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From:    "Anthony DiNardo" <roguepawncomcast.net> Date:    Mon, 4 Mar 2002 15:09:34 -0500 I assume you know that there were (although I don't know for sure if they still exist) Mancini's and DiGiovines in West Aliquippa, and Mckees Rocks, PA. For years I lived in Pittsburgh, and we used to visit both those towns on the Ohio River, and meet with our Italian "relatives." Hope you have luck in your search. Tony

Tony, I know of most of the Mancinis in Aliquippa. My Dad grew up in West Aliquippa. I didn't know about the ones in McKees Rocks. Is your DiNardo family related to Mancinis or DiGiovines? Mark

Date:            Mon, 11 Mar 2002 21:28:25 -0500 From:          "Anthony DiNardo" <roguepawncomcast.net> To:              "Mark C. DiVecchio" Hi, Mark-- Glad you dropped me a line. I was born in S. Eufemia a Maiella, in Abruzzo, Italy 'way back in 1924.. I am not directly related to the DiGiovines of West Aliquippa, but we were "compares" and very close to them. They lived on Main St., and had a son John (who would have been 85 years old but passed away some years back in Washington, D.C. They also had two daughters, now probably in their late sixties, named Angeline and Elda. As a kid, before WWII, I remember visiting W. Aliquippa many times, and the names of DiNardo, Mancini, etc. were very common. I seem to recall a family with your last name (I'm hazy on this), with a son who was very bright and I believe went on into mathematics. Many of the folks I met were from the same Italian village, or near there. I was "surfing" (if that's the right word) around the words Abruzzo Region and saw your name and message. Sorry I don't have the exact spot (I'm not a whiz at the PC) but refuse to sit around like a couch potato, so I attack it once in a while. Incidentally, in Pittsburgh I lived in Hazelwood, where I worked in the Jones & Laughlin rolling mill both before and after WWII (I was in the Air Force and always resented the fact that I was sent to the Pacific instead of Italy where I might've been a "Mayor" of some town with my knowledge of Italian. But I was fortunate in that I was a bombardier on B-24s and wouldn't have liked bombing my "birthland. I  went to Pitt and Duquesne and left Pittsburgh in 1960, but visited regularly until my folks died. Have lived and worked in New England until I retired in 1987. Now living in New Hampshire. Have one son (named Mark!) who's in NJ, three daughters in Denver, NH, and Mass., and nine grandkids Didn't mean to go on and on, but if you can relate to anything I touched on, would be happy to hear from you. Buona fortuna, Tony

Tony, My father grew up in West Aliquippa after immigrating from S'Eufemia about 1930. He was about 13 at the time. He worked at J&L in Aliquippa for almost 40 years, retiring in the early 80's. My mother was born in San Pietro Avellana and immigrated also in the late 20's. She grew up in Beaver Falls until she married my dad and moved to Aliquippa. My grandmother and grandfather lived in West until their deaths as did my uncle Tony. He passed away in the early 90's. My dad tells stories of knowing Henry Mancini as a child in West. Mark

Our email conversation got interrupted for a few years....... and then resumed......

Date:    Wed, 05 Jan 2005 17:22:22 -0500 From:    Anthony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Subject:    You won't believe this! Mark--I am Tony DiNardo, and was born in Sant'Eufemia a Maiella in 1924. I came to Pittsburgh, Pa, with my mom, when I was 5. I had relatives with the names Pantalone, DiGiovine and Timperio. I have cousins in Argentina and Australia. AND, health willing, my wife and I and some of our kids will visit our village this spring. (We stopped there briefly in 1970.) When I saw the picture you showed of the 1942 soldier--IT LOOKED JUST LIKE I DID IN WWII IN MY UNIFORM. The resemblance of me at 19 and Anthony DiVecchio (if I have the correct name) was uncanny. If you get this, I'd love to hear from you. I quickly read the history you posted of my village, and it is awesome. Let me know if you get this, and we'll pick it up from there. Hoping you and yours have a Buon Anno 2005! (my Italian is "there" but very rusty). Tony

Tony, Good to hear from you. The soldier in the photo is my uncle Tony DiVecchio. He lived in West Aliquippa, PA until his death about 10 years ago. We had many diNardo's in Aliquippa. I've found a lot of Timperio's and diGiovine's in the Boston area. The nearest diNardo that I have in my direct family line is Maria Raffaela diNardo, my great-greatgrandmother. Since we are from such a small town, we all have all these family names in our ancestry. I'm distantly related to Ada diNardo, she and her husband own the hotel in Sant'Eufemia. If you look at the "D" page of my family tree, you can see all the diNardo's in my data base. If you can tell me some names of parents, grandparents or great-grandparents, I will look though my data to see what I can find. I have copies of records from Sant'Eufemia which cover the period 1809 to 1865. So I can lookup births/marriages/deaths during that period. The Archivo di Stato di Pescara has all the records from 1865 on. My wife and I were in Italy last summer, trip report at:  http://www.silogic.com/Italy2004/Italy2004.html Ciao, Mark PS: Your Italian will be perfect in a few days after you arrive in Italy. When we were in Sant'Eufemia, we stayed with cousins from Boston so we spoke mostly English.

Date:            Fri, 07 Jan 2005 20:53:16 -0500 From:            Anthony DiNardo Subject:         Hi again Mark-- Thanks for the note. Your uncle Tony must certainly have known my godfather, Raphael DiGiovine, who lived on Main Street, West Aliquippa--and Carmine DiNardo, another "compare" who lived down the same street. I was taken there many, many times in the 1930's. I remember the tunnel under theI saw a posting by Dave Letteri on Sant'Eufemia Surnames: railroad tracks to reach the town, and the "awful" odor of the drinking water (drawn from the Ohio with its putrid discharges from all the J&L mills. Henry Mancini, as you probably know, was from West Aliquippa, and played the flute in the local Italian band that marched in all parades before he went to Carnegie Tech and then on to Hollywood. I grew up in Hazelwood, about 4 miles up the Monongahela River from the Golden Triangle. I went to Squirrel Hill's Taylor Allderdice High, and worked in J&L's local rolling mill before volunteering for the (then) Army Air Force. I was a bombardier on B-24 Liberator Bombers and flew 39 missions over Pacific targets  from N. Australia to New Guinea, the Philippines, Formosa, Hong Kong and finally Okinawa (I was always thankful that I didn't have to bomb Italy). .After the war, I went to Pitt, and then grad law school at Duquesne. I went into the then-new field of "personnel" (now Human Resources) in the steel, then chemical, and finally the East Coast retail industry. (Often got to California to visit the Von's company). Ended up as Sr. VP with Stop & Shop, and retired in '87. I am a dedicated photo-hobbyist and my wife Elly and I have traveled a lot, giving me the opportunity to take lots of pictures and work with them in my B/W darkroom. My mother's side of the family were Pantalones, and often talked about the Man of Iron. My father's were DiNardo's, but I have less info about them (that grandfather died when my dad was very young). My mother's dad was Fiorinto (or Fiorindo), and had a house near the then-piazza near the church, with a large oven on the first floor to bake bread for the village, I was told. If Elly and I make it to Sant' Eufemia this spring, I intend to dig into our family tree with my cousin, Maria Timperio, who is the village's postmistress (as her father Antonio had been before her). I will also talk with Piero DiNardo, who has a "cafe" in town, and who I'm told his interested in genealogy. I will have Maria check the Church records with me--I know my baptismal record is there.   When in the village, I went to the cemetery (very nice photos you got of everything) and was startled to see a grave-stone foot of Vincent (Jimmy) DiNardo, a "cugino"of my dad's. The reason for my reaction is that in the 30's it was customary to take in house boarders and Jimmy, as we called him, had boarded with us--and he and I had shared the same bed! Here's the data I have thus far, from my cousin Maria: Grandparents on Pantalone side: Fiorindo Pantalone and wife Anna Gioconda D'Amico. They had 5 children: Daughter Maria Camilla who married Rocco DiNardo (my father). Son Pietro who married Antonietta Pallone. Daughter Mariuccia who married Camillo DiNardo. Daughter Annina who married Nicola DiNardo. Daughter Antonietta who married Antonio Timperio. These children ended up in: the first two in America, Mariuccia in Australia; Annina in Argentina. And Antonietta stayed in Sant' Eufemia. In all, they had 21 children (if my data is correct). Many thanks for the data on your family tree. I'll bring it with me when (and if) I make the trip. If I do, that might be the best time for me to send you a much more complete idea of what I then know. The above is just a "skimming" of what may turn out to be a most fascinating search. (I am an amateur writer, and wish I had the time to write a novel about a character  who, via the Internet, starts to unravel his/her family tree only to find that...........(you can fill in your own blanks). It would be intriguing, and I got the idea from a very old (at least 65 year-old) Zebra-striped- oval-framed picture of my mom and dad soon after their wedding. Because I wanted to copy it in Black and White, I carefully removed it from the frame (the glass wasn't flat, but bowed outward--I'm sure you know what I mean) and--lo and behold--behind their print was another one, of some man and woman, "complete strangers to me!" Who can they be....I think about that often (but that's because I'm Italian!). Sincerely hope I haven't bored you. Tony

Cousin Tony, When I got your email listing your grandparents, the names sure sounded familiar. I quickly checked my database and there was Fiorindo Pantalone with his son Pietro Pantalone and his son's wife Antonetta Pallone.  I didn't have your mother, though. With some help from a cousin in Canada, I have that Pantalone line traced back to 1665. Look at the attached file. Fiorindo's parents were Raffaele Pantalone and Clarice diPietrantonio. They had 6 children that I've found. I'm related to that whole family through my 4G Grandparents, Pietro Pantalone and Giovanna Finadamo - who were Fiorindo's grandparents. I didn't have anything on your grandmother, Anna Gioconda D'Amico. So, after I entered your branch of the family,  my computer tells me: "Anthony "Tony" DiNardo and Mark Camillo DiVecchio are 4th cousins 1 time removed.  Their common ancestors are Pietro Pantalone and Giovanna Finadamo." I learned about Pietro and Antonetta and their two children, Jenny and Nick, from my cousin Lucy Pantalone Ricchio who lives now in Revere, MA, previously in Watertown. (it was her sister we stayed with in Sant'Eufemia last summer.) It sounds like you led an interesting life. From bombardier to lawyer to photographer.  You retired about the same time as my father (he from J&L). The tunnel into West Aliquippa was closed many years ago. My uncle and my father must have known both Raphael DiGiovine and Carmine DiNardo. I will ask my father when I talk to him. He lived in West from 1930 to 1949 when he moved into the main part of Aliquippa where he and my mother still live. Ciao,  Marco

Date:    Sat, 08 Jan 2005 15:48:13 -0500 From:    Anthony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Subject:    Thanks Cugino Mark--I was much relieved to get your mail--my computer kept telling me I had the wrong address (partly because my eyesight is "fine" but I confused the "rr" in your address with "it." We have lots of snow today, and I have go do some erronds for my daughter (shes 50 but still my "child") who lives a mile or so away, but I wanted you to know that I got the massage, along with the fantastic, long list of the Pantalones.  What you've done is nothing more than a labor of LOVE, and, I believe, clearly displays what it is about we Italians that is different than some other nationalities. Many thanks and I will be back to you when I've had time to look at it in depth. P.S. I forgot to mention something that you may already know--Madonna's genitori came from Pacentro, and I really enjoyed the great photos you's sent me. Ciao e auguri por la vostra moglia, Tony I can't tell you how great it feels to have made this connection.

