Category: Ancestors

Ancestors, Cousins, Family Stories, Trentini

Was Barbara Libener Inama a Native American?

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Barbara and Emanuele Inama

I am always working on various genealogy projects. Most involve DNA analysis and helping others solve family mysteries, such as unknown cousins finding their birth families. Yes, if you have completed DNA testing, I’m sure you will find a surprise cousin or two (maybe even an unknown half-sibling!) popping up in your results. Of course, due to protecting the privacy of those I work with as a search angel, I can not write about these projects.

But recently I researched a fascinating case involving misattributed ethnicity that I can share with you. Over the years I have received strange queries from cousins asking about their ancestor Barbara Libener Inama (1875-1936). Barbara is a direct descendant of the Marchetti family from Nuremberg, Pennsylvania (originally from Castelfondo). She is also indirectly related to the Genetti family through marriage. I am personally related to Barbara Libener through my grandmother, Angeline Marchetti, who was her first cousin. (That makes me a first cousin, twice removed to Barbara.)

Barbara and her husband, Emanuele Inama, moved from Pennsylvania back to his ancestral town of Sanzeno in the Val di Non sometime around 1898. There they raised their large family and lived out the rest of their lives. However, all of Barbara’s family remained in Pennsylvania, along with several of her sons. At some point, probably after Barbara’s death, a story began circulating in Italy that Barbara Libener was a full blooded Native American of the Sioux tribe. This tall tale was published decades ago in a regional Trentini magazine and it became part of the Italian family’s lore, although there was no proof supporting the fabrication. However, as far as I am aware, no American descendant of the Marchetti/Libener families had ever heard the story.

Descendants of Barbara and Emanuele, all living in Italy, kept the fantastic story alive by passing the magazine article along to American cousins researching their family genealogy. Twice I received questioning messages from cousins asking about the article of “The Indian Wife.” I simply shrugged it off and explained genealogical record and DNA evidence proved this story could not be true.

But a few months ago the story once again resurfaced through a distant cousin living in France. I have worked with this cousin during the past two years on his complicated and mysterious genealogy. We have confirmed he (we will call him D.R.) is a direct descendant of Barbara and Emanuele, they being his great-grandparents. Upon visiting Trentino this past summer to trace his roots, D.R. too was given this incredulous magazine article. He and his wife, Patricia, also questioned the authenticity of the story, as D.R. has absolutely no Native American ethnicity in his DNA results. For those not familiar with DNA testing, you inherit 50% of your DNA from each parent; 25% of your DNA from each grandparent; and 12.5% of your DNA from each great-grandparent. If the story were true, our French cousin should show at least 10% of his ethnicity to be Native American. Instead his ethnicity from two different testing sites showed 0% Indigenous American.

After learning the story of the “Indian Wife” was still very much alive, I decided it was time to uncover the truth using genealogical research and scientific evidence. As a family genealogist and someone who works with genetic genealogy, I see it as my duty to document family truths, even if it debunks ancestral stories. (And very often it does!)

The result was a paper I recently published on our family website, entitled: “The Myths and Facts about Barbara Libener Inama (1875-1936).” The paper details all of my research into Barbara Libener, including DNA evidence from several of her descendants. Through Patricia, our French cousin’s wife, it has also been forwarded to family in Italy. So far – I have not heard a response to my research. I guess we will wait and see …

To read “The Myths and Facts about Barbara Libener Inama,” click here.

I would very much like to hear opinions from other cousins regarding this piece of family lore. After reading my paper, feel free to leave a comment to this post or ask questions about my research. I am happy to discuss or explain my findings.

Ancestors, Family History, Family Stories, Genetti Family, Obituaries

Updates to Website

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It’s time to do a little housekeeping at the Genetti Family Genealogy Project. During the past few weeks I’ve made changes and additions to our website for easier navigation. You will now find “Family Stories” and “Memorials” located in the main menu at the top of each page. Before, these two pages were listed under the Gallery section and were often overlooked by visitors to our site. Since “Family Stories” and “Memorials” contain some of the most interesting information on our website, I wanted to ensure quick access to all of their fascinating info.

You will find three new items listed on the “Family Stories” page, with several more tales currently in the works. Do you have an interesting story about your family you would like to share? Just pop me a message through our Contact page with the details.

