Category: Genealogy Resources

DNA, Genealogy Resources, Genealogy Tips, genetic genealogy

On a Personal Note

by L.Roach • October 30, 2020 • 4 Comments

Since the intention of this blog is to discuss genealogy, family history and Tyrolean culture, I usually keep my posts on theme and don’t relate anything of a personal nature. However the past two months have brought a number of unusual circumstances into my life and I want to share these with you. So sit back with a cup of coffee while I relate the trials and tribulations of my recent adventures during self-isolation.

In September my computer crashed and burned! Yep, I had a dead laptop and a big headache to go with it! Since I rely heavily on my computer for just about everything (including this website and blog!) I knew I had to meet the problem head-on and get through it.

After a few days of online research using a borrowed laptop from my husband, I decided on a new PC, ordered it from Amazon and a week later my shiny new computer was delivered to my door.

Then the fun began! Luckily all of my graphic and genealogy files were saved to external hard drives. No problem there – all of my precious specialized files were safe and sound. And I had automatic cloud backup for my main hard drive through Backblaze. However I soon found out – reloading all of my software and then restoring thousands of files from my old computer to my new laptop was a massive job! Thank goodness I had cloud backup or I would have been in real trouble. The annual fee to Backblaze was certainly money well spent!

Since I am also a graphic artist, there are hundreds of embedded files such as fonts, etc. that had to be located and reloaded into the correct program. It took almost three weeks to get my new computer in working order. Although I lost a few apps and files here and there, for the most part I was back to normal by the beginning of October. This is one reason why you have seen so few blog posts from me in the past two months.

The second thing to occur in my life during this time of isolation is an unexpected turn on the genealogy research path. Since March I have been actively helping NPEs (non-parental events, adoptees) along with others who have family members with questionable parentage, locate birth parents and solve family mysteries. This has taken up the majority of my time and I now consider myself a full-time “Search Angel” (someone who works pro bono in helping others locate family). Within the past seven months, I have solved six “cases”, found a number of unknown half-siblings, yanked a few skeletons out of dark family closets and thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Helping others in their life-long search for the truth is both thrilling and rewarding. I now consider this to be my life purpose. So – I am currently in the process of channeling my genealogy energy towards the goal of being a full-time “gen geni” (genetic genealogist). Although I’m not exactly sure how this pivot will occur, I am making tentative plans to proceed in this direction. I love being a modern-day detective, using DNA and genealogy to solve family mysteries. And believe me – I have found many strange and unknown events hiding in every family tree that I have researched!

In closing, I would say there is certainly a silver lining to this time of self-isolation. With no social engagements to contend with and quiet days allowing for deep research and concentration, I have found a rewarding direction that naturally utilizes my personal skills.

Thanks for listening to my private ramblings! If there are any folks out there with lingering questions about their family origins (unknown birth parents, mysterious grandparents or unexplained DNA matches) send me an email and I’ll see if I can be of assistance.

Books, Genealogy Resources, Genetti Shop, Tyrolean History

Books, books, books!

by L.Roach • November 23, 2019 • 0 Comments

The Tyrol, reproduction of 1905 book – (paid link)

I have always been a voracious bookworm! My Amazon Kindle is never far from my reach and my office is lined with one full wall of books. These days I prefer reading eBooks as they are often less expensive and more portable than paperbacks or hardcopy books.

However I do make an exception for one category – anything about Tyrolean/Trentini culture and heritage, and all books produced by the village of Castelfondo (I have three!). During the past eleven years I have collected a small ancestry library containing original volumes (some over a hundred years old!) and reprints of titles now in the public domain. Some of my books are quite valuable and no longer available in print. Others are self-published, written by fellow American Tyroleans.

In my library I have: travel guides from the 1800’s, cookbooks created by Trentini chefs, anthologies of Tyrolean folktales and legends, and political theses discussing the historical conflict of the South Tyrol.