Tony, Have fun reading that family tree. Most of the Pantalone line work was done by Monika Baltistone from Canada. Mark PS: I had heard that Madonna's family was from Pacentro. We drove past that town on our way to Sulmona.

Date:            Sat, 15 Jan 2005 12:26:54 -0500 From:            Anthony DiNardo Subject:         Family Tree Mark -- My wife Elly and I have both come down with something (flu?) and our doctors tell us that it will take some time to get out of our systems (all New England has "it" because the temperatures have been see-sawing up and down). I wanted to let you know that I was able to do some "reading" of the data you sent, and it is fascinating because I've never reviewed this kind of info before. For instance, I have no clue as to what the term "1(or once) removed" means in genealogy. Another item I noticed is that my Uncle Peter Pantalone also had a son, Fiore, is not noted in the record. Fiore was (I'm guessing) born about 1925--28 or so. I was a couple of years older and remember that he volunteered in WWII as a Marine in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he suffered a heart problem and was one of the first patients in the region to receive open heart surgery and bypasses (my memory is clear on this because I was living in Massachusetts then and attended an affair where his parents were afraid that Fiore might harm himself because he insisted on dancing during his recovery period. I lost touch with them after Uncle died and I'd moved away. Take care, and we will try to do so also. Tony

Tony, I hope you and wife are doing better. Sally got a cold/flu(?) also and it took her two weeks to get over it. Somehow, I managed to not get it. We just got back from a trip to visit her daughter (and new grandson) in Ogden, UT. Many relatives from my mother's side of the family (Frazzini) lived there. Here is my trip report: http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/Ogden,%20UT.html I talked to my Mom yesterday in Aliquippa and she said it had turned very, very cold. I can tell you about cousins...  Cousins are always of the same generation - that is children of siblings are "first cousins" and grandchildren of siblings are "second cousins" and so on. Cousins become 'removed' when they are NOT of the same generation. So, for example, a first cousin of my mother would be my "first cousin, once removed". A first cousin of my grandfather would be my "first cousin, twice removed" and so on. I do have a Fiorindo Pantalone my notes but didn't know who he was. I found him in the Social Security Death Index: FIORINDO PANTALONE born:    18 Feb 1928 died:    Jan 1984 location:    02172 (Watertown, Middlesex, MA)    02172 SSAN:     023-20-8570 So this must be him, as you mentioned, the son of Pietro Pantalone. Get well! Mark

Tony, I just got off the phone with Lucy Pantalone Ricchio. Lucy is my first cousin who lives in Belmont, MA. Lucy's mother, Eufemia, and my father were siblings. She remembers your family. She told me that my father took her and her mother to Pittsburgh to visit your parents. She said you were not there at the time. She does remember meeting you, possibility at the funeral for your mother. I told her what you wrote in your emails and she was excited to hear about you. She thinks the last word she heard about you was when you retired from Shop n Save. Small world - and we are all cousins. I have two questions (so far) for you: 1. You mentioned Maria Timperio, your cousin. Is she the daughter of your aunt Antonietta who married Antonio Timperio? 2. The last that Lucy heard, you lived in Maine. Are you still there? Mark

Date:            Mon, 24 Jan 2005 16:15:59 -0500 From:            Anthony DiNardo Subject:         Re: Lucy Pantalone Thanks for your note, Mark. Elly and I are still ailing, but will get through this New England winter eventually. About Lucy Pantalone Ricchio:  I don't recall her personally, but I could well have met her at the funeral of my Uncle Peter Pantalone some 25 or more years ago in Watertown, Mass.  I attended with my cousin Louie (Luigi) DiNardo, the son of Uncle Antonio DiNardo, my father's brother. My mother (and father) died in the late 80's, in Rhode Island where her funeral took place, so I might have met her there.. On Lucy's Pittsburgh visit--After WWII I got married in 1947 and worked and lived in Western Pennsylvania until 1960 when I moved to work in Boston with Stop & Shop. I retired in 1987. Thus Lucy must have visited my parents after 1960, when I visited Pittsburgh only during summer vacation to see my parents and my wife's. After retiring, I moved twice--first to Maine, and about eight years ago to New Hampshire, were I now live in Bedford, just outside of Manchester. As to my cousin Maria Timperio, she is the daughter of my aunt Antonietta who married Antonio Timperio. She has one brother, Bernardino (Dino) who spent his career in the Consular Services of Italy, and has quite a history. I correspond constantly with Isa, Maria's daughter (she also has a son, Lucio) who took English in college and is quite proficient in it (Dino isn't, so I have fun using the computer Italian translation services (and then trying to correct the more obvious errors). I'd like to add that I have been working on some memoirs (my 9 grandkids keep "pushing" me to do this). If you wish, I'd be happy to send you a copy, but be patient--I started in 1924 and am just now around 1942. I don't know when I'll finish, because life's day-to-day chores keep interrupting. (In this same vein, I wrote a novel while living in Maine (no competition for Tom Clancy!). Let me know if you'd like to have a copy. I'm not so hot with computers, though I'm learning, so I'll try to send you a few pages of  memories I've written so far--perhaps the Sant'Eufemia part (which I may re-do with the much greater info you were good enough to send me). I hope you're not tired of reading, but one more thing: I've been a photo hobbiest for over half a century and will try to get down to my darkroom (black and white) and make you a copy of a shot I took in Venice. (If I get to Sant'Eufemia this summer, I'll try for local images also.) Keep your fingers crossed on my efforts, and remember, it is definitely an "early" copy. Any critique (I'm a tough Italian) .would be welcomed Tony

Tony, Thank you very much for the LOOOONG email. Those are the kind I love. I've been trying to get my parents to do what you are doing but I can't seem to convince them. What I am doing is that everytime I get to Aliquippa, I get them talking and I try to write down what they say. It's still a battle. Next time I talk with Lucy, I will tell her what you remember. I expect you are having quite a spell of cold weather in New Hampshire this week. I will be re-reading your email several times over the next few days. Mark

Caro Antonio, Its been quite a while since I wrote. I hope you and your wife got through the winter ok. Now with springtime at hand, I imagine that everything is turning green and beautiful. Even here in San Diego, were we usually get about 7 inches of rain a year, we got over 15 inches this winter. For us that is really a lot. So even here, everything is green - but, as usual, by July or so, things will start to turn brown again. I read through your long email about your childhood and emmigration to the US. I wish I could get my father to write such a history. He was about 12 years when he, his brother, and his mother left Sant'Eufemia. I have some comments about the history: You probably did not enter the US via Ellis Island. According to the Ellis Island web site, starting in 1924, "The main function of Ellis Island changed from that of an immigrant processing station, to a center for the assembly, detention, and deportation  of aliens who had entered the U.S. illegally or had violated the terms of admittance. The buildings at Ellis Island began to fall into disuse and disrepair." When I look at the Ellis Island records, I have never seen any from Italy after 1923. Since Sant'Eufemia is in the Maiella National Park, the town is filled to capacity on holiday weekends. In other words, at certain times way toooo many people turn off the the Autostrada and drive up into the mountains. We were there on 15 Agosto and, that being a national holiday, the town was packed. Cars were parked everywhere. The main street through town, which was usually a narrow two lane road, was a narrow one-line road because of cars parked in the roadway. Right outside of town is a giant picnic area.  Apparently a lot of people come up into the mountains from the towns of Pescara and Chieti. When we drove to Pescara, it only took about an hour. My cousin, Domenico, told me that the number of tourists has been declining for the past 5 years. He blames it on the fiscal policy of the government which has caused large price rises of everything - we definitely noticed that when we were there. Have you every searched the Ellis Island or US Census records for information about your genitori and zii? I took a quick look yesterday and found a few things. If you haven't seen that information, I will be happy to send it to you. Do you know names of the wives of your zii, Antonio, Alfonso and Lorenzo? Do you know when they were born? Do you know the names of their parents (your grandparents on your father's side)? This information will help me confirm that I am looking at the right people in the Ellis Island records. Did you, or are you, going to Sant'Eufemia this year? My best to you and your wife, Marco

Date:    Mon, 25 Jul 2005 21:03:55 -0400 From:    Anthony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Caro Marco-- I, too, took a long time before responding. We in New England also have had more than our share of rain--and the heat which is everywhere in the US, apparently. Thanks for your comments about the memoirs I want to leave my kids and grandkids. I especially appreciate the data on  Ellis Island. I have no remembrances at all of that portion of my Mom's and my entry into America (so I used my imagination). I'm glad, in retrospect, that I didn't ask them to put my name on their "wall" as having gone through as an immigrant--now that I know that I undoubtedly didn't. As to the visitors to Sant'Eufemia--I visited there for three weeks with my wife and three of my kids just over a month ago. Two of my first cousins have homes there, and we had a ball both there and in Pescara where my second cousin lives. While there, I talked by phone to several other cousins in Argentina. I was also given a list of 22 cousins in all, with me heading the list as the oldest--they are in Italy, Argentina and Australia. My relatives told me that while (as you pointed out) many visitors come to the village on holidays, the flow of "tourists" as I think of them is pretty much limited to relatives of the inhabitants. The disadvantage of the dollar against the Euro is also involved, as you pointed out. One of my kids and her husband are considering buying a house in either Sant'Eufemia or Caramanica so that all my nine grandkids may have a root-place. We'll see. I took over 300 film photos and got enough copies for the families there--the views (as I'm sure you saw it yourself) of our village from both Rocco Caramanica across the valley, and from the road high up the side of the Maiella, were breathtaking. We also travelled to many of the towns in the mountains, including L'Aquilla at the Gran Sasso, Chieti, etc. The view of the Gran Sasso from the village of Citta San Angelo is spectacular. I did get from Washington D.C. a copy of the ship's manifest showing both my and my mom's names as passengers. The ship was Conte Biancomano--in 1929--and coincidentally, a friend of mine in Pittsburgh took the same ship to Rome to study medicine in 1949! I know some of my aunts' names--Alfonso's was Maria (maiden--Martucci). Lorenzo's was Yolando (maiden--Mariano). But, all my relatives only father's side are a mystery to me. I tried to talk with some DiNardo's, but there were many families in the village with that name. Two of my aunts, one in Australia and one in Argentina, both married DiNardos but were not related to one another. On my next trip, I'll check the Church and Municipal records Take care and buona salute to you and your wife. Antonio

Antonio, It sounds like you had a good trip to Sant'Eufemia. You got around much more than I did. We saw a little of Sulmona, Pescara and just drove through a few small towns. I don't speak Italian so we were somewhat limited. Interestingly, my mother arrived in the US on the Conte Biancomano in 1926. I have their original 3rd class ticket for her and her parents. They arrived in New York but since my grandfather was a citizen, they just arrived as "normal" people. In my last email, I mentioned that I found a lot of information about your diNardo uncles on the Ellis Island site. If you haven't seen that, I can email you what I found. Ciao. Marco