Take a spin over to our recently updated “Memorials, Tributes and Obituaries” page and you’ll find many new ancestral obituaries, dating from 1928 through 2021. Over the years, I have collected obits whenever I come across one in an old newspaper or on Ancestry.com. They always make for interesting reading! My collection has now been added to the “Memorials” page, plus I have updated all of our past obituaries and tributes to include new photos or additional info. Stop by and see if you recognize one of your ancestors. We currently have 69 memorials attributed to most branches of the Genetti family found in the United States.

If you have a memorial or obituary from your family that you would like included on our website, drop me a line at our Contact page. Since obits are a prime source of genealogical information, sharing your memorials may help another family historian solve an ancestral mystery or add important details to their own family tree.

Fast link to “Family Stories” – https://genettifamily.com/family-stories/

Fast link to “Memorials, Tributes and Obituaries” – https://genettifamily.com/tributes/

Ancestors, Family History, Family Trees, genetic genealogy, Genetti Family, Obituaries

2021: A Look Back

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Saint Nicolo, Castelfondo

As the holidays are upon us and another year draws to a close, this is a good time to reflect on the past. Although I have not posted on a regular basis this year, there is much to tell you concerning genealogy and family research.

First, I would like to acknowledge all of the Genetti elders who have passed on during the past two years. Many wise souls departed, taking with them family stories and knowledge of previous generations who came before them. There is a genealogy quote that says “When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground.” I thought of this proverb often as I published each obituary. If you would like to remember those who have left us during 2020-2021, please visit our Tributes page found in the Gallery section.

This year I had the opportunity and time to enrich my genealogy education. There is so much to learn in regards to new techniques and tools! Luckily many virtual classes, workshops and conferences are available online and I eagerly took advantage of every genealogy event. Two extensive classes in particular really advanced my skills in genetic genealogy: “Endogamy and DNA” and “Y-DNA for Genealogy”. I hope to use my new-found insight and knowledge to help more Genetti descendants untangle their DNA results. In a future blog post I’ll explain how you can be a valuable contributor to our genetic ancestry just by getting tested!

While we are on the topic of DNA, it was another exciting year for mystery matches! Since 2016, I have helped a number of cousin matches with questionable or unknown parentage by identifying their birth family ancestry, often with interesting and sometimes surprising results. Usually these mystery cousins find me because our DNA matches through one of the major testing companies. This year was no exception as I received a message in March from a match who lived in France. I was very excited to work with an unknown French cousin and enthusiastically dived into the research. Due to privacy, I will not discuss their identity or personal information. But I can tell you it was and still is an extensive project with many twists and turns, involving three people doing the research in three different countries and in three different languages! It is a complicated recent ancestry connected with two generations of non-paternal events – and the research is still ongoing. In case you are wondering, this person is not a direct Genetti descendant but they are connected to the Genetti line by marriage. And I have verified my relationship to this match as a 3rd cousin, once removed through descendants of my paternal grandmother’s Marchetti ancestry.

Also on my 2021 genealogy to-do list was researching and compiling a four-generation family history for the Illinois Genetti family. Normally I would not undertake such an extensive project as it truly involves months of research and a lot of patience to uncover little-known history. However, I have a personal research interest in two ancestors from this family line. And when three siblings who descended from this particular ancestry contacted me in March, I saw the project as an opportunity to record and possibly correct family history. Hopefully I will have the research and written history completed by the beginning of 2022. As a result of delving into 150 years of events and four generations of descendants from this branch, I am now in the process of adding hundreds of new people to our off-line and on-line family tree!

You can find more information about the Genetti Family Online Tree plus a link to our extensive tree currently containing 1,973 descendants at: Family Tree. During the next month we will pass the 2,000 mark as I have many, many more people to add. FYI – our online family tree contains many helpful tools in addition to the tree itself. Here are a few to sample: under “View” in the main menu click on “Kin” to learn the relationships of a particular ancestor; create multi-generational reports for descendants and ancestors; or view the fascinating Map tool to see where ancestors and their descendants lived. Plus many people in our tree also have photographs and documents attached to their file. Stop by for a visit and discover something new in your family line!

Genetti Family Online Tree

If you have information or photographs you would like added to our family tree, please message me through our Contact page.

I wish all my cousins near and far, a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!

Ancestors, Family News, Genetti Family, Obituaries

The Passing of Gary Wayne Genetti

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Sadly we report the news that another member of the Genetti family has passed away. Gary Wayne Genetti of Marshfield, Missouri left this world on May 10th, 2021 at the age of 76.

