Year: 2019

Ancestors, Family Stories, Immigration, Trentini, Tyrolean History

Follow-up News on Documentary Film

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This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post about the documentary film: Trentini Americani – I just found out from the film maker that an interview with Bill Genetti will be included in the final cut of the project! Filmed in 2011, Bill was interviewed at his business in Hazleton, Pennsylvania along with footage of the city and other Tyroleans telling their story. I featured an edited YouTube clip of this interview on our blog back in May. Here’s the link if you would like to watch it again: Pennsylvania Trentini Americani.

Since our family will be represented in the documentary film, it’s even more reason to support this exceptional ancestral project! I can’t wait to watch the final film since Vincenzo also did interviews with descendants in Wyoming, Montana, California and Colorado – all places where the Genetti ancestors settled.

There are six levels of “Perks” being offered ranging from $11 to $2,916. (Note: five of the levels are under $95 – so I know you can find a level that fits within your budget.) If you value preserving our heritage and the memories of our first generation Trentini Americans, I know you will support this worthy project.

To learn more, go to: Trentini Americani: Recollections of a Journey

Ancestors, Family History, Immigration, Trentini, Tyrolean History

Trentini Americani: Recollections of a Journey

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Hey family and friends, I just found out about a super-cool project called Trentini Americani: Recollections of a Journey, a documentary project. The film is being produced by Vincenzo Mancuso of Trento, Italy and is a crowd-funding project at Indiegogo. Here is the project’s overview:

“At the beginning of the 20th century 10,000 Trentini made their way to the United States. From 2009 until 2018 I traveled across the United States, meeting with families from New York to San Francisco and collecting over 160 interviews. The conclusion of this long oral history project is the production of a documentary that spans four generations and that tells the stories of the Trentini immigrants.”

The film will be produced in English with Italian subtitles, allowing for both Americans and our Italian cousins to enjoy personal interviews with descendants. Read more about this amazing project and view photos of our Tyrolean ancestors at the project’s home page: Click Here!

This is quite the labor of love and a magnificent way to preserve our ancestral heritage. If you agree, why not join me in supporting Vincenzo’s campaign with a donation. By donating at the $28 level, you will receive a high-definition download of the film upon its completion. I think that’s a real bargain for all the work that is going into this documentary. Of course, every little bit helps in bringing this project to fruition. FYI – the Indiegogo campaign runs until the end of August, so don’t procrastinate – help share our heritage with the world by supporting Vincenzo’s dream.

And here is the video clip that introduces the project on Indiegogo:

Trentini Americani – Recollections of a Journey from ITALOAMERICANI on Vimeo.

For more information:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/trentini-americani-recollections-of-a-journey/x/1698596#/

Books, Gifts, Resources

New in Bookstore!

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I love books! In my office I have a small personal library dedicated to Tyrolean culture and history. Our online Family Bookstore is one way that I share my genealogy research and love of books with you.

This past week I did a complete update of the Bookstore. Now you can access it from the main menu found at the top of the website. All dead links and books that are no longer available have been removed. Plus I have added many new categories, filled with interesting book titles, most of which I have personally read.

 

There’s something for everyone under our new category listings:

  • Tyrolean Culture and History
  • Travel
  • Trentini American Non-Fiction
  • Family Legacy
  • Cookbooks
  • Trentini American Fiction
  • Tyrolean Communities in USA
  • DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
  • Genealogy Research
  • Genealogy Fiction (Love this new genre of literature!)

Come by for a visit at the Genetti Family Bookstore and browse our virtual bookshelves!

 

Genealogy Resources, Genealogy Tips, Resources, Trentini, Tyrolean History

Link Resource List

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Our Links section has just been updated! For all you genealogy buffs, or those just fascinated with Tyrolean history and culture, you’ll find this list to be a valuable resource. To locate just scroll down any page on our website and you’ll see the “Links” list in the right hand column, right below “Archives”.

All links have been checked and updated, plus several informative websites added. Here are two that I know you’ll enjoy –

Val di Non to USA:
Discovering our ancestors who left Val di Non for a job or better life in America.
Researched and published by Elaine Erspamer Marchant, this website is truly a work of love! Elaine’s family is from Fondo (just down the road from Castelfondo) and she has made it a mission to categorize as many immigrants as possible who came from Val di Non. This is a fantastic resource for family surnames!