Date:    Mon, 24 Oct 2005 21:55:38 -0400 From:    Anthony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> I'm sorry, Marco, that I didn't answer sooner. My wife and I have been wrestling with some health issues but we have come out of them OK. I was really thrilled to learn about your mother coming to the U.S. on the Conte Biancomano just three years before I did! It really is a small world. I appreciate your offer to send me information about my uncles and Ellis. I would like to get it if I can. Many thanks. I've learned that my second cousin's father, who owned the Hotel Italia in Sant'Eufemia, died and she and her brother are thinking of taking it over. They will have a lot of refurbishing etc. to do, but seem eager to try (the job situation is not very good in at least their part of Italy). Trust that all's well with you. California has forest fires and we have floods (though, fortunately, not in our area of NH). Mother Nature is a potent powerful force to be reckoned with. Ciao, Antonio

Caro Antonio, I am happy to hear that your are overcoming the health problems. I will forward the information that I have about your uncles and Ellis Island is the next emails. What is the name of the second cousin and father? I want to try to keep my data base uptodate. Sally and I are well. No big fires yet this year. Ciao. Marco

Date:            Sat, 29 Oct 2005 19:20:04 -0400 From:            Anthony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Subject:         Re: Ellis Island Manifests Caro Marco-- Many thanks, but Vincenzo couldn't have been my uncle.My dad, Rocco, was the youngest of four brothers: Antonio, Lawrence, Alfonso and him (he was born in 1900). All but my dad fought in WWI; he was in the army later in Lybia. All of them came to America after 1919, exactly when I don't know, with Antonio coming first to Boston, and then Lawrence and Alfonso (not together, I think) to Pittsburgh, and my dad came in 1923. As to my second cousin, she is Isa Veri, the daughter of my first cousin Maria Timperio. Maria's dad, Antonio Timperio, married Antoniella Pantalone, my aunt and mom's sister. Antonio Timperio was Postmaster of Sant'Eufemia for many years, followed for some 30 years by his daughter Maria. Coincidentally, I telelphoned Maria today and we chatted awhile though my Italian is weak. Hope this helps. I'll go online to search myself re my uncles. Many thanks again. Antonio

Caro Antonio, I think my brain was turned off when I sent you that Ellis Island manifest. The CORRECT ones will follow in the next emails. Here is a summary: Antonio born about 1893 Ellis Island, 14 Mar 1910, single, 17y, mother Maria diNardo in Italy, going to uncle Pasquale Mantenuto, Boston, MA, never before in US. Arrived on the same boat as my grandfather, Camillo DiVecchia. Ellis Island, 31 Jan 1920, 25y, married, wife Anna in Italy, going to brother Lorenzo, 5 North Square, Boston, MA, previously in the US 1910-13. Lorenzo born about 1895 Ellis Island, 17 Dec 1912, 17y, single, mother Maria Rosa diNardo in Italy, going to brother Antonio, Mechanicsville, NY. Alfonso born about 1898 Ellis Island, 13 Dec 1920, 22y, single, mother Maria Rosa diNardo in Italy, going to brother Lorenzo Jaccagni (probably Zaccaginni), Watertown, MA. Rocco born about 1900 Ellis Island, 5 Sep 1923, 23y, married, wife Camilla in Italy. Going to brother Lorenzo diNardo, Watertown, MA. Ciao. Marco

Date:    Thu, 03 Nov 2005 20:53:26 -0500 From:    Anthony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Caro Marco--Many thanks for all the data on my dad and his 3 brothers. I was amazed to see how many of the gaps in my memory and knowledge were filled. I appreciate it very much and will add it to my files so my kids and their kids will have it. State bene, Antonio

Then another break in our emails.... and they resumed....

Date:    Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:33:36 +1000 From:    Enzo Pantalone <enzopantgmail.com> Subject:    Pantalone's from Sant'Eufemia To:    roguepawnttbi.com Hi Anthony, I read your emails to Mark DiVecchio and noticed a reference to the following: Grandparents on Pantalone side: Fiorindo Pantalone and wife Anna Gioconda  D'Amico. They had 5 children: Daughter Maria Camilla who married Rocco  DiNardo (my father). Son Pietro who married Antonietta Pallone. Daughter Mariuccia who married Camillo DiNardo. Daughter Annina who married Nicola DiNardo. Daughter Antonietta who married Antonio Timperio. Now here is my line (http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/Pantalone.html): Enzo Pantalone    (Me) Father                  Luca Pantalone (dec) Brothers                Mario (My Uncle)                         Donato (dec)                         Palmino/Nino (Still lives in Sant'Eufemia) Grandparents            Domenico Pantalone      Anna Di Pietrantonio Great Grandparents      Michele Pantalone       Giaconda Di Giovine         Brothers        Vitantonio Pantalone                         Alfonso Pantalone                         Fiorindo Pantalone         Sister          Anna So Fiorindo Pantalone was my Great Grandfathers Brother. I knew both Mariuccia Pantalone and Camillo Di Nardo when they were alive and they are buried near my Mother & Father in a town called Lilydale, State of Victoria, Australia. Their Son Pasquale Di Nardo and his wife Maria live about 200 Metres from my house in a town called Mooroolbark, Victoria, Australia. Regards, Enzo Pantalone

Date:            Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:59:22 -0400 From:            Tony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Subject:         Paisani di Sant'Eufemia To:              Mark DiVecchio, Enzo Pantalone <enzopantgmail.com> Mark and Enzo--I got your e mail and was immediately flooded with memories. I am now almost 84 and due to some health issues in the family, have not kept up with my computer mailing as I used to. However, I will try to do better . Incidentally, the work "Paisano" is not listed in my huge Italian dictionary, but my folks used it all the time. I like it. Enzo--I am not sure how many of my emails to Mark you have seen. I came with my mother to the USA in 1929, at age five. An interesting thing for you is that, in World War II, I served in Darwin with the US  Army Air Corps. We were attached to the RAAF and flew bombing missions all over New Guinea, Timor, and Borneo. Darwin was abandoned because the Japanese had pretty much leveled it, and they threatened to invade Australia. I only saw two other parts of Australia--Adelaide and Alice Springs, when our crew came south for a week of R&R (Rest and Relaxation) after 12 missions. Then we went on up to the Philippines for the rest of the war. I'd appreciate if if you can help with one detail. My brother, Albert, got a sympathy note when our parents died in Rhode Island some 25 years ago. It was from Anna DiPietro, with an address in Wandin, Victoria. Unfortunately, that was the only contact we had with Australian "cousins". I wonder if you know her and she is still alive? Also, are you by any chance related to the Pantalone who was called the Man of Iron? I did send Mark some pages of my Memoirs. I'm sad to say that I have had to put them aside, since my wife needs more of my help. Mark was a great help by pointing out some errors of fact in the memoirs--such as that Ellis Island (the  New York center for receiving European  immigrants) was closed down a few years before I arrived in America.  The memoirs-writing "ended" with the start of World War II, so I'll get back to the remainder when I can. Please write and I promise to respond. Take care, both of you, and the best to your families. Tony DiNardo

A couple of more years passed.... and then....

From:            Mark DiVecchio <markd@silogic.com> To:              roguepawncomcast.net Subject:         Sant'Eufemia Date:            Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:47:57 -0700 Tony, Its been a few years since we communcated. I really enjoyed your emails and especially enjoyed your story of growing up in Sant'Eufemia a Maiella. Over those years, I was very involved with my parents. My mother's health declined in 2007 and she died at the age of 95 in October. My father's health got worse over the following year and he died in April of this year at the age of 91. Hoping to hear from you. ciao. Mark

From:            Tony DiNardo <roguepawncomcast.net> Subject:         Re: Sant'Eufemia Date:            Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:23:31 -0400 Marco-- Thanks for the "wake up" message. My sincere condolences about the passing of your mother and father. My wife and I are not getting any younger and have had to slow down (not easy for a "type A" like me). We visited Sant'Eufemia 4 years ago with some of our kids and grandkids and had a ball. I am in constant touch via PC with them, but it doesn't appear that we'll get back again. Between there, Australia and Argentina, I have 23 cousins, including myself as the most aged. The parents of the 21 that couldn't get on the quota for the U.S. often comes to my mind--so you can imagine how I feel about the illegal aliens. That problem triggered the radical change in American culture--I am still trying to write my memoirs and intend to include my thinking about why America is sliding down the slope of leadership (which is very much like the demise of both Greek and Roman empires.). It's not a political phenomenon (both parties are to blame) so much as a shift from a discretionary philosophy to one where more and more people come to believe in Government-supplied "entitilements" which ultimately forces internal collapse. Don't mean to "preach" in any way, Mark. But at age 85 and having studied and observed the past 3 quarters of a century, I am very concerned about the lives my 9 grandkids and our 2-year old grandkid will have with the exploding debt. But---every generation has to learn for itself, if they are inclined to, and the future ones are in for a rude awakening. Trust all is well with you and yours. ciao tony

Tony, I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. We all slow down - just don't stop! Maybe you could tell me about your cousins all over the world. It would be interesting to learn about them because they are probably all related to me as well. ciao. Mark

Tony diNardo passed away on 30 September 2017

Anthony DiNardo passed away peacefully on September 30, 2017 in Bedford, NH. "Tony" was born on January 20, 1924 in Sant'Eufemia a Maiella, Italy to Rocco and Maria DiNardo. He immigrated to America when he was five years old and settled initially in Pittsburgh, PA with his family. He became a U.S. citizen in 1929. Tony loved America and proudly served in the Army Air Corps as a bombardier in the South Pacific Theatre during WWII. He remained in the Air Force Reserves for many years retiring with the rank of Major. His accomplishments throughout his life were countless and inspiring. After the war, Tony earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. He subsequently earned a law degree from Duquesne University Law School. He chose to apply his education in business and relocated his family to Boston, MA where he was employed by the Stop & Shop Companies. After an accomplished business career of 27 years, he retired from his position as Senior Vice President. Tony initiated his retirement years in York Harbor, ME and then settled in Bedford, NH for many years. He pursued his many interests and hobbies, most notably photography and writing. His cherished gallery of photographs reflect his extensive travel during and after his business career. He published his first novel, "Rogue Pawn" in 1998 followed by his memoirs, "Across the Tracks" in 2014 at the age of ninety. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 62 years, Elly, in 2010. He is survived by his daughters, Jan McCarron (Joe) of Bedford, NH, Donna Boyt of Rye, NH, and Nan MacKenzie of Duxbury, MA; and his son, Mark DiNardo (Diane) of Annapolis, MD. He also leaves his nine grandchildren, Kristin Boyt, Heather Romano, David McCarron, Michael McCarron, Kait MacKenzie, Steve MacKenzie, Tori MacKenzie, Lauren Dorris, and Rachele Layne. Tony was blessed with eight great-grandchildren as well, Mia, Bryce, Ellie, Jack, Ben, Max, Aaron, and Natalie. The family would like to thank the numerous caregivers who were so kind and compassionate to Tony. We will miss Tony's ever present strength, wisdom, counsel, wit and enduring positive attitude. He was loved by all and leaves a lasting influence on the so many lives he touched. Funeral services will be private. Please consider a donation to a charitable veteran's organization in his honor. Tony will be laid to rest at Mount Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Manchester, NH together with his loving wife Elly. The Connor-Healy Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Manchester, NH is in charge of the arrangements

diNardo in Aliquippa, PA

Left  - Giovanni diNardo (father)                  Middle - Helen diNardo (daughter)                        Right - Antonella (mother)