A memorial page has been created for Gary Wayne Genetti in the Tributes section of our website. You can read Gary’s memorial here: https://genettifamily.com/gary-wayne-genetti/

Gary was the great-grandson of Costantino (also known as August) and Rosa Genetti. Costantino was born in Castelfondo, Tyrol in 1841 and immigrated to the United States with Rosa in 1868. They were the first members of the extensive Castelfondo Genetti family to leave their village and come to America. The couple, along with Costantino’s brothers and sisters, are considered the founding ancestors of the Illinois branch of the Genetti family.

Ancestor Animation, Ancestors, Photos

Our Ancestors Come to Life!

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Damiano Genetti, 1922 Passport Photo

One of the genealogy websites I use from time to time is MyHeritage. I’m not a paying member as I concentrate my resources mostly at Ancestry.com, but MyHeritage does allow limited access to their interesting photo enhancement tools as a way of sampling their many resources.

Last week the website introduced an amazing app and I just had to give it a whirl. It’s an animation tool called Deep Nostalgia – and it does the most unbelievable, weirdly wonderful thing to old photos – it brings them to life! Although I was only able to test a few photos, I thought the animation was extraordinary and at the same time strangely eerie, as if I was being introduced to ancestors who had passed away long before I was born.

Here are the links to two Genetti ancestors that I animated using Deep Nostalgia. I hope you find them as intriguing as I did!

The first animation is of Damiano Genetti (1857-1944). I uploaded the photo from Damiano’s 1922 American passport into the MyHeritage tool. Although my great-grandfather died thirteen years before I was born, his animation appeared so life-like as to be peering at me through the window of time. I also saw a strong resemblance to my grandfather (his son) as well as my own father reflected in Damiano’s stern but quizzical stare as he looked directly out from my computer monitor.

Damiano Genetti – Animation link: https://myhr.tg/1tGfxupA

Original portrait of Giuseppe Genetti with colorized version. Date unknown.

The second animation was of Giuseppe Genetti (1862-?) – also known as Uncle Joe. Giuseppe was one of Damiano’s younger brothers. His life is a mystery as he appears to have vanished from public records sometime after 1910. Supposedly he left Pennsylvania to seek his fortunes in California and was never heard of again. The studio portrait of Uncle Joe was provided by Don and Joyce Lingousky. I’m sure they will be surprised to see their long lost uncle come to life! I found Uncle Joe’s animation strikingly different from Damiano’s. He seems to be directly questioning the viewer, perhaps wondering how he ended up in this strange animated state of being.

Giuseppe Genetti – Animation link: https://myhr.tg/1PxEiHeH

Tell me what you think of our ancestor animations. Leave a comment to this blog post and share your opinions!

Ancestors, Family History, Pennsylvania, Photos, Related Surnames

Anatomy of a Photograph, Part 7

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Peter Dallachiesa and Virginia Fedrizzi

It has been awhile since we last visited our double wedding photograph and the stories it holds. Let’s look at the second couple who exchanged vows on February 13th, 1909 and what life had in store for them.

Pietro Simone Dallachiesa (Peter) and his bride Maria Virginia Giuseppa Fedrizzi (Virginia) became husband and wife at a joint ceremony with Virginia’s brother Richard Fedrizzi and his bride Angeline Cologna.

Peter was born September of 1876 in Castelfondo, Austria (now Italy), the son of Clemente Dallachiesa and Maria Zambotti. According to his birth record, Peter’s godparents were his maternal uncle and aunt, Simone Zambotti (brother of his mother) and his wife Catterina Dallachiesa.

A quick look at my family tree and I found that Peter’s mother was the older sister of Lucia Zambotti. Lucia and her husband Raffaele Genetti were the owners of the Weston beer hall where Peter and Virginia’s wedding reception took place. Therefore, Lucia was Peter’s maternal aunt. (Note: Peter was also the nephew of Oliva Zambotti, who was married to Raffaele’s brother Damiano Genetti, as Oliva was the sister of both Maria and Lucia Zambotti.)

Peter arrived in the United States on January 13th, 1907 at the age of 24. Like most of his friends and family, Peter found work in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Two years after settling in Weston, PA he married Virginia, who had also emigrated in 1907 at the age of 21.

His bride was born in 1886 in the town of Nanno, Austria (now Italy). The couple set-up housekeeping in Black Rock (close to Weston) and soon their first child, Esther Olivia, was born in December of 1909. One year later in 1910 a son was added to the family, Stephen Clemente.

By 1912, Peter was granted citizenship. His naturalization papers describe him as 5′ 5″, 155 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes (however Peter’s WW I Draft Registration states his eye color was “blue”). Peter’s occupation was listed as Miner. On the same day that Peter registered his Declaration of Intention for citizenship, his younger brother, Fortunato Dallachiesa, did the same.

