A trip to my sister’s house would never be complete until I’ve dragged out all of our mother and grandfather’s boxes and riffled through them.  Lori was thinking ahead and had the boxes stashed in my bedroom on the day Don and I arrived for our visit this past September.  One morning I decided to go through the boxes and discovered something I thought I had not seen before. Lori said we looked at it two years ago, but I don’t recall seeing it.

Amada Del Principe’s Bible

The new treasure was a children’s bible that belonged to my grandfather’s brother Amada.  The front of the Bible is titled “Jesus Teach Me To Pray”. 

I went to our family tree to see if I had any notes about a child named Amada and couldn’t find anything.  So Lori and I searched on Ancestry.com and on Family Search’s website for information about Amada.  Click here for the 1910 census which lists Amada as 10 years old and records that he was born in 1900.  (He is not found in the 1900 census.)  I wondered if the census taker mixed up Amada’s name with one of the boys.  The 1910 census taker spelled Amada’s name wrong (Amalia) and listed the boys birth order as: Amada, Otto, Frank, Gilbert, and John.  This birth order is not correct.

So we searched for Amada in the 1920 census (click here).   The census taker lists the sons birth order as: Amada, Otto, Paul, Gilbert, and Frank.  This is correct.  I could not figure out why they twice put Amada’s birth before Otto who we know was born 20 Oct 1899.  

Today it hit me – Amada is Hank!  I have been spelling Hank’s name Amedeo and have his birthday as 01 Aug 1898.  This still doesn’t explain why Amada’s name is not listed on the 1900 census, but it clears up for me who this Bible belonged to. 

My mother Corinne Caroline’s First Communion

It also made sense that my grandfather Gilbert had Hank’s bible on his night stand.  Grandpa was very close to Hank. Hank passed away on 09 Jun 1969.  My grandfather lived until 1981.   

So it looks like Pietro and Elvira had 17 children, not 18.  This discovery will also explain how Amada “disappeared” after the 1920 census.  Lori and I debated how Amada could have lived to be 21 years old and then just vanish.  We couldn’t figure out how none of the brothers discussed Amada, especially since he left behind a bible from 1911.  If any other family members are researching the brothers and have a different conclusion please let me know.  Click on any of the photos of Amada’s Bible below to enlarge them.  Click the arrow button to return to the blog post.

I will add the photo of Amada’s Bible to our family Heirloom page.  I’m also adding a photo of Lori’s Grandfather clock from Germany.  Grandpa Gilbert bought it for his wife Bertha.  The clock was constructed in the 1930’s and still works like a charm.