Category: Genetti Family

Ancestors, Castelfondo, Italy, Family Stories, Genetti Family

What’s In a Name

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Damiano-2

Cosma Damiano Genetti
Born: 26 Sept 1857
Died: 3 Dec 1944

Have you ever wondered where your name came from? Often when researching family genealogy, a namesake from an earlier generation will become apparent. For example: a son named after a grandfather or a daughter named after a favorite aunt. On the Genetti Family tree, sons are often named after fathers, grandfathers or an uncle. Each branch of our tree also has certain names that are passed down from generation to generation, identifying that particular family line. For example, you see the prevalence of Giovanni Battista, Pietro and Francesco in my branch of the tree. Another branch shows many Giorgio and Pietro ancestors. A third section of the tree has numerous Francesco Nicolo and Giovanni Battista.

When I began researching my great-grandfather and his siblings, I found the names in his family to be poetic and a bit different from others in that generation. A few children were named after family members, but others had their own unique character. My “bisnonno” (great-grandfather) was Cosma Damiano – certainly an unusual name! Other siblings included: Sisinio Alessandro, Angela Maddalena, Angelo Rafaele, Agostino Leone, Dionisio Antonio and Erminia Enrica. All lovely, expressive monikers.

But it was “Cosma Damiano” that I was fascinated by. There were no other men on the family tree with this name. Why had Catterina (my twice great-grandmother) baptized her second son with this odd name? With no clues to go by from the tree, I decided to do a web search. Perhaps he was named after a famous person or his “nome” had some other importance.

StCosmaDamiano

Twin physician brothers,
Saints Cosma and Damiano.

The answer came immediately from Wikipedia. “Santi Cosma e Damiano” or Saints Cosma and Damiano, were early Christian martyrs who died in the 3rd century. Twin brothers, they were considered to be two of the earliest physicians. They practiced their profession of healing, refusing to take any payment for their services. OK, this was interesting, but why had Catterina chosen this name for her son? Reading on, I found the clue. The feast day of Saints Cosma and Damiano was September 27. My bisnonno had been born on September 26, 1857 and baptized the next day on September 27th. His mother must have considered her baby’s birth to have an important synchronicity with this feast day. Although I have no proof to go by other than an educated guess, I believe this reasoning to be a fairly good conclusion of why the baby was named “Cosma Damiano”.

Two other interesting points to note:

– The Catholic church decided to move the feast day in 1969 from September 27th to September 26th, which coincidentally now coincides with Damiano Genetti’s birth date!

– Damiano Genetti, like his namesakes, was also considered a physician by the Tyrolean people of Castelfondo, Italy and Hazleton, Pennsylvania. He was well-versed in herbal medicine and several other curative methods. And, like Saints Cosma and Damiano, he took no payment from anyone who sought his services. This information was related to me many times by Damiano’s grandchildren and by several people in Castelfondo. It was also documented in a book by Marco Romano, comprised of interviews by village elders. Damiano and his healing abilities were mentioned many times by those who knew and remembered him.

If Catterina’s intention was to name her son after the two physician saints, it seems to have had a prophetic effect on Damiano’s life.

 

Read more about Saints Cosma and Damiano:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santi_Cosma_e_Damiano 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Cosmas_and_Damian 

Ancestors, Family History, Genetti Family, Related Surnames

Sorting Out Cousins

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In an earlier blog post I confessed my penchant for figuring out family tree kinship. You know … things like 3rd cousin, twice removed, etc., etc. Well the other day something happen that really challenged my abilities to discern relationships. Here’s the story:

AngelineMarchetti

Angeline Marchetti Genetti – photographed around 1950

I was browsing the posts on an obscure forum called “Trentino Genealogy and Culture“, looking for tidbits that might offer an ancestral clue. I’ve learned that information can sometimes be found in the strangest of places. An inquiry caught my eye. Someone was looking for info on her grandmother, a Marchetti from Nuremberg, Pennsylvania who was married to a Bott. Hmmmm … interesting, I thought. Since my paternal grandmother was Angeline Marchetti Genetti from Nuremberg, PA and one of my Genetti grand-aunts was married to a Bott, this post could provide a genealogy lead.