The couple’s third child, Oliver Clement, was born in 1913. And their last child, Albert Fortunato, came along in 1916. It appeared the family was happily established within their Tyrolean American community and gainfully employed. Unfortunately this would soon change.

Peter Dallachiesa’s World War 1 Draft Registration. Note: Peter’s birth year is incorrectly listed as 1877 rather than 1876. He turned 42 years old three days after registering for the draft.

When war broke out, Peter was obligated to register for the draft. His WW I registration card is dated September 12, 1918. Just a few weeks later, on October 29th, 1918 Peter succumbed to the terrible influenza outbreak that was ravaging the country at that time. He was only 42 years old and left behind a wife and four young children. Pietro Simone Dallachiesa is buried in the little country graveyard where he lived, Sacred Heart Cemetery in Weston, Pennsylvania.

The 1920 and 1930 Federal Census tells us that Virginia continued to live in Black Creek with her four children. We can only assume that the tight-knit Tyrolean community helped her through the difficult time after her husband’s passing. From the census, we know that all four of the the Dallachiesa children reached adulthood.

By the 1940 Federal Census, Virginia is now 54 years old and living in Hazleton with her oldest son, Stephen, a self-employed truck driver. Sadly two short years later at the young age of 56, Virginia passes away as a result of kidney disease and anemia. Life had certainly been difficult for Virginia, loosing her husband after just nine years of marriage and having to raise four children on her own. Virginia is also interred with her husband at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Weston, Pennsylvania.

Now let’s take a look at Peter and Virginia’s children. As of 1993, all four of the Dallachiesa children had passed away. But there are numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren living in Maryland and New York State.

Their oldest child, Esther Olivia, married Albert Bonan in 1937 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Tyrolese Church in Hazleton, PA. Soon after the couple moved to Maryland and had six children. Esther was a school teacher prior to her marriage to Albert. Sadly, like her parents, Esther also passed away at the young age of 52.

Esther Dallachiesa Marriage License – 1937

Stephen Dallachiesa married Rena Corradini of Hazleton, PA. The couple join Esther’s family in Maryland. According to Rena’s recent obituary, she and her husband had three children, six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Stephen passed away in 1990 at the age of 80, but his wife Rena died just this year (2020) three months shy of her 100th birthday.

The third sibling, Oliver Dallachiesa, lived in Shortsville, New York. He married and had two children.

Youngest brother Albert Dallachiesa also lived in Maryland, married and had four children. And like his parents and sister before him, Albert died at a young age in 1967 (51 years old).

As we all know, no life is perfect. Everyone maneuvers through highs and lows. There is a certain intrigue when viewing a moment captured in time such as the double wedding photograph of the Federizzi siblings from 111 years ago, then tracing the family history forward to present day. We can all learn something from researching our ancestry. Seeing the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors, offers a new perspective on the circumstances of our own lives and that of future generations.

I have come across a number of Dallachiesa listed within my personal DNA results, as well as this surname showing up in genealogy research from time to time. Since Dallachiesa does not appear in our original Genetti family tree, in the past I assumed the family was distantly related due to our shared family origin in Castelfondo. Now I understand through researching this photograph that Pietro Dallachiesa was actually much more closely related to me than previously thought. He was my first cousin, twice removed with our common ancestors being Alessandro Zambotti and Maria Covi (Pietro’s maternal grandparents and my paternal 2nd great-grandparents).

Simone and Catterina were the parents of Alessandro and Pietro Zambotti. (San Nicolo Cemetery in Castelfondo – marker no longer in cemetery)

And to confuse you even more about intermarriages between families, one of Peter Dallachiesa’s younger sisters, Maria Dallachiesa, married (Giuseppe) Alessandro Zambotti, son of her mother’s brother Simone Zambotti and his wife Catterina Dallachiesa. He was also Maria’s first cousin. Maria and Alessandro Zambotti’s children would have been cousins to each other as they were related through both their maternal and paternal lines.

Plus Alessandro’s brother, Pietro, married Ottilia Genetti, daughter of his Aunt Oliva (both pictured in our wedding photograph – but that’s a story for a future blog post!)

This means that within our wedding photograph the following people were all closely related: Silvio Genetti, Peter (Pietro) Zambotti, Dora (Addolorata) Genetti Bott, Tillie (Ottilia) Genetti Zambotti, and Peter (Pietro) Dallachiesa.