The Tyroleans – (paid link)

My personal Tyrolean library has been compiled from many different sources. I have purchased new and used books on Amazon; found treasured out-of-print volumes on eBay; and toted many a gifted tomb home in my suitcase after visiting the Val di Non. On some trips, I have even left clothes behind in order to accommodate in my luggage the precious books, both purchased and given to me, during my travels.

I also have many selections dealing with genealogical research and DNA testing, to assist with my ongoing research into our family history. And most recently, I have added genealogy fiction to my favorites list (purely for recreational reading, this category does not pertain to our Tyrolean ancestry.)

It is with great pleasure that I maintain our Family Bookstore on the Genetti website; and a joy sharing with you my love of history, genealogy and culture through books!

This past week I added twelve new titles to our Family Bookstore. You’ll find these listings under the following categories:

Tyrolean Culture and History
DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
Genealogy Research
Genealogy Fiction

I must confess, my new guilty pleasure is the genre of “Genealogy Fiction”! You’ll find loads of new recommendations in this group, all of which I have read in the past year! I loved the seven book series by British author Steve Robinson. Filled with genealogy mystery (and murder), I devoured this series. Usually murder mysteries are not my thing, but throw in genealogy and historical drama – and I can’t resist. And for those interested in war history and historical fiction, I recommend the seven book series by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. I couldn’t put these books down!

The Forensic Genealogist Series
Books 1, 2, 3 – (paid link)

I hope you enjoy my curated collection of books. Perhaps one or two will strike your fancy!

Or begin your Christmas shopping now by browsing our Family Bookstore for that special holiday gift.

Simply click on the link provided for each book in our Bookstore and it will take you directly to Amazon.

Visit the Genetti Family Bookstore, click here!

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Special Note: Amazon prices are subject to change without notice! The book prices listed in our online bookstore may be different from the online sale price (over time some books decrease in price, some books increase in price due to demand). We update information on a regular basis.

All books in our shop are provided by Amazon through their affiliate program. Your purchase from our online Bookstore helps defray the costs of this website as well as support ongoing genealogy research. Mille grazie!

Statement as required by my Amazon Operating Agreement: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases”

Genealogy Resources, Genealogy Tips, Related Surnames, Resources, Trentini, Tyrolean History

Guest Post by Allen Rizzi: Tirolean Names

by L.Roach • September 1, 2019 • 10 Comments

Allen Rizzi
Author and Blogger

Today we have an interesting and informative guest article by author, songwriter, genealogist and fellow Trentini American, Allen E. Rizzi. We feature two of Allen’s books in our Family Bookstore (you’ll find links for all of his books at the end of this blog post).

I follow Allen’s eclectic blog and as soon as I read this post, I knew it would be perfect for the Genetti Family Genealogy Project.

If you enjoy Allen’s insightful article, read more of Mr. Rizzi’s plethora of commentary or subscribe to his blog at: https://rizziallen.wordpress.com/

Here is Allen’s August 30th post in its entirety.

Tirolean Names by Allen Rizzi

I have always loved names, especially Tirolean surnames. Surnames were invented after first names ceased to distinguish various people in small villages and towns. Prior to the year 800, people usually only had given names in the Tirol. Hence, you find Johannes fu (or von) Dominicus to simply describe the birth of Johannes, son of Dominicus. It was a simple naming convention and it worked… for awhile.

Surnames were then used to distinguish between the various people having the same given name in any particular population center. They were often fashioned after the patriarch’s given name. Of the various Johannes living in one spot, the surname was added; perhaps Dominici to distinguish a particular Johannes who was descended from Dominicus. Surnames were always descriptive and were intended to differentiate for reasons of census and taxation.

But as populations grew, there were too many people of the same given name and same surname in any one location. Confusion once again reigned. In my native village of Cloz for example, there were many people named Giovanni Rizzi at any one time. What to do? In the Tirol, sopranomi (nicknames) were introduced.

Sopranomi were first used to distinguish people with identical names living in one population center or town. If there were too many Johannes Dominicis in one area, the sopronome helped to discern which Johannes Dominici was being named in any instance.

