Tag: family tree

New Print Shop!

by L.Roach • October 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

The Genetti Family Tree

Yes, we now have a new Print Shop available as part of The Genetti Family Genealogy Project. During the past four months I have had several requests for copies of the Genetti Family Tree. The original artwork for the tree was commissioned by Maria Genetti of Castelfondo, Italy. Since only a few family members in the United States have a direct reproduction of this large and detail work of art, it has proven difficult to acquire a copy.

I am now happy to announce that prints of the original tree are now available through this website! With Maria’s consent, I have digitally copied the image and formatted it for reproduction. To allow for easy ordering, reasonable pricing and direct shipping, I’ve partnered with Redbubble. This is a reputable commercial online printer who will handle all production, framing and shipping through its simple-to-use online store. To order, just go to Shop on The Genetti Family Genealogy Project website and scroll down to the image of the tree, click the link and you will be taken to our portfolio on RedBubble. Or just click here!

The Genetti Family Coat-of-Arms in Castelfondo, Italy.

I have also made available as part of the portfolio two additional prints: The Genetti Coat-of-Arms and the fresco from the Genetti homestead. Both of these images are original photographs (created by me!) and formatted for a variety of sizes. Prints can be purchased framed or unframed, in several finishes, as posters and as cards.

Due to the detail of the Family Tree I highly recommend only purchasing this image as: an Art Print in the Large and Extra Large sizes; a Photographic print in the Large size; or a Poster in the Medium or Large sizes.

With Christmas right around the corner, I’m sure a print of The Genetti Family Tree would be the perfect gift for someone in your family.

Disclosure: All products for sale on this website are provided and shipped by third party companies. I am an affiliate for these companies and use affiliate links from Amazon, Cafe Press and RedBubble. My compensation is a small percentage of the sales made through these links. Proceeds from sales helps to support the cost of this website and continuing genealogy research.

Ancestors, Family Trees, Genetti Family

Continuing Research on Family Tree

by L.Roach • August 23, 2014 • 2 Comments

Most 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?

by L.Roach • August 10, 2014 • 0 Comments

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.

Ancestors, Family History, Family Trees, Genetti Family

New Names on the Tree

by L.Roach • August 3, 2014 • 0 Comments

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!

Family Trees

About the Family Tree

by L.Roach • July 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

I had a great question sent to me today by a family member.

Question:

Why can’t we see the information of living people when viewing the online family tree? Since this family wanted to update information on their immediate family members it was difficult to know exactly what names, birth dates, etc. were correct when all that can be seen on the tree is a placeholder that says “Living”.

The answer:

To protect living descendants from those nasty people prowling the internet looking for personal data they may use to perpetrate identity theft, it is HIGHLY advised never to publish a living person’s information. This is the same policy used by all genealogy sites to protect their users.

Solution:

If you are a family member and would like to check family vital stats such as birth dates, marriages, children, divorces, etc. for living descendants, please email me directly. I can provide you with a Descendant’s Report in PDF format for several generations of your family that includes vital stats info. In order to receive this report you must be a member of that particular family and I must be able to identify you in my data base. No Descendant’s Report will be sent out unless this criteria is met.

Thank you for sending this question. I’m sure many family members out there were wondering the same thing.

Have questions? Send them to info.genetti.family(at)gmail.com.