I’m sure we’ll find more close cousin relationships as we delve further into the wedding photograph of 1909!

Ancestors, Pennsylvania

Anatomy of a Photograph, Part 6

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Richard Fedrizzi and Angeline Cologna, 1909

It’s time to research the individual lives of those who appear in our photograph. I am always intrigued by the stories that emerge when digging into the genealogical record. Even the most mundane life can be an interesting glimpse back in time, capturing a snapshot of our ancestors. One of my favorite research exercises is to gather all of the clues left behind by a person or family and compile them into a life story.

Let’s begin with one of our wedding couples from that momentous day: Richard Fedrizzi and Angeline Cologna.

“Richard” was baptized Riccardo Cesera Fedrizzi and this name appears on all of his official documents. However, he must have “Americanized” his name upon arrival in Pennsylvania and went by Richard in everyday life. I found several newspaper clippings for miscellaneous events and classifieds that all referred to Riccardo Fedrizzi as “Richard”.

He was born on December 15th, 1879 in Nanno, Austria (now Italy). Nanno is located in the Val di Non, not far from the city of Trento. Riccardo arrived in New York City on October 17, 1905 at the age of 26. He found work as a miner in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. His bride-to-be, Angeline Cologna, arrived soon afterward in December of 1906. Angeline was 22 years old at the time, having been born in Raina, part of the Commune of Castelfondo.

The young couple was married on Saturday, February 13th, 1909 in a double wedding with Riccardo’s sister, Virginia Fedrizzi and her groom Peter Dallachiesa. Most likely the ceremony took place at Sacred Heart Church in Weston, with the reception held at Raffaele Genetti’s saloon and boarding house located in the same village. The newlyweds setup housekeeping in Weston where they lived for most of their married life.

In December of that same year, Riccardo applied to become a naturalized citizen by filing his Declaration of Intention. It would take three more years before his Petition for Naturalization was filed and granted.

By February of 1910, the couple’s first child was born. Her name was Amelia. Two more children quickly followed in 1911 and 1912. As the years rolled by, their family continued to grow. Riccardo and Angeline became the proud parents of eight children. Sadly, little Amelia died in 1920 at the age of ten. Her death was attributed to tetanus. The rest of the Fedrizzi children all lived to adulthood.

Albert (1911-1998), Esther (1916-2001), Eugene (1919-2000) and Richard Jr. (1924-2000) moved to Niagara Falls, New York. Personally, I found the fact that four of the Fedrizzi children lived in upstate New York to be of interest as I grew up not far away in Buffalo, NY.  Since I was a wedding photographer between the years of 1980 to 1991 and often worked in Niagara Falls, there was the opportunity that I may have encountered one of the Fedrizzi clan at a wedding. Who knows!

The other three children: Edith (1912-2000), Albino (1914-1964), and Victor (1925-living) all made their home in California. Eventually Riccardo and Angeline joined them on the west coast, spending their twilight years in the sunshine state. They moved in with their daughter Edith and her family.

Angeline passed away at the age of 74 on December 30, 1958. Riccardo followed a few years later, with his passing on September 30, 1963 at the age of 83. The couple is buried in Los Angeles County at Resurrection Cemetery.

Their one surviving child, Victor, is 95 years old and still resides in California. Being a first born American with both parents from the Val di Non, Victor is certainly one of the last living connections to our Tyrolean heritage.

In our next blog post we will look into the life of Riccardo’s sister Virginia Fedrizzi and her husband Peter Dellachiesa.

UPDATE: Thank you to Giovanni Marchetti for spotting an error in our text. Angeline Cologna Fedrizzi was born in Raina, which is part of the larger village of Castelfondo – not in Ravena as I had previously stated. According to San Nicolo baptismal records, Angeline was born on October 11, 1884 to Urbano Cologna and Rachele Ianes. Later documentation from the United States contained the error stating that Angeline was born in a different village. I have corrected my original blog post to read “Raina”.

Thank you Giovanni for helping with this correction! We are extremely grateful to all of our Italian cousins for reading our blog and sharing their knowledge with us! Mille grazie!

Ancestors, Family History, Family Stories, Genetti Family, Pennsylvania

Down the Rabbit Hole, Part 3

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Raffaele Geneti (1867-1949) as a young man, photographed in Hazleton, PA. Raffaele is seated. The gentleman next to him is Pietro “Simone” Zambotti (1869-1939).

Remember our “rabbit hole”? Here is where my research took a new direction and like Alice in Wonderland, down I went into the ancestral void. Allow me to explain!

