberty Chapel Cemetery in Liberty, Mercer Co, Ohio. (I really marvel at technology and what we can actually do on the fly, I do love the time we are living in!)  They did and I altered my route and drove about an extra hour today that I hadn't planned, but I had the time and it was worth it!

Background

Peter Monroe Baucher &
Mary Lucinda Howell

Jim's maternal great-grandparents, Peter Monroe Baucher and Mary Lucinda Howell were both born in Ohio. Mary was actually born in Liberty, where the cemetery is located. They both came from farming families. Peter's grandfather's family originally came from Pennsylvania (Bachar) slowly moving westward into Ohio. Peter was the 11th child of 12 and his father died when he was 10. He grew up farming, which is what he knew but by the time he was married (1892), there wasn't much farm land to be had. He worked as a blacksmith (according to 1900 census) and then sometime before 1910 found farmland to buy in Crystal, Montcalm, Michigan and was a farmer until he died in 1930. Mary Lucinda was from a Howell farming family that had been in Ohio for many generations.

Find-A-Grave

I love Find-A-Grave and have taken and uploaded hundreds of photos to it about my family and also from our local cemeteries. In fact, early during COVID, one of my daughters and I spent weekends in cemeteries around our local area finding and photographing gravesites that people had requested. In those early months when people were afraid to get out of their houses, it was a great way for us to get out of the house but go where no living people would be and do something for others. I love these crowdsourcing websites where people can help other people find their relatives. I highly encourage everyone to do this, even if they aren't into genealogy. (And there are other sites like Billion Graves).

The Headstones

Both sets of their (Peter Monroe & Mary Lucinda) parents are buried in this cemetery. I knew that and I actually already had photos of their headstones, thanks to Find-A-Grave, but there is something about actually being physically in that space. Driving out there and seeing the Ohio farmland all around. The town of Liberty has less than 1,000 people and quite honestly from what I saw, I have no idea where they all live! At some point, I imagine there was a church (or at least chapel) next to the cemetery but there's no sign of it now and it seemed like about 1/3 to 1/2 of the people buried in the cemetery were related to these two. While I didn't actually learn anything new, it was interesting to see that someone is still caring enough for the graves to put out a wreath. I'm sure there are relatives of Jim's still in the area. I don't have any photographs of these four great-great grandparents, YET, so maybe one day I will connect with a descendant of one of Peter's 11 siblings or one of Mary's 10 siblings who may have a photo of their parents?!

Molly and Me--Ready for an Adventure

And we're off! 

Molly is my car. She's a Malibu and she is all set and ready to go. She's all packed up, ready for our morning adventure. 

Our first stop is the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Some people find it odd that some county library in the midwest would have incredible holdings of genealogy. There was a generous benefactor who was a genealogist and cared deeply about it. His legacy is this amazing free resource. I have an appointment with a genealogy librarian at 10am on Monday, who I have prepared with a research question and as much information I have on this person and what I hope to find. I will spend 2 days (10am-8pm) in the library and I'm excited!!

The Practice Run

My practice run to the Westchester County Archives last Wednesday went well and I learned some things.

And also *think* that I found the Naturalization Records to my great-grandfather, Emanuel Anthony Mazziotti. The reason that I say *think* is that there is some conflicting information that raises more questions!! (I'm learning that this may be a theme).

If this is him, he was naturalized on August 3, 1901. It didn't provide a street address for where he was living, just "North Tarrytown", which is likely to be Pocantico Hills, where Kykuit (Rockefeller's Estate) is where I believe he was working at the time. It was amazing to be holding the actual original paperwork that my great-grandfather held in his hands and signed his name! It's hard to tell from the photos but the naturalization paperwork is folded in half and then folded into fourths. I almost missed that it had been folded in half and that there was an inside to it!! The length of the paper when folded in half was approximately 8.5" x 14".

The Outside of the Naturalization Petition

 I learned also that this is a "Minor Alien" petition. These were issued for anyone under the age of 21 when they first arrived to the country. (Naturalization Act of 1906 changed rules and also the forms. They became more specific and included the ship name and other family members.) 

One of the reasons that I am doubting if this is my Emanuel Mazziotti (beside the name of Mazziotta) is that he had to have been in the country continuously five years from the time of first arrival before this petition.

The "Back" side of the Naturalization Paperwork

We have "evidence" that suggests that he was in the Italian Calvary from 1894-1897. And I know that he arrived in 1900 on the Tartar Prince.

So there are 3 possibilities:

The "Inside" Top

1. This is not my Emanuel Mazziotti
2. Our evidence is wrong and the time frame must have been different about when he was in the Italian Calvary
3. He mis-identified when he arrived.

While it is possible that this is not my Emanuel, his witness was an Antonio/Antonino Farfalla. In 1910, there was an Antonio Farfalla living with my great-grandfather and he was his brother-in-law.