Photo from Kristi Niedzwiecki. Giovanni diNardo, his daughter Helen, and his wife Antonella diPietrantonio. Taken in West Aliquippa, PA. When I showed this photo to my mother, she recognized the people. She said that they were not related to us. It is possible that they are related to Kristi. I got this email in 2005: From:        MoFollettaol.com Date:         Sun, 13 Feb 2005 13:11:46 EST Subject:     Sant'Eufemia a Maiella Hi Mark My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer and have immensely enjoyed your trip reports on Sant'Eufemia a Maiella. When my Dad, from Aliquippa, visited us this Christmas, he too loved seeing the photos.  In fact, he was quite startled when he saw a photo of Helen DiNardo (a cousin of  his in Aliquippa) in her youth, standing between her mom and dad (since deceased).   Both of my Dad's parents (father- Pietro DiGiovine, mother-Eufemia  D'Angelis) immigrated from Sant'Eufemia a Maiella in the very early 1900's, and  neither returned.   They lived in the Italian neighborhood in West Aliquippa all of their lives....among the DiVecchios, DiNardos, D'Antonios,   etc. Sincerely, Maureen (DiGiovine) Follett This photo was originally identified by Kristi Niedzwiecki who sent me the photo. She said the person on the right is Nunziata Pantalone diPietrantonio. She did not know who the other two people were. This must not be correct based on the above emai. My father remembers a visit by Nunziata to Aliquippa, PA in the 1940's or 1950's but she is not the person in the photo.

Danny DiNardo and Sister, Helen Lived across the street from Camillo DiVecchio's house (my grandfather) in West Aliquippa, PA. Their parents were Giovanni (John) and Antonella (not sure of the spelling) diNardo. Mom says they were not related to us.

I came across some old postings by Dave Letteri to Lou Stempkowski and I emailed them:

2001 3 May posting by Dave Letteri to Lou Stempkowski on the DiNardo Forum on Rootsweb.com: 

Dave I saw some of your postings about the diNardo family. I've been helping two people trace their diNardo roots.. My father, Pasquale diVecchia was born in Sant'Eufemia. I grew up in Aliquippa. ciao. Mark

From:   David Letteri <dletteriwoh.rr.com> Date:   Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:53:52 -0400 Subject:        Re: diNardo Genealogy Hello Mark, Yes, my grandfather, Angelo Roberto DiNardo, was born in Sant'Eufemia in 1888. His parents were Raffaele DiNardo and Filomena DiNardo (yes, apparently DiNardo was her maiden name). They eventually settled in West Aliquippa, and my aunt Erma DiNardo, his daughter, still lives in Aliquippa (actually Center Township). I would love to know if you have any further information. Regards, Dave

Dave, Thanks for your reply. I saw a bunch of posts between you and Lou Stempkowski on rootweb.com. I've copied Lou on this email. I've been in touch with Lou but he couldn't supply your current email. I then found it, accidently, on another web site. I've been researching families from Sant'Eufemia for about 10 years. Recently, I was helping two diNardo descendents trace their families. We found a lot of information but couldn't trace back into the 1800's for branches of their families. First problem was that were three Luigi diNardo's born about the same time (early 1890's). Then the father's of the Luigi's all seemed to be Raffaele's. You can see that we found you connected to Roberto who was the brother of Luigi (born 1894). We don't know much about Luigi's wife Antoniette diNardo's family tree. Then there is another Luigi diNardo (born 1889). We know the names of his parents but not the ancestry. The two people that I am helping are Jessica diNardo and Désirée Callouette. I've copied both of them on this email. Désirée is probably a second cousin (maybe once removed) to you. Jessica is related through your great-grandmother's sister Eufemia diNardo. I've attached a funeral card for your grandfather that Jessica's grandmother had in a photo album. I'll prepare a printout from my family tree data base program which adds more detail to the graphical tree and includes sources of information. I'll send that to you. We would like help filling in some the blanks in the newer parts of the tree and adding more of the family tree into the 1800's and earlier. One other question area is the ancestry of your GGF Raffaele's 2nd wife Angelantonio diNardo. Of course the biggest question is whether we have the tree right in the first place. My data base says that you and I are 4th cousins connected through GGGGP Giovanvincenzo diNardo and Angela Maria d'Antonio Francesco (both born in the 1780's). ciao. Mark

Mark, Thanks for the info. I'll go through it in the next couple of days when I have time to digest it, and compare it with my records. I'll let you all know what I come up with! Regards, Dave

diNardo in McKees Port

From:    JESS21STARSaol.com Date:    Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:02:43 -0500 (EST) Subject:    family history Hi Mark! I LOVE your website. Thank you so much for putting it together. We have some common relatives. I just wanted to touch base with you and compare notes. Please email me. We are related thru ur 3rd grandparents, Giovanvincenzo diNardo and Angela Maria d'Antonio. I am  working on comparing and contrasting other members of the family as well. Are  you by chance Mormon? Thanks again, Jessica Denardo Pittsburgh, PA

Jessica, Thanks for your email. Also, I've approved your  membership to the Sant'Eufemia a Maiella group on Yahoo!. Can you  tell me more about how you are descendant from my 3G Grandparents? I am not  Mormon but their interest in genealogy has certainly made my research a lot  easier. You might want to post a message to the group also,  telling everyone about yourself. Mark

Hi Mark! Your website has kept me up all night working hard! I love it! Where do you live? I am in Pittsburgh, PA. Most of the Denardos here come  from the McKees Rocks area of Pittsburgh. However, may of my cousins now reside  in Texas or Flordia. OK so this is what i have got. I think I have a whole new line for you to add to your tree. :)  Your third  Grandfather, Giovanvincenzo Dinardo had Roberto who had Raeffele who had Luigi  who had 5 kids with his wife Theresina Pallone. One of the kids, Ralph, was my  grandfather. I didn't see a line for Luigi on your tree so here it goes for your  records, Luigi Dinardo married Theresina  Pallone ( born 28 Feb 1888 in _S Eufemia, Amaiella, Italy _  Death 22 mar 1964) (  Luigi changed his name to Louis) 5 Kids Anthony  Denardo     (2 kids) Changed last name to DiNardo Daniel  Denardo        (4 kids) Mary  Denardo Petrillo       (7 kids) Ralph  Francis Denardo      1923 – 1973, I come from him, He had 3 sons to his wife, Lillian Ann Pitoniak. Ralph Jr., Robert, and MIchael. Ralph  changed the last name to Denardo from Dinardo. James  Joseph Denardo   1925 – 1994 (6 kids) I also have all the descendants from these people, I would be happy to give them to you if you want them. Please let me know.Also- they are all idiots for  changing their names! They are all buried together and it looks funny to see all  the different spellings. :) Also- I have Raffaelle Dinardo married to a  Vincenza Mantenuto not Filomena. Hmm. Maybe he was married to both? I will have  to look at my records and see where I got her name from. I have tons more but I will stop for now. Thanks! JESSICA

My father, Pasquale diVecchia, was born in Sant'Eufemia a Maiella. He came to the US in 1930 and lived in West Aliquippa, PA. We knew many diNardo in the town. My family web site is at:   http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/divecchio.htm I'd like to learn more about your tree. I have been helping a woman named Jessica Denardo (diNardo) trace her family tree and have run into many Raffaele, Daniele, Roberto and Luigi. So many that we are confused as to how they connect (or don't connect). We know of another Daniel born 13 Jan 1927 to another Luigi diNardo. ciao. Mark DiVecchio markd@silogic.com

From: desireel159, To: markdivecchio, Subject: RE: diNardo Family GenealogyCiao, Mark! Thanks for your email. I enjoyed looking at your website but, am not sure that my relatives are represented there. My great grandfather was Luigi DiNardo; my great grandmother was Antoinette Mancini Dinardo. Daniel was one of their many children, including my grandmother, Alice DiNardo Matievich. I, too, am confused on all of the DiNardo's of W. Aliquippa. Unfortunately, I am unable ask anyone as most of my relatives have since passed away. I WILL tell you that I was back in the area just last summer. My cousin and I visited our family's cemetery. While asking the groundskeeper to help us find our family's final resting spots, we came across MANY DiNardo's. My cousin, who still lives in the area,  said "I went to high school with SO many DiNardo's!". So, the short of it is that I'm truly unclear myself....but, WISH that I knew! Best of luck to you in your search and please let me know if I can help further. Best, Desiree

Its been really confusing figuring out all the Luigi diNardo born in Sant'Eufemia around the same time. There was your GGF born 31 May 1894, a Luigi born 13 May 1889, one born 6 Jun 1892, another born 23 Oct 1893 and another who I don't know when he was born. Several had kids named Raffale, Daniel and Antonio. It appears that two of them had a brother Roberto. Can you give access to your tree on ancestry? ciao. Mark

WOW! Thanks so much for the info, Mark. I didn't know anything about my GGF besides born in Italy, probably died in PA. I plugged in the bday that you gave me and found MY Luigi's naturalization papers and Ellis Island records! Thank you SOOO very much! Do you mind if I ask how you knew the date for my GGF? Sounds like you've been researching for quite awhile! Thanks again! Desiree

I've been helping another woman, Jessica, whose GGF is also a Luigi diNardo (one born 13 May 1889). When I stated digging, I found many Luigi born about the same time and I had to investigate each one. That led to all the information on your GGF. The date of birth that I found was from his Declaration of Intention. Do you know anything about his parents or the parents of his wife, Antoniella Mancini? Here is a summary of what I know about your GGF (if you don't have any of these documents, I can email them to you): 1909 8 Nov Boston arrival, 16y, single, father in SEaM - Raffaele, going to brother Roberto in Woodlawn, PA. 1920 7 Jul EI arrival (3 is crossed out and replaced with 7) 26y, Father in SEaM - Raffaele. Going to brother - Roberto, in Woodlawn, PA. Prevously in the US from 1909 to 1913 in Aliquippa, PA. 1925 Declaration of Intention and 1927 Certificate of Arrival, Box 237, Aliquippa, PA. DOB 31 May 1894, Arrived 7 Jul 1920 on the Ferdinand Palasciano, Wife - Antoniella. 1927 Petition for Naturalization, 31 May 1894, Born SEaM. 520 Beaver Ave, Aliquippa, PA. Wife Antoniella (Jun 1900), children Raffaele, Daniele, twins Filomena and Italia. Witnesses Paolo diNardo and Nicola Salvitti both of Aliquippa. 1928 21 Feb Oath of Allegiance. 1930 census, Aliquippa, PA, 38y (1892), single, brother-in-law (?) of Mary Crivelli. First married at 26y listed as married but wife not listed. Two children Tony and Elsie. 1940 census, Aliquippa, Beaver, PA, 46y, same house as 1930. Wife and children. 1980 obituary in the Beaver County Times of daughter, Ida.