Sopranomi vary widely in the Tirol. Some are taken from physical characteristic, others from one’s occupation and still others from the patriarch of the family. I was, for example, born Picolo Alessandro di Eugenio Valentino Von Rizzi Regin. The last of this huge moniker is my soprnome, Regin. It derives from the fact that a very distant ancestor once worked in the court of Maria Teresa of Austria (regin = queen in our dialect) as a secretary. My grandmother’s sopranome was Segala, indicating that one of her ancestors was known for being born in a rye field. Sopranomi were mandatory for many years as populations in the Tirol grew. Both governments and local residents had to know who exactly was being referred to. Today, they are of little real importance although most families still carry them with pride as a cherished piece of their heritage. In fact in some villages, people are still known only by their sopranome rather than their surname.

But let’s turn our attention to those wonderful Tirolean surnames. Many simply mean “sons of” such as Michelini, Bertagnolli, Martinelli, Giuliani (sons of Michael, Umberto, Martin and Julian). Of all Tirolean surnames, this type is the most common. Hundreds of examples can be found, many ending in “i.” Sometimes surnames of German origin have been Italianized such as Gebardi (sons of Gebhart, which in turn means hardy and brave). Other Germanic surnames have survived intact such as Larcher (living among the larch ((tamarack)) trees), Mayrhofer (from the region of Mayrhof in Austria.) and Kirschbaumer (cherry grower).

Still other surnames are descriptive of physical characteristics such as my own surname Rizzi, which simply means “curly haired.” In my native village of Cloz in the Val di Non, there are only a few surnames: Angeli (Angels), Franch (free of taxation), Gembrini (born in December), Flor (flower), Floretta (little flower), Zanoni (sons of John), Canestrini (little jars), Rauzi (root harvesters) and of course Rizzi.

Yet other surnames describe a trade or residence location. These are commonly found in both the Italian and German rooted languages. Some examples of trade referenced surnames include Zadra (weavers), Kofler (land surveyors), Geiser (goat herders), Sartori (tailors), Mitterer (carpenters), Preti (priests), and Zucali (pumpkin growers).

Examples of residence referenced surnames include Aufderklamm (living on the gorge), Plattner (living on level fields), Egger (living on the corner), DalRi (living near the river), DallaValle (living in the valley), Dalsass (living among the stones), Dalpiaz (living in the piazza), Clauser (from Cloz) and Ausserer (living outside the edge of town).

Sometimes, surnames are super obvious. I recently saw a funeral notice for a woman whose maiden name was Carotta (carrot) and whose married name was Stanchina (a little tired). I joked that she had passed away as a “carrot who was a little tired.” Actually, the woman lived to 103 years; not bad for a tired old vegetable!

In all cases Tirolean surnames actually mean something, even if it has been lost in ancient local dialect. That’s where genealogists like me come in. Many of us are able to trace the exact origin of surnames, even if those words or names no longer exist or have been drastically changed.

Tirolean names – They are interesting and most have a very long and traceable history. If you would like your Tirolean name researched, please get in touch with me. Genealogy is what I do. You may contact me here: http://www.allenrizzi.weebly.com

About Allen Rizzi: Writer with over 55 years professional experience including non-fiction, music, and corporate analytical writing. Author of eight books available through Amazon.com. Additional expertise as a photographer. Specialties: Historical non-fiction, fiction, nostalgia, public profiles, biographies, contracts, and documentary writing in English, Italian, and German. Recent articles have appeared in The Numismatist, NOS Magazine, and on the internet. Music composition and lyrics have been a specialty since 1974. Songwriting credits include over 150 songs (1974-present): Easy Listening, Country, Rock, and R&B. Currently completing a book in German and writing music and lyrics for recording artists in the United States and Europe. Cogito, ergo scribo….

For more info, please see Allen Rizzi’s LinkedIn account at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-rizzi-59ab5420/

Books by Allen Rizzi

Click on book for Amazon link:

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

Link Resource List

by L.Roach • June 23, 2019 • 0 Comments

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.