In talking with the archivist and sharing my conundrum, she said that it was not unheard of at the time that if they had a "sponsor" that that person would help along the naturalization process. In those cases, sometimes people would lie about the date they arrived to move along the process.

Both my daughter and I searched and search the ship's manifests for the date he said he arrived and we didn't find a Mazziotti (or any permutation of the name) who arrived that day or in the following week. 

At this point, my hypothesis is that this is my great-grandfather and lied (gasp) about the date he arrived. But, I have more to investigate and will withhold complete judgment until I do.

Meanwhile, I'm happy with what I learned about archival research at the archives (mechanical pencils are NOT okay!) and also with a second page to his marriage record. (Note the spelling of his name and I *know* this is my great-grandparents' marriage record.)

The "Inside" Bottom

What's Next?

My first brick wall! I'm going to do a thorough search at the ACPL on Henry Edward Leach. Looking forward to seeing what I learn and what paths it may take me on!

Names and Naturalization

 

Top: Mary Anne, Florence Mary
Bottom: Mary, Mary Grace

Names and calling people by their preferred name is important to me. Maybe it is because my given name and what I prefer to be called are different. I was born Mary Lynn Massey. I like(d) my name and am happy with “Mary”. I come from a long line of “Mary’s”, there’s my mom, Mary Anne, my great-grandmother Florence Mary, my great-great-grandmother Mary, and my godmother, Mary Grace Mazziotti Sippel.  And as proud as I am of Mary, that’s not what I liked to be called. I prefer to be called “Lynn”, I suspect it’s because it’s what my parents always called me, except, of course, when my mother was unhappy with me and then she called “Mary Lynn!” But it was always important to me that people call me “Lynn”, so every year on the first day of school we went through the routine as the teacher was calling names on the attendance list.

   Teacher: “Mary Massey?” (chuckles from knowing classmates)

   Me: “Here, but actually I prefer to be called ‘Lynn”.” 

   Teacher:  “Lynn?” 

    Me: “Yes, that’s my middle name.” 

   Teacher: “Oh, Okay.” (Thank you.)

  It’s actually quite a great screening mechanism and useful when telemarketers call. “Is Mary there?” “Nope, no one goes by that name here! Goodbye.” click.

Calling people by the name they asked to be called, I think, is a sign of respect, caring, and honor. As a teacher/professor, I want to get the students’ names correct and always ask them to share their preferred name and correct me on the pronunciation. I also really appreciate doctors' offices and other places where my legal name appears but they care enough to call me, Lynn.

But while I respect calling people by their preferred name, it sometimes makes researching the family records difficult!! I know that when I’ve performed a search on myself, there are over half a dozen different names recorded–Mary Massey, Lynn Massey, Mary Lynn Massey, Mary Breyfogle, Mary Lynn Breyfogle, Lynn Breyfogle, and even M. Lynn Breyfogle! I will just apologize now to my descendants who might be interested in researching me! Sorry!

Naming Traditions and Conventions

Names continue to fascinate me. Naming traditions and conventions and how that has changed over the generations and differs by cultures is interesting, especially in genealogy work. When you learn some of the naming conventions it CAN be helpful for family history work. 

For example, in Italy (and many early Italian immigrants), there is a methodical way of naming children. The first male and female children are named after the paternal father and mother, respectively. The second male and female children are named after the maternal father and mother. After that, it is the parents (although if the father was a first-born, that name was already taken) or  it could be aunts/uncles/cousins/friends. Since mortality rates of children were high, if the first child named after a particular grandparent died, the next child born would have that same name (this is called necronymics). So, you could imagine that the order of the named adult children will not be “perfect” and you have to watch assumptions that you make…but the naming order is a general rule you can use in Italian families. This explains why there are so very many Rocco Bellantoni’s! (For more read June 2005 Family Tree Magazine).

For German family trees, I recently learned, the reason that I find so many Johannes (John) is that German boys were almost always baptized with the first name of Johannes! They rarely used their first name and always had a second name, so they were called by their second name. The same held true for girls, except they were usually baptized with Maria (Mary) and then called by their second name. I guess my name fits well in a German family tree! (For more read the September 2012 article in Family Tree Magazine).

I love to hear the stories around peoples' names. Who were they named for, or even If they were named after someone. I often ask students about their names and love hearing their stories. This past fall, I met a student whose family immigrated from Ghana. Her surname was Appiah-Padi and I know someone with that same last name from Ghana, so I asked her about her name, wondering if there might be a connection. She was happy to share with me that in her culture last names are also given to the baby in honor of other people chosen by the parents. She doesn’t share a surname with either of her parents or grandparents! Neat tradition, but wow…that might make the genealogical research much harder. I will stop complaining about how many Giuseppe Mortelliti’s there are in my tree!

Naturalizations

Well, speaking of Giuseppe Mortelliti, that brings me back to my finding this week! This Giuseppe is my great-great grandfather and he immigrated to the US from Scilla, Italy and is the father-in-law of Emanuel Anthony Mazziotti (aka. “Mystery orphan baby”). One of my research goals for the year is to find the naturalization records for Emanuel Anthony Mazziotti (and Giuseppe). I have been searching on and off for YEARS to find Emanuel’s naturalization records. 