Subject: RE: diNardo Family Genealogy Ciao, Mark! Thanks for your email. I enjoyed looking at your website but, am not sure that my relatives are represented there. My great grandfather was Luigi DiNardo; my great grandmother was Antoinette Mancini Dinardo. Daniel was one of their many children, including my grandmother, Alice DiNardo Matievich. I, too, am confused on all of the DiNardo's of W. Aliquippa. Unfortunately, I am unable ask anyone as most of my relatives have since passed away. I WILL tell you that I was back in the area just last summer. My cousin and I visited our family's cemetery. While asking the groundskeeper to help us find our family's final resting spots, we came across MANY DiNardo's. My cousin, who still lives in the area,  said "I went to high school with SO many DiNardo's!". So, the short of it is that I'm truly unclear myself....but, WISH that I knew! Best of luck to you in your search and please let me know if I can help further. Best, Désirée

Send me an email at markdsilogic.com and I will send you the records. The 1930 census lists Mary Crivelli as widowed and head of household. I'm guessing that her maiden name was diNardo since her brother Fred diNardo is listed. It is confusing that Louis diNardo is a brother-in-law. I'll work on this today to see if I can figure it out.

From:            Désirée Callouette <desireelcomcast.net> Subject:         Re: Luigi DiNardo records Date:            Fri, 22 Jun 2012 01:30:12 -0700 Hi Mark, Thank you so much for the kind words and the scans. I, too, hope the future will shed some light on MY Luigi. Until then, I can't thank you enough for all of your time and effort. I went from knowing nothing but a name to beginning to understand who my Great Grandfather, Luigi, was. The only thing that is keeping me from believing that the 1930 census, that we discussed, is my Luigi is the date of arrivial. For this record it says 1926 but, my Luigi arrived in 1920. Still can't figure out where the wife and other kids would have been....or how the brother-in-law fits in. Also, did you notice Roberto's 1905 Phil. arrival? He was going to see his cousin, Angelo DiNardo at 810 Webster, Pittsburgh. There are four others going to that same address. Some of their names are Timperio and Di Vecchio! (Gracondino , Giussepe, and Amillo.) I see on your site that your 3rd GGF was Giussepe Di Vecchio...I wonder if our relatives came over together?! Desiree PS - I've finally sent you access to my tree...sorry it took so long!

diNardo in Canada

From:    Clelia DGP <mscpalhotmail.com> Subject:    Pantalone/Di Giovine Date:    Thu, 19 Jul 2012 04:19:17 +0000 Hi Mark, I was sent a site and I came across names of people I know. I then saw pictures of Peter and John Battistone. I know that we are related some how on their mothers' side, which is therefore my grandmothers' side. Clementina Pantalone, my paternal grandmother, she passed away in Argentina. Her sister Agnese was listed on your page as being found at the cemetery. I was alway curious of the family tree, but have never been given too much information. Would I write to the Sant'Eufemia city hall to get records from the time of the war? where would I find records prior to that? I read that all records were destroyed during the war. Any advise you can give me would be greatly appreciated. My mom is deceased since 1975, she was a Di Nardo, and my father secluded himself from everyone, he's a Di Giovine. Clelia Di Giovine

Clelia, Thanks. I will look over all of the family that you named. You may be able to fill in a lot of the missing pieces for Canada and Argentina. I've attached a photo that I got from Domenico diGiovine.  My notes said: ----- 1937 or 1938 Grandparents of Domenico diGiovine: Nunziata diNardo and Filippo Pantalone. (Parents of Domenico's mother Agnese Pantalone.) Aurelia diGiovine (cousin to Domenico diGiovine)       Domenico diGiovine. I got the photo from Domenico diGiovine. ----- I'll write more later ciao. Mark

Date:    Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:26:52 -0700 (PDT) From:    flav808rogers.com Subject:    your geneology Hello Mark, I love your geneology research.  There are a number of decendents from St. Eufemia who belong to St. Eufemia Nel Mondo, which is a facebook link.  The members of the municipal office in St. Eufemia send out occasional updates on events happening in the town.  I have sent your e-mail to Patrizia Boccaccio,   boccacciophotmail.com to add to the group.  If you have e-mail contacts of other decendents, it would be great if you would forward them to Patrizia, including their first and last names.  Patrizia works at the municipal office and oversees tourism.  There is already a very large group of members. So my name is Flaviana DiNardo.  My father's name was Antonio DiNardo.  His parents, Filomena DiVecchia and Giuseppe DiNardo immigrated to Toronto, Canada in about 1954. My father had 6 sibblings, Felice, Francesco, Eufemia, Concetta, Nichola and Angelo.  There are now many DiNardo's in Toronto.  My mother's name was Maria Pantalone.  Her sibblings were: Eva, Dorinda, Gino, Angiolina. Gino Pantalone took an interest in boxing when he arrived in Toronto in his early 20's.  There was also a Pantalone who became famous in Boston I think.  They called him The Iron Man.  In the early 30's, he took jobs in the circus and amusement industries and was able to pull and lift enormous weights.  Look the Iron Man up on line and you will find old newspaper articles. I have visited St.Eufemia many, many times and I have a passion for the town, our history and our culture.  Let's work together to keep our heritage alive and hopefully you and your decendent contacts will join facebook St. Eufemia Nel Mondo. If you have any inquiries, I would be glad to assist you. Nice meeting you, Best wishes, Flaviana DiNardo

cara Flaviana,   Good to hear from you. I had recently heard from Clelia diGiovine and she told a little about your diNardo family. I also heard from Michael Palin.   I'm always interested in learning more about people from Sant'Eufemia. Also, there were many diNardo in Aliquippa where I grew up. I'm pretty sure that many of them were your cousins, descendent from brothers of Giuseppe.   How far back have you researched? Do you know the parents of Giuseppe diNardo, Filomena diVecchia, Luigi Pantalone or Anna deAngelis? Frank "The Strongman" Pantalone : http://www.strongestofall.com/  (web site of Kristi (diPietrantonio) Niedzwiecki).   ciao. Mark

Subject:         Re: your geneology From:            Flaviana <flav808rogers.com> Date:            Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:47:51 -0400 Hello Mark. Yes the DiNardo's in Aliquippa were my relatives and as a child, my family would visit often. They were 2 brothers of my grandfather Giuseppe DiNardo and all of them worked at the mill  I will find the names of my great grandparents on my mother's side.  On my father's side Francesco and Concetta DiVecchia Best wishes Flaviana

diNardo in Australia

Enzo, Angela, Diana and Ann; When Sally and I were in Sant'Eufemia in 2004, we met Angela Crivelli diNardo and her daughters, Linda and Carla. Angela married Giustino diNardo. Angela's grandmother, Maria diVecchia, was the sister of my grandfather, Camillo. Her mother was Anine diNardo. Angela's siblings are Lucia and Romeo. I don't think I got their contact information (or if I did, I lost it). Does anyone have email, post address or phone number for the family? I believe they did live around Melbourne. Thanks, Mark

From:            "Diana Archer" <nidranebigpond.com> Subject:         Re: Crivelli's and diNardo's in Australia Date:            Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:16:50 +1000 I was just thinking of you today and lo and behold here is an email. The connection I have to DiNardo's is my Grandmother Antionetta Piccolli's sister Anna Jasap married a Salvatore DiNardo.  Their children are Lorenzine who married a Lucia and their children are Salvatore married Vivienne, Tony who married Christine and Nino who married Loraine.  Salvatore and Anna Jasap also had a daughter Marrietta who married a Valerio Marcucci.  I will forward this to Andrew as they still have family on the Crivelli side living in Sante Euphemia. Love to Sally and you. Diana

From:            "jgiobbi" <jgiobbibigpond.com> To:              "Adam Nardelli" <asnardellibigpond.com> Subject:         Fw: Crivelli's and diNardo's in Australia Date:            Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:26:13 +1000 Hi Adam, Mark,  I sent this on to my cousin in Melbourne, he may know them Angela

diNardo in Michigan  -  Pasquale "Patsy Denard" diNardo

Date:    Wed, 3 Mar 2010 18:36:30 -0800 (PST) From:    Donald Murphy <leosquest1yahoo.com> Subject:    RE: Passport picture on your website Hello, I am writing to you because I was reading your genealogy website and came across a pitcure of my grandfather "1920 Patsy Denard (most likely Pasquale diNardo), Younstown, OH" under the passport application  page. He passed away in 1987, but would love to have any information you might have on him. My mother's maiden name is Helena Dinardo, his daughter. Thanks

Don, Thanks for your email. I'm always happy to hear from a descendant of a family from Sant'Eufemia. I've attached a scan of the complete 1920 passport application that I found on ancestry.com for your grandfather. I don't know anymore about him but since he is from Sant'Eufemia, I'm sure that your family and my family are related somehow. The passport app lists his father as Vincenzo and that Patsy immigrated in 1913 and was naturalized in Ohio in 1919. It also shows that he served in the US army from 1918 to 1919. I did a little more seaching tonight and I found that he is listed in a family tree on ancestry.com. The owner of that tree is "F. DeNard". There aren't a lot of details on that tree. It does list his wife as Margaret Helen Grams (1904-1985). I found the 1913 Ellis Island arrival manifest. He was going to his uncle Vincenzo DiVecchio in Watertown, MA. That is all I know. Do you have any info about his family in Sant'Eufemia? ciao. Mark

Hi Mark, I did a little more digging and came across my grandfather's marriage recording. I have attached a copy. On line 71, Patsy DeNard and Margaret Grams. He lists his father name as Vincenzo DeNard ( Dinardo) He lists his mothers name as Victoria D cchio D cchio, looks like a shortened version of your name, What do you think? Let me know your thoughts when you have time, I appreciate your input. Thanks Donald

Donald, I would say that there is a very good chance that Pasquale's mother was a DiVecchio. I'm pretty familiar with all the names in Sant'Eufemia and there were no other names that contained those sets of letters. In other words, there aren't any other possibilities. With only very few execptions, people from that town married someone else from that town. I don't read the 'n' though, I see it as "Dcchio". Since Pasquale was born in 1895, I would estimate that his mother was probably between 20-30 years old so she would have been born between 1865 and 1875. Unfortunately, the microfilmed records available to me go from 1809 to 1865. This always makes that jump from the US to Italy really difficult. Had we talked about doing an email for you to send the Archivo in Pescara? I've had good luck with that when I hit these kinds of roadblocks. ciao. Mark

Mark, Your are right about the Dcchio, no "n" .... mistake in my typing. I agree about her being a DiVecchio, its very similar. I appreciate your time and expertise. No, we didn't discuss an email to Archivo in Pescara, is that where all the birth/death records are kept? Let me know where you think I can go from here. Thanks Donald

Donald, Take a look at #2 on my hints page about doing a letter. http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/Hints.html ciao. Mark