Ancestors, Family History, Family Stories, Genealogy Resources, Genetti Family, Immigration

Hurry! Our Family DVD Will Soon Be Discontinued!

by L.Roach • October 11, 2017 • 2 Comments

There are only a few copies left of our professionally edited DVD: “The Genetti Family of Castelfondo: Our Journey to America”! The deadline to order is December 31, 2017. After this date the DVD will be discontinued and we will no longer ship copies.

If you missed Reunion 2016 or would like a unique Christmas gift for a family member, this DVD is the perfect solution! Place your order TODAY – hurry before you miss this opportunity to own a piece of Genetti genealogy!

The price for this beautifully packaged presentation is $20 (includes shipping).

Please send your check addressed to:
William Genetti, 1345 N. Church St., Hazle Township, PA 18202.

Stop by the Genetti Family Shop for more goodies and gifts, from books about Tyrolean heritage to coffee mugs with the Genetti family coat-of-arms. Click here to shop!

Books, Family Stories, Genealogy Resources, Genetti Family, Immigration, Pennsylvania

Books by the Family

by L.Roach • March 24, 2016 • 1 Comment

Stanley V. Genetti
1899-1988

I have just added a new page to our Gallery section: Books by Members of the Genetti Family. This important project has been on the back-burner for at least a year and now I am finally devoting time to making it happen.

We have two family members (that I know of) who have penned memoirs: Stanley Genetti (Pennsylvania) and Herman Genetti (Wyoming). Copies of both books have been forwarded to me through different channels. They were obviously written with a great deal of love and with the intention of sharing family history. Until now, both autobiographies existed only as paper copies in the possession of a few relatives. As personal legacies offering an account of life during a bygone era, I feel the narratives are an important part of our shared ancestry. In making them available on this website, I hope others will find great joy and comfort in the stories they tell. Perhaps the bios will inspire others to write their own account of life within the Genetti clan.

I am pleased to announce that The Autobiography of Stanley Genetti is now available on our website and can be download as a PDF file. This entertaining bio is a true treasure – I have read it several times and always find a new revelation with each reading. As with most memoirs, Stanley wrote this account from memory, including family stories and lore passed down from his elders, as well as autobiographical information about life as a businessman. I appreciated Stanley’s perspective of the Genetti businesses and the role he played within the family hierarchy. Since my grandfather, Leon Genetti, was Stanley’s older brother and one of his business partners, the memoir provides a peek into my own family dynamics.

Genetti Store – Hazleton Heights, PA – 1921

Stanley self-published his book in 1981, distributing it to cousins, children and friends. As with any memoir, it’s always a good idea to check against genealogy records before using generational information as fact. At the time Stanley compiled his memories, there was no internet or the ability to fact-check against baptismal and death records. Written at the age of 82 and with both of his parents, (Damiano and Oliva) long gone, it would have been difficult to accurately record specifics about his parents’ siblings. Unfortunately several details about his aunts and uncles are not consistent with Castelfondo church records (the corrected information can be found on the Genetti online family tree). But hey – I hope I can look back on my life at 82 and remember so much! Kudos to you Stanley – your gift of memories will be treasured by future generations as a source of pride, recognizing the entrepreneurial spirit of our ancestors.

I hope you enjoy and share the legacy of story that Stanley left for us. Many thanks to his family who made this book available to me.

I am currently working on a digitize version of Herman Genetti’s book – Herman’s Howlings, and hope to have it online soon. If there are other family journals, collections of letters or biographies out there, gathering dust while stashed in a forgotten shoe box, please consider sharing these pearls of wisdom with us. If they are only available in paper form, mail me a Xeroxed copy. I will gladly spend the time to digitize it into a PDF format and post it on our website.

Thank you once again to all of our contributors. Through your efforts, we are building a genealogical endowment for future generations.

I invite you to take a few moments and visit our ever-growing Gallery Section!

