"A family tree can wither if nobody tends its roots."

Dec30th2019

The Documents Can Wait

by  Phyllis Zeck

You see this cute little fellow?  He’s part of the reason that I haven’t had time for genealogy research this year. Kingston, my youngest grandchild, was born in January. I’m so lucky that we live close to each other and I babysit at least once a week. My house is a mini day care with high chair, changing table, a toy box bursting at the hinges, blocks, and trucks. I love every minute we spend together. The documents can wait.

Since Kingston’s mom is on vacation, I’m on vacation, and I’m cleaning up some of my research documents that have been waiting on my computer desktop to be shared. I ran across a few unexpected surprises in the docs.  

Click here to view my grandmother Bertha Del Principe petition for naturalization filed Aug 4, 1943. This record notes that Bertha’s eyes were green and she had a scar on her throat. The second page shows Bertha’s witnesses and has her signature. My daughter Ashley points out that perhaps Bertha was trying to disassociate herself from her place of birth due to WWII. Bertha was born April 22, 1901 in Hamburg, Germany.

My brother Tom remembers “Grandma Bertha’s witnesses were close friends of the Del Principe family. Mrs Esther Corbel lived across Harrison Street, in 1 of the 2 or 3 story houses that are long gone. Grandpa’s house had a huge first floor store front, and 4 apartments on the upper floors. Mom and Dad lived in Grandpa’s unit, and he rented out the unit facing Harrison St to Auntie Theresa & Uncle Gus. Uncle John, Aunt Jeanette and their family lived on the 3rd floor which also had a rental unit. The houses across the street were similar. There were shops on the corner so everyone saw one another all the time. Bertha’s other witness was Grandpa’s good friend Johnny DeLeo, who lived a few blocks south with his huge family. In between the DeLeos and the Del Principes was Saint Callistus Church and Catholic school which Mom & Auntie Phyllis attended. It once had fountains, gardens, chapel bells and flower beds. The church was closed long ago, and the buildings were empty for many years, The school Mom attended is now a private Christian Academy.”

I also found Emil Del Principe’s 1937 two page petition. Emil’s application renounces all allegiance to Victor Emmanuel III, King Of Italy.

Click here to read Onesto Ursitti’s Petition For Naturalization and his Declaration page. My 2nd great grandparents were Filomena Ursitti and Pietrantonio Ciolli. I’m still digging to find out how I’m related to Onesto. I was thrilled to see that Onesto’s Declaration of Intention has a photo of him! When searching for records I try to remember to look at the page before and after the document I’m looking at. When I turned the page for Onesto’s declaration, I stumbled upon one file for Vito Di Nella.  Hmmm, what other documents could I find for Vito? May as well pop over to Family Search’s website to see if they’ve scanned any of Vito’s docs. I’d fallen down the rabbit hole.

This set of documents is Cesidio Gerrardo Del Principe’s Declaration & Petition. Another photograph! I believe that Cesidio is the grandson of Vincenzo Del Principe. Pietro Del Principe (my great grandfather) and Vincenzo (1830-1888) were brothers. Vincenzo and his wife Lionarda Liboria Rossi had 4 children that I’ve been able to document: Giuseppe Donato (Daniel), Carmello Antonio, Leonardo, and Dominick. Giuseppe Donato (1863-1924) and Leonardo (1866-1946) resided in Pennsylvania. By the 1930 census Leonardo had moved to Chicago and lived at 2234 Irving Ave.

I have not yet been able to confirm that Cesidio Gerrardo’s grandparents were Vincenzo and Lionarda. Cesidio was married to Lucia (1885-1922) and they have at least 4 children: Mary, Joe, Della and Carmella. You can find more blog post about Vincenzo’s family by clicking his name in the “Categories” section. I will continue digging in the Naturalization documents to see what other ancestor’s photos I can uncover and will of course share them with you. Happy New Year to all!

 
 

Jun7th2019

Welcome Home

by  Phyllis Zeck

del principe, winikeWhen my sister Lori and I decided to sell our homes and purchase a new house together we had to say goodbye to some of our excess belongings. However, sending certain pieces of furniture and knick knacks to new homes was not an option. Lori had furnished her spare bedroom in Utah with our mother’s bed and two dressers along with other keepsakes which she isn’t yet ready to part with. Our new guest bedroom is now called Grandma Corinne’s Room. 

When the movers brought our mom’s chair inside we were debating where to put it.  In the shuffle the chair landed in our upstairs hallway which happened to be the perfect spot for it. On our party days I’ve often found our teenagers (who are too old for the toy room and bored by adult prattle) lounging in the chair reading their books or their tablets. This makes my heart happy!

As we began hanging our photos this last winter we contemplated what to put above mom’s chair. Lori had a large photo that she was ready to discard but we decided to keep the frame and make a family tree collage.  We had so much fun placing the puzzle pieces of our favorite memories into the tree template. It was impossible to decide which photos to use as we created our design using Photoshop Elements. The last photo we slipped into the tree was a snapshot of some of mom’s great grandchildren sitting in her chair. We printed the matt at Costco and are so happy with the results. Lori ordered an engraved plate for the frame which says Winike & Del Principe Family Tree and glued it on. Every time I come up the stairs this new space says Welcome Home in so many ways.

