Individuals marked with a red dot are direct ancestors of Mark Camillo DiVecchio

Silvestri, Claudio {I4591} (b. )

Note: email from William Colianni, Jan 2007: "They were the parents of Claudio Silvestri the co Author of "Il mio paese racconta"."

Given Name: Claudio

Change: Date: 23 Oct 2010
Time: 16:05:17

Note: See notes for wife, Maureen diGiovine.
2010 Obituary of father-in-law, Americo diGiovine.

Given Name: Bill

Change: Date: 23 Jan 2010
Time: 21:42:28

Note: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/946900/person/90220152
email from grandson, Tom Fondy, Oct 2006.

1910 28 Mar EI arrival, 22y, with son, going to Emidio Acquafondata in Mesaba, MN.

1920 census, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, PA, 33y, immigrated 1910.

1928 Petition for Naturalization of husband, Emiddio.

email from Tom Fondy (Acquafondata) Jul 2012: "I knew Uncle Mack, and Uncle Sylvester, and Uncle Carl Tonti, and especially the sweet lady who we called "Aunt Olivade". That was Olivetta, my grandmother's sister. I only met her a few times, but she always seemed very kind and sweet and gentle. She is as close as I could come to knowing my grandmother (Severina Iannacchione) who died 9 days before I was born. I heard a lot about Uncle Tony but he also died the year I was born."

Given Name: Severina

Immigration: Date: 28 Mar 1910
Place: Ellis Island, NY

Change: Date: 5 Jul 2012
Time: 10:50:13

Note: email from nephew Tom Fondy, Oct 2006: "I am especially proud of the verses about Maria Sophia and Violanda because they bring these simple unknown little immigrant girls back to life after 90 years. I have been to the hillside in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh that is mentioned in the poem. You can see photos of that hillside in another poem on my web site called "Baby of a Single Day"."

http://tpfondy.mysite.syr.edu/Crosses.htm
http://tpfondy.mysite.syr.edu/DayBaby.htm

Given Name: Maria Sofia

Change: Date: 3 Jul 2012
Time: 19:18:12

Note: email from nephew Tom Fondy, Oct 2006: "I am especially proud of the verses about Maria Sophia and Violanda because they bring these simple unknown little immigrant girls back to life after 90 years. I have been to the hillside in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh that is mentioned in the poem. You can see photos of that hillside in another poem on my web site called "Baby of a Single Day"."

http://tpfondy.mysite.syr.edu/Crosses.htm
http://tpfondy.mysite.syr.edu/DayBaby.htm

Given Name: Violanda

Change: Date: 12 Dec 2010
Time: 21:12:19

Note: email from son Tom Fondy, Oct 2006: "Emiddio and Severina had the three children that you read about in "Wooden Crosses for Maria Sophia and Violanda". The girls died as babies, but my father, Romolo Francis Acquafondata lived a full life and died in February, 1983 at the age of 74. He used the Fondy name unofficially for most of his early adult life and legally changed the name to Fondy in 1945."
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=amfonda&id=ind05659

1910 28 Mar EI arrival, 1y, with mother, going to father -Emiddio Acquafondata in Mesaba, MN. Listed as Pasquale on the manifest with a correction "Romolo" written in.
1920 census, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, PA, 11y, immigrated 1910.

Social Security Death Index
Name: Romolo Fondy
SSN: 168-01-4032
Last Residence: 15216 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Born: 8 Sep 1908
Died: Feb 1983
State (Year) SSN issued: Pennsylvania (Before 1951)