 

Trentino Family History Links:
Resources specific to Trentino Family History Research
According to genealogist Lynn Serafinn, “this is a new list of resource links specific to the province of Trento (aka Trentino)”. You might know Lynn from her popular column in Filo Magazine called Genealogy Corner. Living in England, Lynn specializes in genealogy research for Trentini descendants, with the majority of her clients being Americans. A frequent researcher at the archives located in the city of Trent, Lynn is certainly the person to hire if you want deep and thorough research into your Tyrolean family tree. In this new section just added to her extensive website, Lynn shares many research tools for Trentini ancestry. She also includes The Genetti Family Genealogy Project under the Family History Blog section of her list! Plus one more interesting point – Lynn has a Genetti ancestor from Castelfondo in her family tree! That’s right, Lynn is a distant cousin to our family! Our common ancestor predates baptismal records, but we believe our closest shared ancestor lived sometime around 1500. Thanks again Lynn for creating such a valuable resource and for including our family website! Make sure you check out the entire Trentino Genealogy website as it is filled with informative articles, personal stories and photographs.

Family History, Genetti Family

Honoring Those Who Served

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August Henry Genetti (1892-1976)

August Henry Genetti (1892-1976)
Served 1917-1919

To celebrate Memorial Day this year I have compiled a list of Genetti descendants who served the United States in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. My goal is to create a special page on our website dedicated to our military family. Unfortunately, I am not able to access records for military personnel serving after the Korean War. So those serving later than the mid-1950’s are not on this list.

Also, the following compilation only includes descendants with the surname of Genetti. I would like to include all of our military descendants who have served our country from 1880 to present and can trace their roots directly to a Genetti ancestor.

If you or a loved one is a Genetti descendant, served in any branch of the military and would like to be listed on our permanent page, please write me through our Contact Page.

In researching this post, I also located a moving tribute to Frank George Genetti (1913-2010) who served in the Navy from 1942 to 1945. Descendant from the Illinois branch of the Genetti family, Frank and his three brothers all served our country during World War II. Frank’s youngest brother, Bernard, is alive and well – thank you so much for your honorable service! We salute you Bernard Genetti on this day of remembrance.

Frank George Genetti (1913-2010)

Frank George Genetti (1913-2010)
Served 1942-1945

To read about Frank George Genetti, click (GenettiFrank – 1916-2010) to open the PDF document. (Created by Vicki DeWitt, Area 51 Learning Technology Center, Edwardsville, IL. Memories, photos and images provided by Frank Genetti and his family of Gillespie, IL)

 

Descendants Serving in the United States Military – WW I, WW II, Korean War

World War I

August Henry Genetti (19 Jun 1892 – 22 Nov 1976) Enlisted 5 Jun 1917, Released 17 Feb 1919

John B. Genetti (30 Mar 1890 – 4 Jul 1972) Enlisted 28 Feb 1918, Released 7 Aug 1919

 

World War II

Albert  Joseph Genetti (5 Aug 1915 – 17 Nov 1980) Enlisted 5 Jul 1938, Released 10 Oct 1969

Bernard Genetti (1926 – living) Enlisted 29 Jan 1944

Charles A. Genetti (15 Aug 1922 – 9 Jun 2007) Enlisted 26 May 1944, Released 5 Apr 1946

Edward Genetti (10 Nov 1913 – 29 Sep 1999) Enlisted 31 Aug 1943, Released 6 Feb 1946

Emil Joseph Genetti (24 May 1914 – 30 March 1977) Enlisted 23 July 1941, Released 2 Nov 1961

Frank George Genetti (19 Apr 1913 – 3 Nov 2010) Enlisted 16 July 1942, Released 2 Nov 1945

Frank L. Genetti (16 Oct 1916 – 7 Jan 2008) Enlisted 19 June 1942, Released 16 June 1945

Frank V. Genetti (20 Dec 1918 – 19 March 1994) Enlisted 1 July 1941, Released 31 Dec 1963

Henry Genetti (12 June 1922 – 16 Jun 1989) Enlisted 29 Nov 1942, Released 16 Nov 1945

John Damian Genetti (1 Nov 1919 – 21 July 1981) Enlisted 26 Oct 1942, Released 31 March 1947