One of my favorite genealogy resources is Newspapers.com. Old newspapers can yield an amazing amount of information not found anywhere else. As I was scanning through local papers, searching for any clue to our missing children, I began seeing a pattern of references for Raffaele Genetti spanning about 35 years. Many of the clippings fell under the category of license submissions. Noting the dates, I realized they formed a chronological history of Raffaele’s business dealings.

I placed all of the clippings in order according to date beginning in 1895 and extending through 1923. Here’s what I found: Every February anyone involved in the food and liquor industry had to apply for a license to operate or continue operating a business. During the month of March, applications were reviewed and licenses granted at the end of that month. However, there seemed to be only a limited number of licenses available each year. Therefore a proprietor may be shut out of the process and not receive a license for the upcoming year.

The first year I found Raffaele referenced was 1895, applying for a liquor license in Black Creek Township, PA. It appears he was not granted a license for that year. In 1897 he applied again under a restaurant license in the village of “Hopeville”. The license was granted and we can assume that year was the beginning of his saloon business. But I wondered – where in the world was Hopeville? Although there are many little townships in the Hazleton area, I had never heard of this village. After a good bit of searching, I found an online history explaining that Weston was originally called Hopeville. Sometime after 1900 the village changed its name to its current moniker. One mystery solved!

So now we know Raffaele is attempting to establish a business in Weston around 1897. But it’s not until a few years later when he is finally granted a liquor license for his restaurant. We also see that in 1900 he has a license to operate a butcher shop in Union Township East, Schuylkill County. Raffaele’s sister, Angeline Genetti Recla, is the proprietor of a dry goods store in that township catering to miners in Schuylkill County. Since Raffaele and Lucia lived right next door to Angeline, we probably can assume he maintained a butcher business in collaboration with his sister’s store.

Considering these public records, this verifies Raffaele was attempting to build a new business in Weston while at the same time maintaining his original business in East Union before moving his family to his future boarding house establishment in Luzerne County.

From another article published in The Miners Journal dated July 1904, all did not go smoothly for Raffaele’s businesses. It reads:

WANTS $5,000 DAMAGES

Wilkesbarre, July 19 – An action for damage was yesterday commenced by Rafael Genetti, of Hazleton, against Anna R. Davis, of the same place. The plaintiff claims that owing to scandalous words uttered by the defendant about him he believes that his reputation has been damaged to the amount of $5,000 and he brings the suit to recover this amount.

The specific statement of which the plaintiff complains is to the effect that Genetti peddled meat that was not fit to eat and that he took some church money.

When I Googled the value of $5,000 from 1904 translated into today’s terms, I received the answer of a “relative inflated worth” of: $150,116. Obviously Raffaele was very serious about the claims made against him, so much so, that he brought a substantial lawsuit against the alleged defendant. And considering the woman’s claim that he had stolen money from the church, this was a direct personal attack against his reputation. If you remember from our previous posts, I mentioned a disagreement Raffaele had with the Weston priest. It’s a pretty good bet that this claim was the source of his anger! I could find no further reference in the papers for this lawsuit.  We don’t know whether the court ruled in favor of Raffaele or the lawsuit was dropped.

The bad luck streak continued, with Raffaele’s liquor license denied during the years 1905, 1906 and 1907. Perhaps the lawsuit and alleged claims had something to do with the denial of his license. By 1908 things turned around and he once again regained his license to sell liquor at his Weston saloon. And in 1910 Raffaele was granted a license to operate a hotel and farm in Black Creek Township, Luzerne County, thus expanding his business holdings.

Of course, everything changed in 1920 with passage of the Prohibition Amendment. And sure enough, in an article dated February 1923, we find the following incident reported: “… agents had raided the saloons of Raffaele Genetti at Weston and Andrew Enama at Nuremberg where he secured a quantity of whisky and wine.” The article describes how local constables had turned a blind eye for several years to illegal liquor sales as well as gambling taking place at neighborhood businesses. Not trusting the local police to uphold prohibition laws, federal agents descended upon the area in 1923, raiding many businesses in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.

Raffaele along with 23 other local “speak-easy” owners were arrested for “manufacturing, selling and possessing liquor, stills, spirits, coloring extracts and mash”. The paper continued: “The defendants arraigned were all held under $1,000 bail for court.” And: “The federal authorities will attempt to impose jail sentences upon the principals in every case.”