 
 

Mar29th2019

Aerial View of Pescasseroli & Opi

by  Phyllis Zeck

Pescasseroli Italy Del Principe

Pescasseroli, Italy

This winter I was looking for some images to purchase for the walls of our new home. I bought these panoramic photos of the towns of Pescasseroli and Opi. After having 11×14 prints made I bought new frames and hung the photos in my bedroom. They look wonderful. The photo on the left is the birth town of my great grandparents Cesidia Elvira Tranquilla Ciolli (1867-1939) and Pietro Giovanni Del Prinicipe (1853-1922). The photo below is the town of Opi where my great great grandmother Filomena Ursitti was born in 1837.  Filomena married Don Pietrantonio Amabile Ciolli and they raised their family in Pescasseroli. 

Opi Italy

Opi, Italy

While I was looking for photos I came across the website Life in Abruzzo. If you plan to visit Italy this site has some info about the community of Pescasseroli and things to do in the town. The writer mentions Salvatore, the owner of the B&B via Della Piazza, at the end of the article.

 

 
 

Mar17th2019

Italy’s Alpine Soldiers

by  Phyllis Zeck

Pescasseroli alpine soldiersSeveral years about I wrote a post about Italy’s Alpine Soldiers (click link to read). Last November I received a message from Francesco Gentile who lives in Pescasseroli. He wanted to share the news that there was to be a special ceremony for the fallen soldiers of World War I. Medals were given to the soldiers heirs. The photo above was taken at the town hall where 43 medals were laid out in preparation for the ceremony. There are about 15 medals that Francesco and the community are unable to find relatives for.

One of the soldiers Pasquale Di Nella is a great uncle to my cousin Vickie. Vickie’s great grandmother, Bibbiana Celestina Ciolli, was the sister of my great grandmother Elvira. Another soldier Giuseppe D’Addezio is the brother of Francesco’s grandmother.  A third soldier who was honored is Paolo Del Principe. Francesco doesn’t know who Paolo Del Principe’s heirs are and I’ve not been able to find a link to Paolo in my research. Pasquale Di Nella

The medal to the right honors Pasquale Di Nella. He was killed about 1918. It’s wonderful that Pescasseroli honored the soldiers who lost their lives for our freedom 100 years ago.

 
 

Jan13th2019

Bernice’s Manicotti

by  Phyllis Zeck

Standing L to R: Lois, Lorraine, Helen, Bernice (in black dress), Marion & Grace. Seated: Grandpa Charles Bihler (Bernice’s father) & Paul

Bernice Dorothy Bihler is Joe Del Prinicipe’s mother. Joe shared his mother’s Manicotti recipe with me and said that he recently taught his granddaughter how to make it. Joe’s mother Bernice and Bernice’s father Charles Bihler are in the photo to the left taken approx 1950. Also in the photo are Bernice’s sisters. The photo below is Bernice’s mother Augusta Voss Bihler.  Thank you Joe.  Lori and I hope that Holly makes this soon!

From Joe:  Below is a recipe handed down from my mother for my favorite Italian pasta dish. It is not a quick and easy recipe to produce, but I have always found it to be well worth every minute of prep time while enjoying the fruits of the labor, or maybe it is from enjoying the wonderful glass of sherry while I was making it.   

Augusta Voss

Marion, Augusta Voss Bihler, and Lois. Approx 1926

Manicotti – Meat & Cheese filled 
Makes 8 servings

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 lb. Ground Pork
1 lb. Italian Sausage – casings removed
¼ Cup Cream Sherry
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
¾ cup Grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano Cheese
15 oz. Light Ricotta Cheese
2 ea. 4.5 oz Sliced Mushrooms

3 cans 6 oz. Tomato Paste
2 cans 14.5 oz. Diced Tomatoes
1 ½ Cup Water
¼ Cup Cream Sherry (Optional)
2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
2 tablespoon Oregano
1 tsp Salt

Manicotti Pasta – 14 Shells
16 oz. Mozzarella Cheese Grated

Add olive oil to large 12” skillet, heat over medium heat. Add ground beef, pork, sausage, and mix in garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and cream sherry.

Stir frequently until brown and drain. Add parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and mushrooms to meat mixture. Mix thoroughly. Set aside while making sauce.
In a large mixing bowl mix diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, cream sherry, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, water, and cream sherry (optional – sometimes I prefer to just drink it).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Using a 14” x 10” baking dish, place a ¼” layer of sauce on bottom.  Using the meat mixture, stuff each pasta shell and place in baking dish until all shells have been filled. Mix leftover meat mixture with remaining sauce and spoon evenly over pasta shells.
Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes.
Remove from oven and increase temperature to 375 degrees.
Remove foil and place shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over top of shells.
Place uncovered baking dish back in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese begins to brown slightly.