One thing I did not fully realize about the Calabria was the wide variation in the landscape. Yes, on a map you can see that it is situated between two seas with a mountain range running up the center of the region. And yes, if you google certain locations, you get some idea of howContinue reading "Discovering Calabria: Part Two"
Discovering Calabria
Calabria. Birthplace of my great-grandmother (bisnonna), and many many generations of her ancestors. It stretches from the heel of the boot (Puglia) to the toe, the most southern part of mainland Italy, and is bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the east. Through experiences made possible by MadeContinue reading "Discovering Calabria"
Researching Underground Railroad Connections
Forgive my absence. I have been working for the past eight months on a project to document African Americans in Royal Oak Township from 1845-1870 and try to determine if any were freedom seekers or abolitionists. After combing through census, land, and probate records, newspapers, and city directories, as well as utilizing maps, I focusedContinue reading "Researching Underground Railroad Connections"
Museo Faggiano: One Family’s Archaeological Museum
This past Monday, my daughter and I drove to Lecce, which surprised us by its size. Why Lecce? I was first interested in the ancient Roman below-ground amphitheater that graces the center of the old city. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we discovered the entire area was under construction and sealed off due to paving workContinue reading "Museo Faggiano: One Family’s Archaeological Museum"
Valle d’Itria
A day in the southern Italian Valle d’Itria. We drove south thinking we would stop first in Martina Franca. I don’t know why it was so crowded and busy, perhaps because it was Sunday and all the locals were coming and going to church, but we could not find a spot to park so weContinue reading "Valle d’Itria"
Puglia!
Centro Formaggi A travel day. Left windy Firenze - first a bus to the train station, then a train to Pisa. Loved looking at the countryside. Then we took the Pisamover to the airport, where we boarded Ryan Air (yes, my checked bag was under weight!) to Bari. It was POURING rain when we landed;Continue reading "Puglia!"
A Life Lived in Recipes
Lately I’ve been thinking about my great-grandmother Caroline’s cookbook “Oglivie’s Book for a Cook,” printed in Montreal in 1905. It is worn and fragile, the back cover is missing, and grease stains mark nearly every page. Some young child scribbled in it in pencil, and recipes clipped from newspapers can be found scattered throughout theContinue reading "A Life Lived in Recipes"
The Other Half I Shall Keep
Did you ever come across a document or an artifact that changed you in some way? Surprised, delighted, or elicited strong emotions? This happened to me last year when I traveled to Bologna to visit my daughter who was studying there. No matter where I travel, I visit libraries and archives and do research ifContinue reading "The Other Half I Shall Keep"
A Fresh Perspective
This past week was not only a walk down memory lane, but a healing within myself. For sixteen years I worked as the Head Archivist at Cranbrook Archives. It was a job I took great pride in. I learned about art and architecture, studied the crafts women and men who created the objects and theContinue reading "A Fresh Perspective"
The Icemen of Yonkers, NY
Iceman in New York. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. (https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-9cc1-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99) It may seem odd to be writing about ice in the middle of winter since winter was the season coal was delivered, not ice. But winter is the season that ice was cutContinue reading "The Icemen of Yonkers, NY"
Travel. Research. Learn.
Historical research is akin to traveling. In fact, one might say that when you research history of any kind, you ARE making a journey. Back in time, to another place or set of circumstances. During the past year, I have been fortunate to travel, both nationally and internationally. As a historian and archivist, I alwaysContinue reading "Travel. Research. Learn."
A Different Kind of Tragedy
Most families will uncover sad or unfortunate stories in their history, often including accidents, alcoholism, abuse, or even murder. The Hale family is no exception. Oscar James Hale (1870-1916) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He came from a family of silver platers and learned the trade himself. Around 1891, the Hales relocated toContinue reading "A Different Kind of Tragedy"
Mapping Your Ancestors
Washington Place Plantation, East Feliciana, Louisiana, ca 1822 I LOVE maps. Not GPS or GIS, but maps printed on paper, and the older the better. Atlases, survey maps, geographical maps, plat maps, navigational charts, subdivision plats, and sometimes even topographical maps. Each type of map shows different data that can be helpful in your familyContinue reading "Mapping Your Ancestors"
Italian Banda in Yonkers, New York
In the mid-1980s, I visited my great-aunt Nettie in Yonkers, New York, where she had lived her entire life. One of my most cherished possessions is a tambourine she gave me that has the inscription “Property of Rinaldi’s Band.” My great-grandparents, Angelo Rinaldi and Maria Bonacci, immigrated to the U.S. in 1903 and 1905 respectively.Continue reading "Italian Banda in Yonkers, New York"
Nätsänken (net sinkers)
Today's post is not about a place or a person, but about an object of material culture from Finland. Some years ago I met, and became friends with, a Finnish textile historian. She invited my daughter and I to visit her in Helsinki and so we did in 2013. One of the trips we tookContinue reading "Nätsänken (net sinkers)"
historicaresearch.com 