HI Mark, I sent an email like your example, waiting for a reply. How long does it usually take for them to reply? I started researching my Grandfather's Uncle in Watertown, Mass.(per the manifest from Ellis Island) DiVecchio, Vincenzo {I6051} (b. ) (from your site) I believe this was Pasquale Dinardo's mother's brother. She is Vittoria DiVecchio[my great grandmother). They also had another sister Filomena DiVecchio, who came to the US. I found Vincenzo DiVecchio's marriage recording(link provided below) listing his parents as Matteo DiVecchio and Rosa Mastrantonio.(My great great grandparents) http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=recordimage;c=1469062;r=782902047;role=groom Do you have any info on Matteo and Rosa DiVecchio from Sant'Eufemia? Hope that wasn't too confusing, I am still trying to wrap my mind around all the connections. Also I did find relatives of Vincenzo DiVecchio, and I am hoping they can confirm the link to my great grandmother. Ciao

Donald, I recall that it took several months to get a reply. I would suggest waiting at least 3 months then resend the email. I have a short paragraph to add to the beginning that says you are resending because the first time might have gotten lost. I can send you that if you need it. So in my data, I have two Vincenzo's: I6051 who was married to Maria Angela Timperio The only thing that I know about the family is from the obituary of their daughter Mary Rose DiVecchio when she died in 2005. You should be able to see that in my family tree data. The obit listed her parents and siblings. It confirmed a connection to the Arcese family tree that I found on ancestry. I6491 who was married to Mary Colardi in 1914 per the marriage record that you found. This also confirms a connection to the Arcese family tree on ancestry. The 1914 marriage record lists Vincenzo as widowed so I'm thinking that these two are the same Vincenzo's. His father's name was Matteo and mother Rosa Mastratonio per the marriage record. Mastrantonio is a good name from Sant'Eufemia. Vincenzo was born in 1875 . I have a Matteo DiVecchio born 26 Mar 1845 that could be the father. I don't have access to any records after 1865 so I can't ge sure. (He is person I1627.) I don't have anything on Rosa Mastrantonio. Besides the EI manifest, do you have any independent sources that your grandfather's uncle was named Vincenzo and lived in MA? ciao. Mark

Donald, I did some research on the family of Matteo DiVecchia and Rosa Mastrantonio. You had found some marriage records and I found more. They had three children Vincenzo, Filomena and Loreto. I've attached the marriage records in case you don't have them. Vincenzo was married three times 1)Francesca Lodice 2) Maria Angela Timperio (or Timberio) and 3) Maria Giustina Colardi. I could not find a record for the 2nd marriage. I believe the reference to "Uncle" Vincenzo that Patsy Denard made on his EI arrival was to the Vincenzo in this family. I believe that Matteo DiVecchia and Vittoria's father, Diodato DiVecchia were siblings. In Italy, cousins of parents are referred to as aunt and uncle. Evidence: I have seen a marriage record dated 27 Aug 1863 between Diodato diVecchia and Domenica Palmieri. It lists Diodato's parents - Isodoro diVecchia and Vittoria diCosmo. I have seen the birth record of Matteo diVecchia dated 26 Mar 1845 which lists the same parents. Though I don't have exact proof that the Matteo born in 1845 is the same Matteo that married Rosa Mastrantonio and lived in MA, to me, its the same person. That these families all ended up in Watertown, MA also leads me to this conclusion. Mark

To:              "Viola diNardo Riley" <virileymac.com> Subject:         Pasquale diNardo Cc:              Donald Murphy <leosquest1yahoo.com> Date:            Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:28:10 -0800 Dear Viola, Thanks for your entry in my DiVecchio Guestbook. I'm always happy to hear from future cousins! I say "future" because even though we don't know how we are related right now, Sant'Eufemia is such a small town that everyone is related one way or another. I will keep you and your nephew, Don, in mind as I do more research and I'll forward along anything that I find. Along those lines, I've attached a scan of a page from a book - Ohio Soldiers in WWI - which lists Patsy's service in the US Army. ciao. Mark

Subject:    Family History Date:    Tue, 6 Mar 2012 13:38:54 -0600 From:    "Denard, Michael" <michael.denardpuffer.com> Mark, My family came from this town.  My grandfather Pasquale Di  Nardo was born March 30, 1895 in Santeufernia a maiella, Italy. Do I have family there now?   Thanks, Michael

From:            Mark DiVecchio <markd@silogic.com> To:              "Denard, Michael" <michael.denardpuffer.com> Subject:         Re: Family History Date:            Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:54:52 -0800 Michael, Well I know a little about the diNardo family. My father was born in Sant'Eufemia a Maiella and I have a lot of diNardo cousins. I think that I have Pasquale diNardo in my data base. I've been in contact with Donald Murphy, son of Helena who was the daughter of Pasquale and Margaret Helen Grams. I've also been in touch with Viola diNardo Riley. Pasquale died 12 Apr 1987 in River View, MI. If this is your family, I have Pasquale's ancestry going back a half dozen generations. I've not found my direct relationship to Pasquale but Sant'Eufemia was a very small town and everyone is related one way or another. ciao. Mark

Subject:         Re: Family History From:            "Denard, Michael" <michael.denardpuffer.com> Date:            Tue, 6 Mar 2012 17:39:41 -0600 Yes, Viola is my Aunt from Michigan.

From:    "Martha Truskolaski" <mtlaskichesnet.net> Subject:    Pasquale "Patsy Denard" DiNardo Date:    Fri, 3 Aug 2012 14:04:44 -0400 Mark, My name is Martha Truskolaski and my husband is Lawrence Truskolaski.  I happened upon your site while trying to find information on my husband's mother, Ann (or Anna) Denard.  My husband did not really know his mother as she left when he was very young and he was raised by his grandmother. The little information I have about his family was given to me by his aunt. Ann married her brother Donald Truskolaski.  My husband's aunt told me that she and Ann were a few years apart in age; Ann would have been born about 1931 or 1932; Ann had several brothers and sisters (Jean, Pat-brother, Helen, Helena, George, Viola); Ann's father was named "Pat"; Could not remember Ann's mother's name.  Although we had always believed the last name to be spelled as "Denard", the aunt spelled the name as "Dinard". My husband was always told that his mother was Italian.  So much of the information that you have recorded seems to fit what little information I have on his mother.  Is it possible to share any other information you might have, including other family members you might have had correspondence with? I would love to fill in the gaps that we have for the family.  By the way, my husband was born in Wyandotte, MI. By the way, I did read some of your comments regarding travel in Roma. Found it truly delightful!!! My husband and I traveled to Rome in 2010 and you are absolutely right regarding the travel conditions!!  I really wish we had known more about his family and where they were from before we made our trip.  Guess we will just have to schedule another trip to Italy soon and travel to Pescara to see his homeland.  Oh, just wouldn't that be terrible! LOL Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any help that you can pass along. Martha Truskolaski

Martha, Thanks for your email. I would be very happy to help with what I know about Patsy Denard. You have a lot more about their children than I have. I don't have much about his wife. The information that I have comes from three main sources, 1) from several family trees that I found on www.ancestry.com, 2) documents that I've found and 3) information from people who have contacted me. So the third source first. I've been contacted by Viola diNardo Riley - the daughter of Patsy and his wife, and by  Donald Murphy, the son of Helen diNardo. I've copied both of them on this email - I don't know if their email addresses are still good or not. Then for number 2, I can email you many of the documents that I've found on-line - as I have electronic copies of those. For number 1, you will need an account on ancestry.com to access those trees. One of the trees is by Donald so he can probably give you that information directly. The other tree is not that informative. First off, I've attached two printouts from my data base of what I know about the family. It goes back a few generations. I believe that what I have is correct but distant sources may be wrong or I might have entered something wrong. You should double check what I send and I'm always open to updates and corrections. Secondly, I've attached a document that Donald Murphy sent me. He got it from the Archives in Pescara, Italy. ciao. Mark

Mark, Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I cannot believe  to only how quickly you have responded  but also the wealth of information you are willing to share. I must tell you that until last night, I had  virtually no information on Larry's mother or her side of the family. I woke up early this morning and surprised him with the info from your website and much to his delight, the passport photo of his "grandpa" Patsy! He does remember visiting his grandfather when he lived on Plum in Wyandotte. I do hope to hear from Donald and Viola. It would be great to add as much information to the family tree as possible.  Hopefully our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will cherish this info when they are older. I know our children currently have very little interest now! Thank you again! I truly appreciate what you have sent and would love copies/updates as you have time to send. Martha

From:    Viola Riley <virileymac.com> Subject:    Family Date:    Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:49:42 -0400 Hi Mark I have been thinking of  you recently!  Just got back from my daughter's and found your emails.  I sent a note off to Martha Truskolaski giving her my contact info and asking her to contact me. I haven't gotten through all my emails yet but wanted to let you know how happy I am to hear from you again. Keep a smile, Vi

diNardo in Pittsburgh, PA

From:    "Dave DiNardo" <davedinardoinvado.com> Subject:    Ancestry Date:    Fri, 7 Feb 2014 19:38:16 -0500 Mark, I found your web site a couple of times.  Once on my own about 5 years ago and more recently when Desiree Callouette referred me to it when she was identified as a third cousin to me on Ancestry.com.   I can't find where Desiree's family tree meets our's but it would connect a lot of things if we could.  My relatives are not on your tree.  I could give you that information if it helps?  I'd like to talk to you sometime.  My phone is 412-***-****.  I'll call you if you prefer anytime that is convenient for you.  Dave

I found this newspaper article at the Google News Archives and sent it to Dave. It is about his father, Manuel diNardo 8 Nov 1945 issue of the Pittsburgh Press

About 6 months later, this photo showed up in my email: From:    "Dave DiNardo" <davedinardoinvado.com> Subject:    check this out.  Ancestry research Date:    Sun, 3 Aug 2014 15:54:37 -0400 Check this out. When I was a little kid my Dad told me how he won a big contest by painting a picture of a man walking to work at the steel mill with a book in one hand and a lunch box in the other.  Due to the fine work of our cousin, Mark DiVecchio, an article from the Pittsburgh Press dated November 8th 1945 shows this to be a true story.  It also shows that the top 80 were put on display in the Central Library and the others in the James Anderson Room.  It drew my curiosity to find out more about it.  I contacted the Carnegie Museum and the Carnegie Library.  The Carnegie Library had a scrap book on the subject in the Oliver Room (Special Collections.)  There are newspaper clippings on the subject and photos.  Apparently there are at least two photos with my Dad in them receiving a War Bond for the first place finish in front of his painting.  I am going to visit the Library on Wednesday August 13th to see these items with my daughter and my step mom.  (Dad died a couple years ago.)  In the meantime, the library was kind enough to send me a couple of photos of him receiving the award in front of his poster painting.  One of them is attached.  It's pretty cool to see this after my Dad told me about it 40 years ago.