Considering how many businessmen were hauled into court at this time, Raffaele was certainly not the only saloon owner attempting to keep his business open by selling illicit booze. We even see a reference about illegal alcohol in Stanley Genetti’s biography, describing his brief dealings in the early 1920’s with a local bootlegging gang (see pages 21 – 22 of Stanley’s biography).

On April 3, 1923, Raffaele went before the court accused of “selling high voltage beverages.” Unfortunately we don’t know the outcome of the trial as I can find no follow-up reports in the 1923 newspapers nor can I find any court documents from that time.

But all was not lost! We know Raffaele bounced back from this set-back.  From the memories of Raffaele’s granddaughter, Helene Smith Prehatny, we learn the former saloon/ dance hall was used from time to time for gatherings and events.  Newspaper advertisements from the late 1920’s and early 1930’s announce public dances held at Raffaele’s establishment, proclaiming the “Big Tyrolean Dance at Genetti’s Hall Weston. Everyone welcome – good music!”

Raffaele concentrated his business efforts on farming and raising chickens, with help from his sons, who were by now grown men.

In 1933, the Prohibition amendment was repealed, allowing saloon owners to once again provide legal alcoholic libations to the public.

From the photos we have of Raffaele, I always thought him to be a dashingly handsome man. But now I also knew him as an interesting and colorful individual! You have to admit, the Genetti family was never boring!

Read more:

Family Memories by Helene Smith Prehatny

Autobiography of Stanley Genetti

Ancestors, Family History, Family Stories, Genetti Family, Pennsylvania

Down the Rabbit Hole, Part 2

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Family of Raffaele (1867 – 1949) and Lucia (1865 – 1952) Genetti. Probably photographed in the mid-1940’s. Raffaele is standing in the middle, with Lucia seated. Their children from left to right: Mary Genetti Hudak (1901 – 1992), Elizabeth Genetti Smith (1904 – 1964), Silvio Genetti (1899 – 1982), Albert Genetti (1906 – 1990), Anna Genetti Nenstiel (1909 – 1974) and Leona Genetti Hayden (1903 – 1979).

We received an excellent comment from Conrad Reich suggesting I check parish records for baptismal and funeral information about little Alessandro and Raffaele Jr. I agree with Conrad, this appears to be the most logical place to search. Many of you are probably thinking the very same thing. I thought I should explain why this genealogical direction contains so many roadblocks.

If we look at public record, the family of Raffaele and Lucia Genetti were living in North Union, Schuylkill County, PA in 1900. Matter-of-fact, they were living right next door to Raffaele’s sister, Angela Genetti Recla. Soon after the 1900 Federal Census was recorded, the young family moved to Weston in Luzerne County, but we don’t know the exact date. Since both sons appear to have died right around this time, the question is what parish did the family belong to? Did they attend church in Schuylkill county or were they members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Luzerne County? Without exact birth and death dates, or knowing the family’s parish during these transition years, makes it extremely difficult to locate records.

The next hurdle concerning parish records is accessibility. You may not realize this, but the Catholic Church simply doesn’t share their records. Although you will find parish registries for some Catholic Churches in Europe through LDS catalogs at FamilySearch.org, the church has completely cracked down on allowing access to their records through any genealogy data base. If you search for Pennsylvania church records on Ancestry.com, you will find many registries for various Protestant faiths – but absolutely none for any Catholic Church in the state. This means the only possibility of gaining access to baptismal records would be to go directly to the church (remember, we don’t know the specific church the family attended at the time of the two boys’ passing) and inquire with the local priest. You may also find that the baptismal records you are seeking are no longer kept at the church but archived somewhere else. Plus Catholic priests are notorious for not responding to genealogy requests!

Since I live in New Mexico, making personal contact with the priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Weston and tracking down the appropriate records is simply not feasible. Of course, if anyone else would like to undertake this task, I would be most appreciative!

Grave of Raffaele and Lucia Genetti, Calvary Cemetery, Drums, PA

Adding to this confusion is another issue. At our last family reunion I was told Raffaele had a discrepancy with the priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. As a result, Raffaele , Lucia and most of their family are not buried in Weston, but in Calvary Cemetery in Drums. Searching online cemetery records, it appears neither Alessandro nor Raffaele Jr. are buried near their family at Calvary. And I have yet to find an online grave listing for either of them in Weston or Schuylkill County.

FYI – this type of challenge is referred to in genealogy as a “brick wall” – and it can take years to break through!

However while I was conducting research about the family, I did stumble upon a series of notations published in the local newspaper containing enticing clues as to why Raffaele may have had a conflict with the priest in Weston. I’ll tell you all about it in our next blog post: Down the Rabbit Hole, Part 3!

