Census Page Updated

The census page now has a lot of the pertinent information transcribed from the records.

Military Documents Found, Waiting for Others...

A few military documents have been posted, including a WWII registration card for Agostino DeFalco. He was in his 60s when he had to register for the war...

Speaking of Agostino, I sent away to the state of NJ to obtain a copy of his death certificate, in the hopes that it provides a few dates, places and the names of his parents.

It could take several months to receive a copy of this document, so I'll likely be focusing on getting some of the DeFalco photos identified and posted...

I have also ordered a copy of the marriage certificate for Agostino's wife's brother. Antonino Garifo married Maria Palozalla in New York and I located the marriage certificate number. This document should have Antonino's parents names listed. Since he is Fortunata (Garifo) DeFalco's brother, this information will help me fill in the names of another generation back in the DeFalco tree. Based on Italian naming traditions, I fully expect that the names will be Antonio and Guiseppa. I should have this document within the next few weeks.

Photos posted

Posted about 20-25 new photos on the DeFalco Photos page. I still have 35 photos scanned that I need to identify people in before I post them...

Still more documents...

Picked up more documents at Sandy's house and am frantically scanning as much as I can. It is going to take a while to sort through all of these photos and documents so that I can get them online.

Jim sent several emails and over 100 photos of his trip to Sicily. I will provide a link to the photos on the site.

I am debating between late April/early May and mid-May for the dinner. I think there is enough to do and discuss at this point to pull a genealogy dinner together. More to come...

Scanning and posting

Been busy scanning documents....these should be posted to the site shortly. I hope to get through all of the documents that Sandy has by the end of the summer or so....wishful thinking -- there are a TON of documents and photos to scan!

Jim is in Italy and is planning to visit some of the towns that have some genealogical relevance in Sicily. Hopefully we will find something interesting...if not, at least we should get some good photos!

Reviewed records

It's been too long, but at least I am finally adding another update! The last few months have been crazy...for a bunch of reasons... So, without further ado, here's the scoop:

I reviewed several of the records I had ordered and haven't found anything new for the DeFalco lines yet.

I did receive documents from the National Archives on Antonino and Mary Garifo. Antonino was Fortunata (Marion) Garifo's brother. Fortunata married Agostino DeFalco -- their son Fortunato (Frank) DeFalco was my grandfather. Anyway, I received naturalization paperwork for Antonino and Mary. Rumor has it that my grandfather was Antonino's favorite nephew. I have already posted copies of the documents and will be searching them for any additional clues on this elusive line...

Jim DeFalco will be in Sicily in the next few weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to put together some information for him so that he gets a chance to take some pictures and look up a few names while he is there.

I'll be meeting with Sandy Birkner on March 11th or 12th to go over some information that she has uncovered and to share some things that I have found on the Realmuto branch. Updates from that meeting will be posted here!

Once I get myself oriented again, I may put together a family history dinner for anyone who would like to be involved in this project as I get nearer and nearer putting pen to paper. I am hoping to have a first draft of the DeFalco story prepared by the end of the year. Hard to believe that 2 months of 2006 are already in the books...

State Census Records

Ordered several NJ and NY State Census records through the LDS Family History Center. Microfilms should arrive within the next 4-6 weeks.