The post was several years old, so I wasn’t sure the email address was still valid. I took a chance and composed a simple message introducing myself, explaining who my ancestors were, and offering the possibility that we could be related. I also included an invitation to visit The Genetti Family Genealogy Project website. Within 24 hours an answer from “FKL” was in my inbox. Yes, she was sure we were related – and possibly in more ways than one!

Addolorata Genetti

Addolorata “Dora” Genetti Bott

Let’s see if you can follow this kinship line. It was confusing even for me!

FKL’s grandmother (Anna) and my grandmother (Angeline) were sisters. OK, that’s an easy one to figure out. Since we share a common great-grandfather, (Angeline and Anna’s father – Giovanni Battista Marchetti) and because we are of the same generation, FKL and I are second cousins.

Now comes the hard part along with a surprising Genetti twist. FKL’s grandfather was Guiseppi Bott (married to Anna Marchetti). Guiseppi was the brother of Verecondo Bott who married my grandfather’s sister, Dora Genetti (my grand-aunt). Are you following so far? Well Dora and Verecondo still have one living child, Helen. Because Dora and my grandfather (Leon Genetti) were siblings, that made my father and Helen first cousins. This means Helen and I are first cousins, once removed. Our closest common ancestors are Damiano Genetti and Oliva Zambotti – my paternal great-grandparents and Helen’s maternal grandparents (meaning that we are of different generations, thus first cousins, once removed). Since Verecondo was Helen’s father, that would make Guiseppi (FKL’s grandfather) Helen’s uncle. Therefore, Helen and FKL are also first cousins, once removed! Yikes! I was awake all night trying to figure this one out!

NuremburgGroup1

October 1906 – Weston, PA. Dora Genetti Bott is #4 and Angeline Marchetti Genetti is #17.
Click on photo to enlarge.

Somehow I had accidentally stumble on multiple connections between three families … and a new 2nd cousin! Since we have many Marchettis and Botts on the Genetti family tree, this was a wonderful discovery. FKL and her sister plan to share their own family genealogy information with me so we can add it to our ever-growing online tree.

I just love these accidental discoveries! They always open my eyes and heart to what a small world we live in!

 

Check out the Genetti Family online tree at: http://genettifamily.tribalpages.com/

Ancestors, Family Trees, Genetti Family

Continuing Research on Family Tree

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Original Genetti Family TreeMost of you know that the Genetti Family Tree is large and extensive. Beginning in the 1400’s, it separates into two branches around 1590, and again divides into four main branches by 1680. The tree follows male ancestors only. Each name contains a birth year along with their spouse and marriage date. Death dates are not included. After the late 1700’s, a population boom is evident as the tree now blossoms out into many branches.

Several years ago, when I began my genealogy research, I concentrated on my particular family line. This involved tracing the original baptismal, marriage and death records for each male ancestor, along with online searches through data bases and other family trees. As I found new information such as death dates, spousal birth and death dates, daughters and missing male children not included on the tree, I added this info to my file. After many, many hours of research I was able to identify and document 13 generations up to my grandfather, along with all of the children born to each ancestor, including birth, marriage and death dates. This information, along with vital stats on spousal families such as the Marchetti and Zambotti families, makes up the online family tree data base found on this website.

Now comes the real challenge – researching the rest of the tree! Between blog posts and adding new photos and stories to the website, I continue to research separate individual branches of the Genetti tree. So far I have added one new line for the Genetti family who emigrated and settled in Illinois. I am currently working on a branch of the family who remained in Castelfondo and another branch whose descendants are in California and Wyoming. But it does take time, so be patient. I have a goal to completely document every Genetti ancestor from Castelfondo and attempt to locate their descendants’ country and state of emigration.

If you would like to help with my research, please email me any information you have about your ancestral line. I will use this information to search church records and accurately document the ancestors before adding them to the online tree.

A special thanks to Chiara Dalle Nogare’s mother, Maria Genetti (one of the four Genetti sisters of Castelfondo), who I have recently learned, commissioned the beautiful family tree pictured above. I consult this tree every time I sit down at the computer for an afternoon of research. It has been an invaluable tool in tracing the Genetti genealogy.

