Nostalgia and Remembrance During Holiday Season

[senior citizen]

HOW MANY OF US KNOW WHERE OUR GRANDPARENTS or GREAT GRANDPARENTS, ETC. CAME FROM ORIGINALLY??????

WHAT WERE THEIR HOLIDAY TRADITIONS WHICH THEY BROUGHT FROM THE "OLD COUNTRY" BE IT NORWAY, SWEDEN, GERMANY, ENGLAND, ETC., ETC., ETC.......TO THE UNITED STATES??

Laurenzana Potenza Basilicata Italy - Bing Images (http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Laurenzana+Potenza+Basilicata+Italy&qpvt=Laurenzana+Potenza+Basilicata+Italy&FORM=IGRE)
Paternal grandparents both from Laurenzana Potenza Basilicata Italy as shown in these photos.......mountainous region in southern Italy.
Polany Surowiczne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polany_Surowiczne)
This is where my maternal grandmother was born; however it no longer exists. Her husband to be came from northern Sanok.
Also written as Sianik. Both Ruthenian / Ukrainian / Rusyn / White Russian
Komancza, closest village to where my Ukrainian grandmother was born, is still in existence.

AREA COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS GALICIA / HALYCHYNA

Both, Komancza and Poliany Surowiczne were in Austria Hungary........now Province of Podkarpackie Poland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanock


I've had European photographers, doing the same research, travel to her ethnic village and take pics of the old wooden church, the tombstones, etc.

My husband's grandparents came from Rzeszow and Lviv/Lwow depending on the borders at the time.....and present day Ukraine, then Poland.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

My paternal grandparents came here from the Moncton New Brunswick area and are of Scottish descent. I'd love to know more about from where in Scotland their forebears came. I am pretty sure that it is from the northeast corner as there is a town up there that bears our name.

My mother's parents came here from Italy and I have no idea from precisely which area. I looked into it years ago and found it very difficult to trace. None of my siblings were interested back then in learning any more about it.

[senior citizen]

My paternal grandparents came here from the Moncton New Brunswick area and are of Scottish descent. I'd love to know more about from where in Scotland their forebears came. I am pretty sure that it is from the northeast corner as there is a town up there that bears our name.

My mother's parents came here from Italy and I have no idea from precisely which area. I looked into it years ago and found it very difficult to trace. None of my siblings were interested back then in learning any more about it.

Ancestry.com website is an invalubale source of assistance.

Look up your kinfolks SURNAMES.........see if any of their locations "ring a bell".

You have no papers from your mom? Like birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc. Usually, the daughters of the family end up with those type of papers. If yours won't cooperate, it will be difficult.

When I was a kid and young adult, my mother always talked about the family history........so I had "bits and pieces" to go on........but it has literally taken a decade of research.

Once you know their full names (maiden names for the women) and town or city or village and country of birth.........you can use ancestry.com to search around for free........then if you want a subscription, you can either take a temporary one or one year subscription.

Begin with your name and work backwards. Put in what you KNOW of your parents names (mom's maiden name), years they were born, country, etc.........if you post a basic family tree.....OTHERS WILL CONTACT YOU while looking for their own roots..........if you know a bit of info..........go to a FAMILY HISTORY CENTER locally, run by the LDS which are the Latter Day Saints , Mormons, and borrow the MICROFILMS.

It's a process.........for sure.

Do you have a rough idea where in Italy.......or Scotland?

My stepdad's roots were Irish and Scottish; ditto for my son in law.

YOU COULD ALSO WORK BACKWARDS FROM ANY RECENT OBITUARIES, SOMETIMES POSTED ONLINE.

To me, it was like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle.
I made a lot of good connections and had a lot of help in translating the languages, esp. the cyrillic alphabet for the Ukrainians.

The most helpful were the Italian COUSINS who are all over the U.S. and Canada........all from that one little village in the southern mountains of Italy.........ditto for South America (once they could no longer get into the U.S. or Canada....back then there were quotas and when they were filled up, you had to try to go elsewhere).

GOOD LUCK.

[senior citizen]

The McCreath surname - General - Family History & Genealogy Message Board - Ancestry.com (http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=1244&p=localities.britisles.scotland.ayr.general)


I JUST TYPED IN MONKTON NEW BRUNSWICK CANADA AND THESE ARE SOME FOLKS SEARCHING FOR THEIR OWN SURNAMES AND ROOTS.