Emanuele diNardo

About a month later, I got this from Dave after he saw my posting on the SEaM Group:

From:    "Dave DiNardo" <davedinardoinvado.com> Subject:    Mysteries solved Date:    Sat, 26 Jul 2014 09:19:30 -0400 I was looking at the ancestral tree of my grandfather Alphonso DiNardo which you so graciously prepared. This gentleman who died was 13 years older than my grandfather and came to Pittsburgh before my grandfather did.  His name was Emanuale just like my grandfather’s grandfather.  My grandfather’s father was 50 years old when my grandfather was born. It makes sense that this gentleman who was 13 years older than my grandfather was my grandfather’s older brother who would have been born when my great grandfather was 37.  This gentleman had a father named Giovanni and a mother named Maria Rosa.  We have my great grandmother listed as Maria Rosa DiNardo but you never put her on the family tree that way because you didn’t have two documents to show the connection. This gentleman’s mother’s last name is DiVecchia.  Does that solve the mystery as to who my great grandmother is?...And why my Dad is named Manuel?

So this Emanuele had to be a brother to the four diNardo brothers who immigrated to the US.  Meanwhile, I visited the local FHC and I was able to look the the SEaM birth records for Antonio, Lorenzo and Alfonso. They all showed the father as Giovanni, the mother as Maria Rosa diNardo and one showed the grandfather as Emanuele.

So we were on to something even though the 1907 DC showed Emanuele's mother as Maria Rosa diVecchia.

Armed with an approximate birth year of 1885 (from the age on the DC), I went back to the SEaM birth records and I found the birth record for Emanuele on 13 Feb 1886. Here are my notes:

This was supported once I found the marraige record for Giovanni and Maria Rosa. My notes:

From:    "Dave DiNardo" <davedinardoinvado.com> Subject:    Did it again!  Crazy find! Date:    Wed, 6 Aug 2014 22:08:26 -0400   Mark told me about the yahoo group SEaM. But anyway, right on the front of  the Yahoo group was a recent post by Mark. I suspected that this man who drowned was actually the brother of my grandfather and none of us knew of his existence.  Mark was likewise intrigued by the thought and it also wanted us to nail down the actual identity of my great grand-mother once and for all.  Mark pulled it off!  He was able to prove that this man who drowned was the brother of my grandfather.  .My cousins and brothers and sisters are floored to discover this man existed.  Mark also proved who my great grandmother was with a civil marriage license. Interestingly enough, there were a few documents related to the death of my great uncle.  His body was identified by a Robert Di Nardo.  His body was turned over to a Robert DiNardo and the Death Certificate was turned over to this same Robert DiNardo.  Mark indicated it was a second cousin.  That would make this, Robert DiNardo, the grand-son of Desiree's great, great, great, great grandfather.  Pretty interesting stuff. Dave DiNardo

From:            "Dave DiNardo" <davedinardoinvado.com> Subject:         RE: Did it again!  Crazy find! Date:            Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:08:39 -0400 My cousin Mike told me that he did hear a story of a relative, possibly brother of our "Papap" that died in an accident many years before Papap came to America.  Papap didn't land in America until 1920.  The story went that the relative (or brother of Papap) fell into a vat of acid at the mill. ...These documents refer to Dravo Corporation instead of a steel mill. Perhaps they did fall into a vat of acid instead of drowning.  Maybe that´s why the bodies were not properly identified at first.

From:    "Dave DiNardo" <davedinardoinvado.com> Subject:    Date:    Sun, 17 Aug 2014 19:23:53 -0400 My cousin Mike said that maybe Emanuele died digging an acid well if this spot made Coke which had a lot of acid by-product.  Mike is probably in his early 60's.  He also said that they visited relatives in Aliquippa when they were little, but can't remember their last names.  Tony told me the same thing.  We never had a car to go anywhere.  We didn't own a car until something like 1974 and it was a real beat up unreliable station wagon. Mike's brother Steve said they visited both Carmella Mazzocca, the brother who went by Jimmy and one of the other sisters who he thinks was a nun.    Dave DiNardo

I continued digging - this time through the Google Newspaper Archives. I knew of the early Beaver County newspaper "The Daily Times". It was the predecessor of the "Beaver County Times". Although it mostly covered Beaver/Rochester/Beaver Falls, I thought there might be something about Emanuele's death. I started reading each page with the 5 Nov 1907 issue.

Then I found something:

12 Nov 1907 "Daily Times" page 1 A week ago would be Tuesday 5 Nov. Three men died. So Dravo Construction was building the new J&L plant at Aliquippa.

13 Nov 1907 "Daily Times" page 1 The remaining body must have been Emanuele.

14 Nov 1907 "Daily Times" page 1 Louis Ostervitch was buried at Union. We suspect Emanuele was buried there as well as both DC say they were buried in Monaca. But neither of their names show up in the on-line index for Union Cemetery:

15 Nov 1907 "Daily Times" page 8 This article does not mention any names but references "a week ago Tuesday" which would be 5 Nov and that three men died. The third man recovered must have been Emanuele diNardo.  Batchelor Bros was the undertaker listed on all three DC.

So that is where we are. We know that Emanuele is now the 5th diNardo brother from this family who came to the US.

I sent this email to genealogy director at Union Cemetery:

From:            Mark DiVecchio To:              "Merle J. Cujas Jr." <jcujas1comcast.net> Subject:         Emanuele diNardo at Union? Date:            Sat, 23 Aug 2014 07:24:21 -0700 I have been researching genealogy of my family, diVecchia, and other families from the Italian town of Sant'Eufemia a Maiella. Many people from that town immigrated to Aliquippa. My web page is at: http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/divecchio.htm Recently, Pennsylvania has released death certificates from the first half of the 20th century. Some of the very oldest ones show that many Italians were buried in Union Cemetery.  (Possibly this was before Mt. Olivet opened.) From the death certificates, I've been able to identify many people from Sant'Eufemia buried at Union. My current mystery is a man named Emanuele diNardo who was killed, along with two other men, in an industrial accident during the construction of J&L on 5 Nov 1907. I've made up a web page showing what I have found about that man: http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/diNardo.html#diNardo_Pittsburgh There are two names on his death certificate, originally written as "Duward Demeuono", it was corrected by an affidavit in 1914 to his correct name. The DC shows burial on 16 Nov 1907 in Monaca but does not list a cemetery.  The second man killed was listed as Louis Ostovitsch and he was buried on either 14 or 17 Nov 1907, also in Monaca. Batchelor Bros was listed as the undertaker for both men.  A newspaper article states that this burial was at Union Cemetery. Do you have any records or information about either of these two men? Thank You, Mark DiVecchio

Hello Mark. I got your message. I'll look into what I can find. Brad had a video of the cemetery done this past year. He has been going through it as time allows him. It's quite large. The record keeping done by Batchelor's was a mess. We are about 3/4 of the way through the mess and still adding to it. I'm very familiar with the area where alot of the Immigrants where buried. That part of the video hasn't been gone through yet but, I will make a special trip to walk through it and see what I can find for you. Give me some time to do this and look through what I have access to and I'll get back to you soon as I can. I too have lost family to J&L. One was only 18 yrs. old about 35 years ago. That place took many lives. I'll make sure I look at your site! Thanks for letting me see it! I love the history of this area! Jay

Jay wrote back a week or so later: Sorry to say I could not find anything on Emanuele. I walked the cemetery looking for a stone for him and for Louis Ostovitsch. There was none to be found yet there are many that are so worn that it hard to say if one of them could have been it. We have no records of them either. I went to the Beaver County Genealogy Society to see what they might have and they looked along with me also to find anything. All they had was the newspaper articles too and the same DC's that you have. It's a very good guess to say they are in Union because of the articles. If anything should turn up I will contact you with our findings. Good luck in your quest. Jay

In Dec of 2014, Dave diNardo took all of the information that we have found and summaried it in a short history of the diNardo branch of his family. His summary included photos from his trip to Sant'Eufemia. He graciously gave me permission to include it here (I've added several more hot links to the photos to make them easier to access):