 

Ancestors, Family Trees, Genetti Family

Why am I a genealogist?

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Family1916

The family of Raffaele and Lucia Genetti,
circa 1916.

Many people find my hobby of family genealogy interesting – but exceedingly tedious when they learn how much research is required to accurately compile all of those names and dates. Often they ask “Why do you spend so much time digging into the past?”.

So here are a few musings as to why I am a family genealogist.

Whenever I pass by an abandoned home, usually sitting isolated and alone on an old farm or open prairie, I wonder who once lived there. What memories were created in this house with peeling wallpaper and shutters hanging askew? Why did they leave?

Or who are the long-gone people in period dress peering out from a sepia photograph that I found at the flea market? And who once cherished this memento, but now they are gone too.

Like the vacant home or the family portrait, people are also forgotten. It only takes three or four generations before an ancestor passes from living memory. And truly the only thing that is left after we pass is our memory. As a genealogist, I try to capture and preserve the memories of those who came before me. My charts and trees, names and dates are to honor the ancestors in an attempt to keep their memory alive. In some small way, I hope someone in the future will do the same for me. We all want to believe that our life counted for something, that it had purpose and enriched those we came in contact with. I believe every ancestor created a stepping-stone for the next generation. Their knowledge, courage and life choices made each of us who we are today. Shouldn’t we in the very least remember their names?

The pursuit of genealogy is an awe-inspiring calling and one that I don’t take lightly. The Genetti clan was very fortunate – many relatives throughout the centuries took up the task of recording our ancestry. I am just one in a long line of family historians preserving the memory of past ancestors by compiling a family tree generation by generation. For in remembering and sharing a family’s genealogy, you join the lives of the past with those living today and those to come in the future.

Family History, Genetti Family, Photos

New Photos in the Gallery

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FourBrothers-2

Four Genetti brothers at the opening of the Laurel Street market in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, 1939.

I just added new photos to the website Gallery section. Come by and take a peek, just click here!

Do you have old family photographs tucked away in a shoe box in the attic? Why not dust them off and send then to me via email. I’ll post them in the Gallery along with dates and details. Since I’ve heard from many of you, I know for a fact that other family members would love to see them too!

Ancestors, Family History, Family Trees, Genetti Family

New Names on the Tree

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Original Genetti Family Tree

The Genetti Family tree showing male lines of the family dating back to 1461.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Tom Genetti. His family had emigrated to Illinois around 1880 from Castelfondo, Austria. Tom was enjoying the new Genetti website, but did not find his family on the tree. He wanted to know what branch his ancestors had come from and if he was related to the Genetti family in Pennsylvania (my branch of the tree). Like most of us, Tom had grown up with various family stories, one being that he had cousins in Pennsylvania. Good questions that required research to find the answers.

Since different branches of the Genetti family had emigrated to different parts of the United States (Pennsylvania, Wyoming, California, Illinois, Michigan, Utah) and, for the most part, we are all related, it was a matter of tracing his ancestry in the Castelfondo church records to find the closest common relative.

Tom’s grandparents had Americanized their names, a common practice by many immigrants. This complicated the search because we needed his true name to continue. Since we knew his grandfather had lived and died in Illinois, it was easy to find details in the census and Illinois Death Index. That gave me a clue to his original baptismal name, plus his actual birth date and the name of his father. When I located Tom’s great-grandfather on the original tree (lower left branch of the tree shown above), I knew exactly what part of the family Tom was from and where to look in the records. It took about two weeks worth of digging to find the names and dates of his direct male ancestors. But they were all there.

And guess what … yes, Tom was related to my branch of the Genetti tree. Matter-of-fact, he was related twice! It turns out that Tom’s great-grandparents were Cipriano Genetti and Catterina Genetti. They were distant cousins from two different branches of the tree. Catterina was first cousins with my great great-grandfather Leone. OK – here is where it gets really confusing! This would make Tom my 3rd cousin twice removed (through Catterina’s line) and my 7th cousin once removed (through Cipriano’s line) with our closest shared blood relative being Pietro Genetti born in 1650!