THESE ARE CALLED “THE MESSAGE BOARDS”. HOWEVER, IF YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE, YOU WILL SEE OTHER RESOURCES.


THE ABOVE SEEM TO BE PEOPLE FROM SCOTLAND WHO CAME TO MONKTON OR NEW BRUNSWICK.......KEEP SCROLLING DOWN.

[eweissenbach]

My paternal grandparents came here from the Moncton New Brunswick area and are of Scottish descent. I'd love to know more about from where in Scotland their forebears came. I am pretty sure that it is from the northeast corner as there is a town up there that bears our name.

My mother's parents came here from Italy and I have no idea from precisely which area. I looked into it years ago and found it very difficult to trace. None of my siblings were interested back then in learning any more about it.

Hmmmm, thought the name Boogie was Bulgarian - never would have guessed Scotch!

[senior citizen]

Hmmmm, thought the name Boogie was Bulgarian - never would have guessed Scotch!

I never thought that was his surname...........but that he likes "jazz".
But, who knows for sure?

[graciegirl]

I think the world of you Old Coach Ed.

Merry Christmas. Stop by for a Scotch.

[senior citizen]

Hanukkah begins at sunset Saturday, December 8, 2012 and ends at nightfall Sunday, December 16, 2012

Traditional Hanukkah Potato Pancakes - Latkes - Levivot - Kosher Recipe - Jewish Holiday Recipes (http://kosherfood.about.com/od/hanukkah/r/han_latkas_pot.htm)
Some recipes called for a few grated carrots added to the grated pototo.
Also, some recipes use matzo meal instead of the flour. Either way, delicious.

My Ukrainian mother and hubby’s Polish mother would make them with applesauce and sour cream on the side.

We’ve enjoyed the traditional Hanukkah potato latkes at our friends’ annual Hanukkah party.

She made “mini” ones which were great............more as an appetizer.....along with bagels, lox, sliced tomato and onion....

[ugotme]

I only know that my paternal Grandfather came from Palermo, Italy.

Wish I could learn more. I tried but both my Mother & Father have passed and you need certain information to learn the past.

[senior citizen]

I only know that my paternal Grandfather came from Palermo, Italy.

Wish I could learn more. I tried but both my Mother & Father have passed and you need certain information to learn the past.

Go to the website ancestry.com and type in your dad's surname and Palermo. Type in your mom's maiden name and wherever her parents were born, etc.

It isn't that difficult to find records. Everyone has records, both in this country and in the old country. Obviously, English and Irish records are easier to find as you can "read them".

HOWEVER, Napoleon was such a stickler for record keeping that the Italian records are awesome.......and there will always be someone willing to translate them for you. Just go step by step.

The natal or birth records.
The marriage records.
The morte or death records.
The immigration records to Ellis Island
The ship's manifest.....often they traveled with entire families.
But sometimes the man came first to earn money to send for his wife, etc.

They are all OUT THERE.

If you have a Family History Center near you, visit them and explain your problem. They might be able to get the microfilms for you from Palermo that have your grandfather's surname.

Again, it's like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together and very good for our brain matter. A wonderful and fulfilling hobby as you will meet many likeminded folks along the way, plus make great "cousin" connections eventually..........since the Italian families in Italy had SO MANY SONS , you will find the "Italian naming tradition" helpful. Each of them would name the first born after the grandfather, etc..........I found dozens upon dozens with the same name as my grandfather, going way way way back, all from the same village............hard to explain in a short post, but check out ancestry.com Sometimes, around the holidays, they offer a lot of FREE record searching.

Good Luck. I even used to use "babblefish" language online translator to chat with elderly cousins of mine in Naples Italy, whose folks had come from Laurenzana before World War II......then returned them as children back up to the mountains to escape the allied strafing (bombing) of Naples. I have pictures of American G.I.'s.....my grandmothers' Godsons, etc. and nephews, visiting Laurenzana AFTER the war ended.
Still in their U.S. Army uniforms......pictures of the castle at the top of the mountain.....pictures of the family bakery destroyed by the earthquake....etc.......all found in my grandmother's suitcase upon her death.

Genealogy is a "hobby" that kind of just grows on you......and you learn as you go along..........I'm still amazed at what I accomplished.