Ancestors, Family History, Genealogy Resources, Genetti Family, Pennsylvania

What Can a Death Certificate Tell You?

by L.Roach • July 28, 2015 • 0 Comments

Leon A. Genetti
1887-1962

I’ve been thinking about this post for some time. A few months ago I decided to research all death certificates related to my immediate family. Now this might not sound like a pleasant task, but from a genealogy perspective a death certificate can yield a wealth of information. Unfortunately, not all states have their records readily available through online data bases. However, the state of Pennsylvania has recently published their death certificates online for the years 1906 through 1963. Since most of my family settled, lived and died in Pennsylvania, it was easy to track down this information at Ancestry.com.

What can a Certificate of Death tell us? If the information is properly and correctly notated, you’ll find the following: name of parents, name of spouse, age and date of birth, birthplace, occupation, social security number, address, cause of death, and a number of other interesting facts about this person. The info provided can be extremely beneficial, filling in unknown gaps in your ancestor’s genealogical record. My reason for researching family death certificates was a bit more personal.

I wanted to check the Medical Certificate section of the death records along with the cause of death. Although I am reasonably still young and in good health, there have been a few health-related issues present on my most recent annual check-ups (high cholesterol and high glucose levels). I wanted to see if heredity was playing a role in elevating my health stats.

Pennsylvania Certificate of Death,
Leon Genetti – 1962
click to enlarge

It didn’t take long to track down the Certificates of Death for both of my fraternal grandparents (Leon Genetti and Angeline Marchetti) and three great-grandparents (Oliva Zambotti Genetti, Giovanni Battista Marchetti and Catterina Lucia Fellin Marchetti). As I suspected, heart-related issues and diabetes were listed as contributing factors of death on four out of five of their certificates. Our genetic make-up is a veritable vegetable soup of inherited DNA snippets! And my DNA was most likely hard-wired with an increased probability towards heart disease and Type II diabetes.

Although I wasn’t particularly happy to read this news, it confirmed that my genetic make-up needed to be taken into account when making personal health decisions such as altering my diet, exercise, etc.

Curious about health issues and the reason of death for your ancestors? Gaining this knowledge could be a great asset to your own health and well-being. If you’re a member of Ancestry.com, take advantage of their huge card catalog of searchable data bases. So far they include Death indexes for Pennsylvania, Texas, California, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, with more records being added daily. If you don’t have access to Ancestry.com, drop me an email with the name of the ancestor you are looking for, along with their date of death and place of death. If their Certificate of Death is available online, I’ll find it for you.

If the record is not posted online, an alternative method is to contact the county or state vital records office in the place where the death of your ancestor took place. They will provide you with a hard copy of their death certificate.

Need more info? Here’s a page by legal experts, NOLO, on “How to Get a Death Certificate“.

Ancestors, Cousins, Family History, Family Trees, Genealogy Resources, Genealogy Tips

Cousins!

by L.Roach • December 16, 2014 • 1 Comment

First cousins, Bill Genetti and Jean Branz Daly, about 1940.

In previous blog posts you’ve heard me talk about 2nd cousins, 8th cousins, cousins that are once or twice removed, and so on. What does this genealogy jargon mean and how do I figure out the relationship between all of those cousins?

Surprisingly, we all have a multitude of distant cousins. If you take an autosomal DNA test (a combination of both parent’s DNA) through Ancestry.com or Family Tree DNA, you will be matched up with others who have snippets of the same DNA. The more pieces of their DNA that match, the higher the likelihood that they are a close relative of yours. A first cousin may match up to 25% of your DNA. A sibling should match close to 50%. The more distant the cousin, the less DNA will match. We’ll save the DNA discussion for another time, since it is rather complicated. But just keep this info in mind as we discuss different degrees of cousins.

Lidia Genetti (center) with two daughters, Giovanna and Laura. Laura’s young daughter Viola is also in the photo. Photographed 2014.

To determine a cousin relationship you first need to find your Closest Common Relative or CCR. You then count each generation away from this CCR to determine the cousin level.

Here’s is an easy way to remember cousin levels:

– Siblings or half-siblings: you share a parent.

– 1st cousins: you share a grandparent and are from the same generation.

– 2nd cousins: you share a great-grandparent and are from the same generation.

– 3rd cousins: you share a 2nd great-grandparent and are from the same generation.