From: Dave DiNardo [mailto:davedinardoinvado.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 1:03 PM Subject: Merry Christmas to you I did a lot of Ancestry research in conjunction with MaryAnne these last few of years.  Learned numerous things that are far, far too numerous to share. However, breaking a few of them out in small chapters is a nice way to share with you during this holiday season.  At the very least, you will like to look at some of the pictures/ videos on the link you can click on below. If MaryAnne and I break out lineage for our grandparents, there are obviously four lines for each of us.  Each of those grandparents have distinct ties for generations to a specific place.  Ties into those places are inevitably small, remote communities where there were marriages among the same groups of families over and over with very little change in the last names.  I will focus on just one of those four grandparent lines for myself (DiNardo). This line is from a remote, small community of people goes back for many centuries. Click on this link to start. http://seam1014.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_weeklydigest%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX It will take you to a web site that opens with a picture of the welcome sign coming into Sant'Eufemia a Maiella.  That was a picture we took in October of this year, 2014 while entering Sant'Eufemia. Below are chapters of items you can click on that show charts, photos, and videos.  I will speak to these items in terms of how the relations are related to me so that you can, in turn, adjust them yourself for how you are related.  Just a few people can be identified to have created thousands of descendants who we are among.  For this one line of grandparents, I worked with a gentleman who is a hobbyist genealogist with his own roots from Sant'Eufemia and another town near where my wife is from.  His name is Mark DiVecchio.  Mark is a brilliant guy and probably almost as accomplished at genealogy as anybody on the planet. He created a web site and data base by himself that traces ancestry from the towns his parents are from.  He has traced close to 15,000 people.  It turns out that I am related to Mark in two different ways (so far).  Mark is someone we all owe a debt to in terms of having any genealogy history at all.  He has put thousands of hours of work into this and did much of the leg work on this one grandparent line that I have so much information on. How to use this: Click on "Pictures and videos" near the top when you open the link above first!!  After doing that, click on chapter called Ancestry 1.  See the picture of our cousin, Mark DiVecchio.  Then click on the first ancestry graph.  It shows the ancestors of my children, Julia and Tony.  You can print this out or expand your screen.  The list of specific ancestors goes back into the 1600's.  Less than one percent of the world's population can understand their ancestry in terms that long ago.  My four grandparent lines are DiNardo, Martucci, Vaccaro, and Mendicino.  The very furthest left 1/8 stretch of this chart is our ancestors under the DiNardo line and is 100% tied to Sant'Eufemia in Italy.  This town is located high in the mountains where it is extremely rugged and cold.  Even in today's world of 2014, there are often mountain passes that slide.  When we were there a couple of months ago, two such situations occurred in different spots causing our journey to be at least an hour longer in both spots to reroute around the mountain.  If you click on the chart that is two pictures to the right, you can see just that 1/8 chart encompassing the entire chart because it is specifically the line of that single grandparent only (Alphonso DiNardo we called Papap).  See how his parent's names were Giovanni Vincenzo DiNardo and Maria Rosa DiNardo.  I have learned that in Italy, women do not change their last name when they marry.  It makes ancestry research much easier.  It also means that it was an instance of a DiNardo marrying a DiNardo.  It is almost 100% likely that Giovanni Vincenzo and Maria Rosa are also related going back several generations for which we have not yet connected.  There is a good chance we will eventually find the connection though!  Look at the third chart in that row which is called "DiNardo Family Tree".  There is an extremely large number of individuals on this tree. Mark has the connections for them to thousands of people now, so obviously we can't put it all on one page like this.  However, the names on this chart in this format is very useful because they go back a number of generations and help match up ancestry between modern day people and see it in one place.  Look it over when you have a chance and see how many instances you can find of a DiNardo marrying another DiNardo.  I believe there are four other instances of that on this chart alone and sometimes you can even stretch backwards to see how those two people are distant relatives several generations earlier.  This sort of thing is very common in small rural isolated towns all over the world to the era prior to mass transportation. It was often great distances to walk between towns even if you were lucky enough to have had a mule/donkey to help.  So it was easier for people to marry among themselves generation after generation.  For this reason, if you look at the last names of any of these charts, you can see names that are very closely related to a place as much as they are related to other people. When I had my DNA tested by Ancestry.com, the scientists there match DNA to other people whom you are suspected to be related to based upon DNA signatures that have been inherited and passed on generationally.  When I see the names I am matched to, it is often very easy to guess how they are related and prove it later with the exact common ancestor.  You can look at their tree and see the last names in their ancestry.  There are names like Ricci, Fullo and Martucci that are obviously related via a small town in Italy as ancestors of my Paternal grandmother.  There are last names like DiCosmo, Del Tondo, Crivelli, Gargaro, and Mancini that are similarly traced back to Sant'Eufemia a Maiella or Roccacaramanico in Italy and have the same persons on their ancestral tree.  I have found numerous people living today that are identifiable to have the same ancestors as we do.  Inevitably, the people from Sant'Eufemia show up as suspected to be more closely related by Ancestry.com than they really are.  I have had people shown by Ancestry.com to be "probable 3rd or 4th cousins" that are determined to be more distant than that.  A couple of these people, we are related to in two different ways (so far) as 5th and 6th cousions.   I have had people identified to be probably 5th or 6th cousins that are actually 7th or 8th cousins.  But the point is that DNA appears to be more closely related to people from Sant’Eufemia than our true relation really is.  That is probably because we are normally related in multiple ways with multiple common ancestors over the years.  Mark indicates that there are people from Sant'Eufemia who can be positively identified as being related 4 or 5 different ways.  Anybody that you run into who has had ancestors from this town is almost certainly related if you can go back about 9 generations or so.   Sant'Eufemia pictures.  Click on the last chapter titled 2014 -11-06. Pictures: -DiNardo Hotel, now closed at the very center of Sant'Eufemia. -The historical list of Mayors from Sant'Eufemia.  How many DiNardo's can you count?  How many other people that are probably our relatives because we have the same last names in our ancestry tree such as DiVecchia, Pantalone, or Crivelli. -The house of Concetta DiNardo, Papap's sister.  The door at Concetta's house where her daughter, Antoniella Fatore was killed.  She didn't answer the door when the German soldiers knocked during WWII, so the German soldier shot the lock off while she was looking though the peephole and killed her.  -Video of the old section of Sant'Eufemia.  Video of center of town. -Pictures with Maria Dimperio.  Maria Dimperio was the mail carrier years ago and is in her late 70's.  She knows a lot of the history of Sant'Eufemia.  She gave John a tour in 2005 and me a tour in 2014. -Pictures with Isa DiCosmo.  Isa is the current hotel owner of Albergo Parco Maiella.  She is a great cook and some of the photos are of the food she made for us.  Her last name is DiCosmo.  DiCosmo is the same last name as some of our ancestors if you go back to look on the ancestry charts.  By the way, she is related to Dad's first cousin, Tony DiNardo.  Tony's is Uncle Rocco's son.  (I learned of Tony through Mark years ago and met the guy while in Boston once.) Anyway, Maria Dimperio is her mom (again, women don't change their last name when they get married). -There are several dates in the church photos.  1580, 1516, and one with a weird combination of Latin Roman numerals.  I think 1580 is probably likely. -There is a sampling of the baptism records from 1662 to 1877.  The individual pages are of Maria Rosa DiNardo and some other DiNardo's.  One of the pages had other DiNardo's.  It actually contained a relative record that a friend of mine was looking for (She is a 5th cousin named Diane Rogers who lives in Gibsonia.).  In retrospect, I should have asked if I could take pictures of all the records that go back to the 1500's because it would easily have allowed us to the chance to make a lot more ancestral connections and extend our tree pretty far and wide.  These books are getting pretty fragile and moldy since they are hundreds of years old.-There is also a PDF file attached about Sant'Eufemia.   Look in the section under "Fireplace" to see a couple things about Christmas traditions.  Look at feast days they used to celebrate for various Saints in Sant'Eufemia.  It reminds me of Papap because he always remembered those dates even through they weren't celebrated as feast days outside of Sant'Eufemia. Look at the chapter that refers to lost history for my father, Manuel.  When I was a small boy, he told me several times that he won a major painting contest. He even described the painting as a man carrying a book and a lunch box to work at the steel mill.  I never thought much of it it other than curious if we could ever see what the painting looked like.  A clue came in from Mark DiVecchio who found a newspaper article dated November 8th, 1945.  With that, it was proved that he did win a significant painting contest.  I decided to contact Carnegie Museum to see if they would possibly still have the "poster" in archives.  They did not but referred me to a gentleman at Carnegie Library who did historical research.  This man is often asked to do research similar to this and things come up disappointing.  But every once in a while he comes up with a great find.  He works in an office where there is a lot of amazing Pittsburgh historical artifacts and historical photos such as the desk Andrew Carnegie worked from and his personal artifacts. Among all these documents was a large embossed binder commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Carnegie Library from 1945 since it was founded in 1895. This was a huge event with a lot of fanfare and media coverage.  Apparently one of the centerpiece items of the entire 50th anniversary was this poster contest.  The top 80 posters were put on display at the main library and prizes were given to the top 5.  Dad won first place and there are numerous photos and newspaper clippings commemorating the event.  They are posted here for your perusal.  You can actually see what his poster looked like in two of the pictures in which they are awarding a war bond to Manuel.  The poster looks as he described it to me when I was little.  The gentleman from Carnegie library was so taken aback and exhilarated by how lucky this find was and that he exclaimed, "Holy S***!" when he found it.  Julia, Judy and I all went to see this historical room and this special binder and I took smart phone pictures of the contents for you.  They are attached here.  Also attached are a few pictures of Manuel from his high school senior yearbook since I visited Taylor Alderdice to see if they had this old poster in archives (they did not).  There was a collage of pictures in the back of the yearbook of which one of them is a tiny picture that I believe of him in a 3-button sport coat.  There is a home room picture.  There is a short bio for him that you will get a real kick out of too.   Look at the chapter where you will see a picture of Maria Rosa DiNardo. Interesting stories here.  I had history that our great grandmother's name was Marie (rather than Maria) Rosa DiNardo and a note that she had the same last name as her husband.    Mark DiVecchio had records of a woman named Maria Rosa DiNardo that was born in 1862 but he had little information on her.  He likes two forms of official records to prove who a person is.  We just didn't have a way to prove that this woman was the same person even though I knew in my heart that it was my great grand mother.  I was determined to accomplish this by the time we traveled to Italy or accomplish that while in Italy 2014.  What we came up with was so much more.  While looking at a Yahoo group that Mark established for ancestors of Sant'Eufemia, I noticed that he found records of the death of a man named Emanuele DiNardo who perished in 1907 in Aliquippa who happened to have parents named Maria Rosa DiNardo and Giovanni Vincenzo DiNardo.  This provided a great place to start.  It was rocky but we found many things.  He name was indeed Maria Rosa DiNardo.  Look at the very last row on the web site I provided you.  It is one of the videos of her house in Sant’Eufemia.  At first I did not recognize the house for which I had a picture in my mind from when our cousin John visited Sant'Eufemia around 2005.  The house looks more worn down and the front door looked missing compared to the video John DiNardo took which visiting Italy.  Upon further inspection, it is the same place. The front door has been removed and concreted over.    It is probably where Papap was born and also his brothers.  It is next door to the Crivelli's house which is significant for which I'll discuss later.  Look at the row of pictures just above the video of Maria Rosa's house.  The second picture from the right is an entry into baptism records that I found while visiting Chiesa de Sant'Bartolomeo.  There is an official entry that was handwritten in Latin on October 16th, 1862 for which she was baptized.  It shows who her parents were (Madalena Palma Crivelli, Fabiantonio DiNardo) as well as her God-parents.  Don't have her death records but we have three records now of who she was.  Her and her husband had a son named Emanuele DiNardo prior to being married in the Civil records.  Prior to that they were married in the church.  After Emanuele was born, they decided to get married a second time for official civil records so that Emanuele could be named an official heir to their possessions.  Look at her photo.  There exists a single photo of her that we are aware of which I suspect was taken around 1920 when she was not so young anymore and after two of her children and husband had died.  It looks like a formal photo taken in a professional studio standing next to an old Roman style "x-crossed bottom" chair that was popular among patrician class Romans 1,800 years earlier.   Look at the line related to Emanuele DiNardo, brother of Alphonso DiNardo. Checking around with my brothers and sisters and cousins, nobody remembered another brother named Emanuele.  Yet the story above seemed to indicate there was another brother named Emanuele.  It seemed a little unlikely because he would have been born 13 years earlier than our grandfather.  But when you consider that our great grandfather was 50 when Alphonso was born, it was obvious that having a brother 13 years older was definitely possible.  Read all the news stories discovered by Mark in this row of information.  He was killed with two other immigrants in a terrible accident on the Ohio River. The other two men were Austrian immigrants.  Emanuele was mis-identified at the time of his death.  His mis-identification was corrected years later by a second cousin to my grandfather named Roberto DiNardo.  These poor men were buried alive and drowned while working for Dravo Company to build a new Jones Laughlin Steel plant in Aliquippa, PA.  Our cousin Michael DiNardo remembers Papap talking about a relative who died in a similar way and must be this event.  In any event, Papap's grandfather was named Emanuele, so it would make sense that is where the name for his oldest brother came from. If you look at a row called Ancestry 1 near the top you can see a page typed by Aunt Helen (married to Uncle John).  She was good enough to record information from Papap prior to his death.  Papap had a a very thick accent and had a lot of mispronunciations / misinterpretations based on literacy. Thus, Papap did tell Aunt Helen he had a brother named Manuel rather than Emanuele.  It would explain why Dad was named Manuel rather than Emanuele. Likewise, we discovered that Papap had two sisters.  One was named Concetta. Our cousin John was told this when he visited Italy by people in Sant'Eufemia.  He found it hard to believe.  But once again and interestingly enough, Papap did tell Aunt Helen that he had a sister named "Conject".  Interestingly enough, look at the passport picture of Angelo Roberto DiNardo in this chapter.  I received this picture from a lady who is a distant cousin of our's and who's family is from Aliquippa.  Does Roberto look just like Papap or what?  Anyway, I hope you found some of this interesting.  There is a lot more to share if you care to know, especially about the other grandparent lines. Lot more to do.  Merry Christmas to you all! Dave DiNardo

Ferdindando diNardo - Killed in Action in France 1918

I found information about this Ferdinando when I was searching for information about a different Ferdinando. I had never heard of this man before.

He may have used "Denard".