email from Tom Fondy, Jan 2011: "Romolo Francis Acquafondata (later changed to Fondy) was born Sept. 8, 1908 in Italy. to Emiddio Acquafondata and Severina Iannachione. The "1909" date is a few months off. He died in January 1983. I can look up the exact date on the memorial cards or my sister (Bernadette Fondy) may know the date. Benadetta Colucci was born March 26, 1914 in Pittsburgh. She died January 6, 2008. She had resumed the name Bernadette after about 1946. Romolo and as she was then called "Bertha" had three children: Albert Ralph Fondy; Dec. 5, 1935 to 2005. I will have to look up the exact date
unless Bernadette can send it to you. Albert was the famous Fondy, and maybe one of the most famous Acquafondatas since he was the long-term President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, and also of the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers. Thomas Paul Fondy (me): Born 1937. My maternal grandfather Bartolomeo Colucci was worried that if I was a girl I would be a vampire! Some sort of weird legend from the "Old Country"). I ain't dead yet! I am a Full Professor on the Biology Faculty at Syracuse University half-way through my 46th year! Bernadette Rosella Fondy was born 1946. She was Dean at Seton Hill College in Greensburg and a Prof there, and I am delighted to say is also very much alive and healthy. Albert has one daugher: Jessica Fondy. I have three children: Christopher Fondy born 1964. Christopher resumed the family name about 8 years ago, so he uses both Fondy and Acquafonata. Chris works with me in my lab at Syracuse University; Lynn Acquafondata, 1966 (she resumed the family name after her divorce from Mark Brodie). Lynn is a Unitarian minister. Susan Fondy (1967) is an MD and Lt. Colonel in the US Army."

Given Name: Romolo Francesco

Immigration: Date: 28 Mar 1910
Place: Ellis Island, NY

Change: Date: 3 Feb 2011
Time: 20:34:25

Note: email from son Tom Fondy, Oct 2006: "Romolo married our mother Benedetta Colucci in 1934. She was known as "Bertha" from a grade school teacher who knew about "Big Bertha" the German Siege guns of World War I, but knew nothing about beautiful Italian names."

Social Security Death Index
Name: Bertha B. Fondy
SSN: 194-26-6189
Last Residence: 15601 Greensburg, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania
Born: 26 Mar 1914
Died: 6 Jan 2008
State (Year) SSN issued: Pennsylvania (1951)

email fromTom Fondy (Acquafondata), Jul 2012: "By the way: I just re-read the history of my mother's family as written by her eldest sister, Rosella. My grandfather Bartolomeo Colucci was the eldest son of Rosa Acierno and Giovanni Colucci from Sirignano Avellino.

My aunt records that Bartolomeo was the eldest of 14 MALE children and that only four of them survived to adulthood! Rosella was one hellavu smart lady so if she wrote 14 Male children, that's what she meant.

Is that possible? Surely there had to be some girls in that family of 14 boys. Did they not list the girls? Do you see death rates like that in your genealogies? Do they simply not list some of the children if they died early?

No wonder my grandfather lived to be 100 and didn't really get sick even at the end. He just decided to die when my Mother, with whom he was living, got sick briefly and had to put him in a nursing home temporarily. He didn't understand that it was temporary. He just died within a week of that temporary move to the nursing home.

Four out of 14 survived to adulthood! That's some stringent selection. If generations of Italians saw that kind of attrition, no wonder the survivors were so hearty."

Given Name: Benedetta "Bertha"

Change: Date: 5 Jul 2012
Time: 11:02:41

Note: email from himself, Tom Fondy, Oct 2006.
email from himself, Tom Fondy, Jan 2011.

http://tpfondy.mysite.syr.edu/

Given Name: Thomas Paul "Tom"

Occupation: Professor, Biology, Syracuse University
Place: Syracuse, NY

Change: Date: 24 Jan 2011
Time: 11:41:46

Note: Guestbook posting 9 Feb 2005 from Carol Frazzini Elliott

Change: Date: 18 Feb 2011
Time: 19:19:43

Note: email from granddaughter, Judy Richert, Jan 2007: "The Mazzocco family is from Castel diSangro, Italy. My grandfather (and Carol's) was named Luigi and he came to America in the early 1900s. I know almost nothing about him as he died when my mother was about a year old. Neither she nor my aunt had any clear memories of him. My grandmother was named Pasqua and she was also from Castel diSangro. I think they knew each other from Italy, but married in the United States."

Given Name: Luigi

Immigration: Date: ABT 1900

Change: Date: 20 Jan 2007
Time: 00:00:00