– 4th cousins: you share a 3rd great-grandparent and are from the same generation.

At Genetti reunion 2010, Valeria Genetti Bozek, Louise Genetti Roach and Marianne Genetti.

And it continues from there. I have traced some people to the level of 8th cousins! Usually I can figure out the relationships up to 4th cousins in my head. For really distant cousins (5th and beyond) I have to look at our family tree and physically count each generation from our Closest Common Relative. The further back in time that the CCR lived, the more distant the cousin. After discovering several 8th cousins, I found our CCR was born around the mid-1600’s.

Now comes the difficult part of the equation – what does “once removed mean”? This means that you share a CCR, but are from different generations. For example: the child of my first cousin would be my “first cousin, once removed”. Or in other terms, my grandparent(s) and their great-grandparent(s) are the same person – this is our shared CCR. A first cousin, twice removed would be the grandchild of my first cousin. Yeah, I know, it sounds complicated! But once you get the hang of it, the system really isn’t difficult to understand. The cousin relationship is one of the most important tools you have when researching genealogy to help discover family connections.

And in answer to several people who have written me – sorry, a second cousin is not the same as a first cousin, once removed. Second cousins share a great-grandparent. First cousins, once removed share a grandparent/great-grandparent (same person).

Let’s talk about the photos that accompany this post. The first image is of first cousins Bill Genetti and Jean Branz Daly, they share a set of grandparents and are also my father’s first cousins. My relationship to both Bill and Jean is first cousin, once removed – we have the same Closest Common Relatives, but I am from the next generation – or one generation removed.

The second photo shows Lidia Genetti from Italy with her two daughters and a granddaughter. Lidia’s 2nd great-grandparents and my 3rd great-grandparents are the same, Antonio and Veronica Genetti, (Antonio was born in 1789). That makes me Lidia’s 3rd cousin, once removed. Since I am from the same generation as Lidia’s daughters, I am their 4th cousin (we share the same 3rd great-grandparents, Antonio and Veronica). Laura’s daughter is my 4th cousin, once removed because she is from the next generation.

And the third photo pictures myself with Valeria Genetti Bozek and Marianne Genetti. Valeria and I are second cousins, we share a set of great-grandparents, Damiano and Oliva Genetti. But Marianne was my first cousin, once removed. Marianne’s grandparents were Damiano and Oliva, but since I am from the next generation, Damiano and Oliva are my great-grandparents. (To read more about Marianne Genetti, please visit her Tribute.)

Just one more fact to make your head spin – every person has sixty-four 4th great-grandparents or 32 sets! Yep, that’s a whole lot of great-grandparents! If each family had on average of three surviving children, that makes 96 fifth cousins. If you multiply that same equation out over five more generations, you end up with an average of 23,328 cousins! At last count my great-grandparents, Damiano and Oliva Genetti, have five generations of descendants – over 250 people!

Now you understand why you have so many cousins!

Here are two excellent Wikipedia articles that explain cousin relations and the DNA connection:

Autosomal DNA statistics

How to chart cousins

Genealogy Resources, Genealogy Tips, Resources

My Desk

by L.Roach • December 15, 2014 • 0 Comments

Just for giggles I thought you might like to see my work space. This is where I do family research, work on the Genetti Family Genealogy website and blog, and ponder over ancestry mysteries.

Hanging on the wall is a print of our family tree, where I can easily reference it. The bright blue and yellow banner on the left was given to me by Dino Marchetti, an ex-mayor and unofficial town historian of Castelfondo. It contains the Coat-of-Arms of the Commune of Castelfondo, Italy.

On the wall to my left hangs a print of the carved marble family coat-of-arms (called a “stemma” in Italian), and a print of the Gothic fresco that graces the front wall of the Genetti homestead in Castelfondo.

This all sets the “mood” when I sit down at my computer to dig through names, dates, old newspaper articles, data bases and photos. I also have a bookshelf filled with books about Italy, the Tyrolean culture, documents and photos sent to me over the years, and a huge binder containing research notes. Lol …yes, I guess you could say that I am passionate about genealogy!

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