His name is part of the problem. I learned two summers ago that his name was just made up by the Recording Clerk in the commune where he was found as a baby. He has no known siblings, no one else that shares his last name or first name, until you get to his children and grandchildren. My dad called him “Pop” but said that he was called Tony or Anthony by family or friends. Emanuel is spelled many different ways in different documents and sometimes paired with Antonio or Anthony. Sometimes he appears to be recorded as just Antonio/Anthony and his last name is Mazziotta or Mazziotti and in the 1910 census, which took me decades to find, he is listed as Antone Martin!! (Yep, absolutely positive this is him!).

My husband has asked me this week why I care about the Naturalization Records? What did I hope to find that I didn’t already know? I stood dumbfounded and couldn’t find words. He said, “Well?” Oh, there are so many reasons..but you are reading this blog so YOU probably understand.

Naturalization records are complicated to find because there are so many factors. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website sums it up: 

“Immigration and nationality records changed over time. For this reason there is no one set of instructions to guide family history research. What records exist and how to find them depend entirely on when the immigrant arrived and if, when, or how they became a United States citizen.” (bold added by me)

One thing that the Naturalization records help to find is the immigration date. I actually already know that for Emanuel. I found the ship manifest and records of his entrance (and a travel companion, his future father-in-law Giuseppe Mortelliti) into Ellis Island years ago, but his path to becoming a naturalized citizen has eluded me. Some facts I “know” about Emanuel:

• He arrived May 28, 1900 to New York from Scilla (via Naples) and reported that he was going to live with his “father, Rocco” at 168 Elizabeth Street in New York City. (If you have any Italian relatives or are just interested in immigration stories, Laurie Fabiano’s 2006 book Elizabeth Street: A Novel Based on True Events is a must read!) 

• 

• 

  Emanuel & Concetta Mazziotti
  February 9, 1908

  In 1903, he married Maria Mortelliti (Giuseppe’s daughter) at Church of the Magdalene in Pocantico Hills. (Note: Maria died after giving birth to Rocco Mazziotti, who also died as a baby. Emanuel ends up marrying Concetta Mortelliti, the younger sister in 1908 and they end up celebrating 55 years of marriage and 7 children who all lived fruitful long lives.)

  

  This was taken at their 50th Wedding Anniversary
  1958

• The 1905 New York Census is missing pages and I have searched but can’t locate Emanuel there. I see a neighbor from the 1910 census on the last page before a break…I’m guessing he’s on the next (lost) page!

• The 1910 US Census identifies Emanuel (and Giuseppe) as “Aliens” working on the Rockefeller Estate (Kykuit) in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet of Mt. Pleasant in Westchester County, NY. 

• The 1915 NY Census identifies both as  “Citizens” with Emanuel (a mason) and growing family living on Saw Mill River Road and Giuseppe (called Antonio Martello) on Hartzdale Rd. both in Greenburgh (Elmsford) in Westchester County, NY.

• The 1920 US Census identifies that Emanuel  is “Naturalized” and the date given was 1902! Giuseppe had passed away, but his widow Santa Morabito Mortelliti is listed as Naturalized also with the date of 1902.

If you were reading closely to the facts, you see a big conflict. If, according to the 1920 census he was naturalized in 1902 then why did the 1910 census say he was an alien? Well, anyone who knows about self-reported data and the Census takers, knows that while everyone tries to give accurate information we are all humans and errors are made (and sometimes white lies). Especially when the information is provided by a person with a thick accent who may not be understood by the census taker or who may not have understood the question! 

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch both have indices for finding naturalization records. I’ve looked and I can’t find any permutation of his name. This past week, I decided to focus on really searching. If I take my dad at his word (who told me the family lore is that he became a citizen in 1902) and the 1920 Census as accurate, then I should focus on pre-1906 Naturalization record finding techniques. Which is …for New York, go to the county records. Again, I made an assumption that he was in Westchester County, rather than looking to New York City.

Long story short… I have found the index through the Westchester County Archive page and among the listings (after painstakingly going through year by year), I have found the index Petitions for Naturalization for BOTH Giuseppe Mortelliti and Emanuel Mazziotti. I’m not quite sure why there are two files for each of them, but what were the names?

• Emanuel Mazziotta

• Manuele Mazziotti

• Giuseppe Mortellite

They don’t have the records available for viewing on line, so Wednesday (tomorrow!), I have an appointment with the archives and will be driving the 3 hours there and back to view the actual documents!

Fingers crossed that the Emanuel and Giuseppe in the index are actually them….and they tell me some tidbit of information that I didn’t already know. But if it is them and I don’t learn anything new, that’s okay, the search was worth it and I can check off that box and move on to the next research goal for the year! Stay tuned…I might have something to say later this week. 🙂