John M. Genetti (20 Apr 1920 – 10 Apr 1986) Enlisted 17 Oct 1941, Released 2 May 1945

Leonard J. Genetti (8 Mar 1924 – 4 Oct 1973) Enlisted 15 Dec 1942, Released 23 Feb 1946

Nicholas Genetti (5 Dec 1914 – 6 Jun 1985) Enlisted 7 Jun 1941, Released 25 Nov 1945

Regina L. Genetti (3 Jan 1927 – 28 Jan 1996) Service Date 25 Sep 1944 to 3 March 1947 – Cadet Nurses

Richard S. Genetti (10 Oct 1919 – 11 Sep 2009) Enlisted 3 Apr 1941, Released 24 Jun 1944

Rinaldo W. Genetti (16 Oct 1911 – 17 Jan 1962) Enlisted 17 Mar 1942

Robert Herman Genetti  (18 Nov 1916 – 24 June 2011) 1943-1948

Rudolph J. Genetti (12 Jan 1910 – 30 Jun 1994) Enlisted 22 Sep 1942, Released 6 Nov 1945

Vernon C. Genetti (5 Apr 1918 – 15 May 1999) Enlisted 29 Dec 1942, Released 19 Nov 1945

 

Korean War

Albert Genetti (5 Aug 1915 – 17 Nov 1980) Career Army

Emil Joseph Genetti (24 May 1914 – 30 March 1977) Career Army

Joseph Genetti (23 Mar 1931 – 17 May 1986) Enlisted 8 Oct 1952, Released 7 Oct 1954

Richard Genetti (3 Nov 1933 – 3 April 1983) Enlisted 28 Sep 1951, Released 27 Sep 1955

 

Special Recognition

US Army Major General Albert J. Genetti

US Army Major General Albert J. Genetti (retired)
Photo: US National Archives

Albert J. Genetti (living) – U.S. Army Major General  (retired)

Family History, Genetti Family

A Few Stats About the Genetti Family

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Damiano Genetti Meat Wagon, Hazleton, PA – about 1915

Since I’m an avid genealogist, I am also a big fan of Ancestry.com. Having been a member of the research website for the past ten years, I often come across interesting bits of information, rare photos and valuable documents pertaining to our ancestors.

Today I found a fun link on Ancestry that instantly compiled facts about the Genetti Family as documented by the Ancestry data base. I just entered our surname and here’s what I found.

Meaning of Genetti: Italian – patronymic or plural form of Genetto, a reduced pet form of the personal name Eugenio, from Latin Eugenius. (Source: Dictionary of American Family Names)

Marriage License for Leon Genetti and Angeline Marchetti, 1914

There are over 4,000 historical documents on Ancestry containing the name Genetti:

  • 1K Birth, Marriage and Death
  • 259 Military Records
  • 350 Immigration Records
  • 1K Census and Voter Lists
  • 1K Member Trees

According to Ancestry.com, the Genetti family name was found in the USA, and the UK between 1891 and 1920. The most Genetti families were found in the USA in 1920. In 1920 there were 14 Genetti families living in Pennsylvania. This was about 19% of all the recorded Genetti’s in the USA. Pennsylvania had the highst population of Genetti families in 1920. The next largest concentrations are in: Illinois, Michigan, Wyoming, Nebraska and California (according to Federal Census Data).

Webmaster’s Note: the Genetti families listed in the federal census living in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey at this time were not connect to our family. They originated in central Italy with the surname of Giannetti. Sometime after they immigrated, the family changed their name to Genetti. The New England Genetti family is not related to the Castelfondo Genetti family.

Between 1963 and 2004, in the United States, Genetti life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1973, and highest in 1979. The average life expectancy for Genetti in 1963 was 83, and 85 in 2004 (according to the Social Security Death Index). FYI – this is very good news! It appears that Genetti family members tend to live longer than the average population, considering that in 2004 the average life expectancy of the general public was 74. So far our oldest living known ancestor was Angela Maria “Ann” Genetti McNelis (1903-2005), youngest daughter of Damiano and Oliva Genetti. She lived to be 102 years old!

Fascinating information at a glance! Want to try it out for yourself? You can find the Ancestry link here:

https://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts