Family Album An historical-cultural research

by

Sicily Memory Roamers

...’Even after almost 100 years,

Maria still preserves precious

letters written by some family

members from the USA to those

who stood back in Sicily’...

Keeping in touch:

the history of your

family narrated

by postcard and

letters

...’it was possible to find many

postcards and letters, well kept in an

old suitcase; they had been sent from

New York…’

…‘people connect to other people: in the little

town the word is passed in a twinkling of an

eye, and suddenly we are invited to have a coffee

in their house and are introduced to a 85 old

woman who keeps on talking and talking about

her ancestors.’…

How we get to still

living relatives

…’Comparing her stories and dates with the

documents we have from the civil and church

records, we find out that her relationship with

the family we are making the genealogical

research for…’

…’Phone calls, and more days spent

talking to other people. Finally we come

to Rosario, who is second cousins: he

has the same great grand parents…’

...’They are happy to show us both

their great grand parents house and

the grave stones where some of the

ancestors are buried…’

…’On December 8th, 1870,

the Pope declared Saint

Giuseppe “Patron Saint of

the Universal Church”. In

order to spread the worship,

the priests urged the parents

to call their children born

during the celebrations, after

the Saint…’

…’At those times a high percentage of

children didn’t survive the first years of

life, and the new born were often given

the name of their dead siblings…’

siblings

...and discover

little known

nuggets of Sicily

history!

The “Fuitina”

Usually the couples who had eloped (the so-

called “fuiuti”)celebrated early in the morning,

and in the sacristy, not at the main altar.

In those times, when a couple had not the

parental consent they would elope, sometimes

by leaving town for a brief "honeymoon".