Ancestors, Family History, Family Stories, Genetti Family, Pennsylvania

Down the Rabbit Hole, Part 1

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Raffaele Genetti (1867-1949) and Lucia Zambotti Genetti (1867-1952) with their first child, Alessandro (1895-1900?). Photographed about 1897, Pennsylvania.

When you hang out with genealogists, a certain kind of lingo infiltrates your thinking. Such things as brick walls, NPEs and search angels are common jargon amongst my research friends.

Since my last blog post about the family of Raffaele and Lucia Genetti, one particular genealogy term describes my recent research: “falling down the rabbit hole”.

Allow me to explain. After publishing the last post in our series, Anatomy of a Photograph, I received several thoughtful comments addressing missing information. Two of the comments were from descendants of Raffaele and Lucia. I felt their concerns were valid and should be researched, with the possibility of updating our current tree.

Beginning my research as I usually do by accessing various online data bases, I soon found myself “falling down the rabbit hole”. In genealogy terminology this means: I lost my focus due to search results leading me in a totally unexpected direction. The information I stumbled upon was interesting enough to pursue further and was directly linked to the Weston saloon owned by Raffaele and Lucia.

Because of this, I am taking a short break from our original series and will present several posts addressing your previous comments, as well as present new research I have unearthed about the Genetti establishment.

Part 1

Two of the comments left on our blog were from the grandchildren of Raffaele and Lucia: Helene Prehatny and Ralph Genetti. Both thought there were eight children in the family, rather than the seven I mentioned in my original post. Although I had explained the death of the family’s oldest son, Alessandro, Ralph was sure there was another child named Raffaele Jr. who had died at birth. But Ralph had no specific information about the infant’s birth or death date or age at time of death.

This child was completely missing from our tree and I had no sources within my research indicating an eighth birth in the family. I agreed with Ralph that it required further investigation.

Since we had no specific information for Alessandro either, other than being mentioned in the 1900 Federal Census as being five years old, I felt it was necessary to do in-depth research for both boys.

Returning to my most reliable online sources, I scoured data bases for any mention of Alessandro or Raffaele Jr. I also searched Find-A-Grave and Newspapers.com for some scrap of evidence on either child. There was nothing. I even went back into my archive from San Nicolo in Castelfondo, hoping there may be a slim chance relatives of Raffaele or Lucia had notified the village priest of a family birth in Hazleton. (If the couple had relatives still living in Castelfondo and they had kept a close connection with family, sometimes you will find a birth in the United States included in the church’s baptismal records.) Unfortunately, once again I came up empty. There was simply no paper trail left for either infant.

As a genealogist, this places me in an unusual predicament. If I go by the rules, there is no confirmed evidence such as a grave or public record for an eighth child named Raffaele Jr. And since this child was born prior to the 1900 Federal Census, there is no one alive today with any memory of the birth. I know from experience, trusting stories as fact can often lead to inaccurate information entered into family trees and archives (our double wedding photo is a good example of this very thing!). Incorrect information is not useful for future generations of family researchers as it leads to generational mistakes.

It should also be noted that there is a common practice to exclude stillborn births and those that die in childhood from family trees as they produce no heirs to carry on the family line. Our original tree adheres to this philosophy as I have found dozens of births in the Castelfondo records where the child was dropped from various family branches due to death before reaching adulthood.

Since both Ralph and Helene were sure there was another child in Raffaele and Lucia’s family, I decided on a compromise. I have added little Raffaele to our tree but his birth and death dates are listed as “about 1897”. Since no one knows the facts about his birth date, age at time of death or death date, I had to use basic historical facts and make my best guess. We know from the 1900 Federal Census that Alessandro was born sometime around 1895 and the next child listed, Silvio, was born in 1899. There is a very good chance that Raffaele Jr. was born between these two children in 1897. Because he is not listed in the 1900 Census, we know that he did not reach the age of three and may very well have died as an infant.

In an attempt to keep our records as accurate as possible, the listings for both children have now been modified to read:

Alessandro Genetti, born about 1895, died between 1900 and 1910. Additional Note: There are no public records for the death of Alessandro. We know he appears in the 1900 Census as being 5 yrs. old, but he is not listed in the 1910 Census.

Raffaele Genetti Jr., born about 1897, died about 1897. Additional Note: There is no known evidence of the birth or death of Raffaele Jr. other than the memory of family descendants.

Watch for “Down the Rabbit Hole, Part 2” coming soon!