Yes, I’m kind of a genealogy geek since I love figuring out family tree relationships. So far, I’ve located three marriages between distant cousins that have joined various branches.

With Tom’s line completed, I have added 26 new names to the Genetti online tree. Beginning with Pietro Genetti (1650 to 1706) and descending to Tom’s father.

There are many, many more branches of our tree to research and add. I’m sure my genealogy journeys through ancestral documents will keep me busy for years to come!

 

Castelfondo, Italy, Family History, Genetti Family, Tyrolean History

What Is a Sopranome?

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GenettiLanci1

The grave marker for Famiglia Genetti Lanci in Castelfondo’s San Nicolo cemetery.

During my visit to Castelfondo, Italy in 2011, I had the good fortune to meet a distinguished gentleman by the name of Andrea Cologna. Born in the village, Andrea had left as a young man, living most of his adult life in Canada. He had recently returned to his childhood home of Castelfondo. Luckily Andrea was fluent in English, Italian and the local dialect of Nones. He was the perfect guide, telling me stories of the old days, explaining important village landmarks and helping me walk in the footsteps of my ancestors.

When we visited the small cemetery next to San Nicolo church, there were many surnames I recognized … of course among them, many Genettis. Andre brought me to a very specific part of the cemetery and pointed to several grave markers. “These are your family, the Lanci. The other Genettis aren’t from your branch. Damiano (my great-grandfather) was a Lanci,” Andrea said.

I was mystified, what was a “Lanci”? I had never heard this name before. So I took a few photos of the stones that read “Famiglia Genetti Lanci” and decided to look into this odd name later. About six months after my trip, I began researching the old church documents. And there it was again! The name “Lanci” was attached to Genetti in most birth, marriage and death records of my branch of the family, but not to other branches. It appeared in different forms such as Lanchet, Lancia and Lanci. Andrea wrote that he had done a little research on his own and found that the original form of the name was “Lanchet” which was Old German for the word “Lance”.

After a bit more research into Trentino history, I soon learned this “second name” was commonly used by large Tyrolean families to designate different sections of the family. It was called a sopranome or nickname. The sopranome had several purposes. It helped delineate close blood relatives so you didn’t accidentally marry your cousin, which could happen in a small, isolated community. It also identified a specific person. At any one time there could be five or six men named Giovanni Battista Genetti living within the village, as children were often named after parents, grandparents or other relatives. By adding the sopranome to the surname, one could tell the difference between Giovanni Battista Genetti Lanci and Giovanni Battista Genetti di Raina. Besides Genetti Lanci, I also found Genetti Onz, Genetti di Ovena (of Ovena) and Genetti di Raina (of Raina). These seemed to signify the main branches of the Genetti family tree.

Closely examining each generation in the ancient ledgers, I discovered the first ancestors in my direct line to have Lanci documented in a birth record was Pietro Genetti born in 1650. Most likely his father, Georgio Genetti (born 1623) had begun using it during his lifetime and passed it on to his children. And so this sopranome continued through at least eight generations, but was not used by the families that emigrated to the Americas. When my great-grandfather returned to Castelfondo to live out his later years, he was known in the village as Dominic Lanci. With the passing of three generations, the tradition of the sopranome has faded from our memories. What a shame! I rather like the idea that my Italian name could have been “Aloisia Anna Genetti Lanci”.

Castelfondo, Italy, Genetti Family

Hello Italy!

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Genetti Family Homestead

The original Genetti homestead in Castelfondo, Italy.

Ciao alla mia famiglia in Italia! Sending a big hello out to our Italian cousins especially those from Castelfondo. Word about the website has reached the Genettis of Trentino – how wonderful!

August is a time of holiday in Italy (vacation to us Americans) and many family return to Castelfondo to enjoy the coolness of the mountains. Perhaps our little genealogy website will be shared with distant family during this August holiday.

It is truly a small world when we can connect and share our ancestry with cousins in different countries. Cari cugini Italiani – please feel free to send us your stories and photos to post on this website. Your American cousins would so appreciate the opportunity to learn of your life and ancestry in Trentino. Mille grazie!