52 Ancestors in 2019 - Week 4: I'd Like To Meet - Great-Grandma Aurelia

The prompt for Week 4 is “I’d Like To Meet”. There have been many ancestors that I’d like to meet; to sit down and talk to, and ask a LOT of questions.
What were you thinking when you named three sons John?
Why is your year of birth different on you marriage record from what it was on you army enlistment?
Why did you list you uncle as your father?
And all those other mysteries a genealogists struggles with.

One person I would really like to meet is my great-grandmother, Aurelia Orsi Petrini. I’ve written about her before (here). Of course I would ask her about my grandma; Did she really dislike her? Did she really mislead Grandma when gave her the family sauce recipe? Or were some of those stories exaggerations by my grandmother?

But I’d also have other questions for her. Since I never knew my grandfather, I’d ask what he was like growing up. I’ve heard storied about him being quite the trouble-maker, but only 2nd and 3rd hand from my mother and her sisters? Was he really as difficult as the stories lead me to believe?

I’d want to ask about her experiences as a young immigrant mother. What was it like to travel by boat to America with three young children, and your husband waiting for you on the other side? Were you afraid as you stepped onto the shores of your new country? Excited? Regretful? Did you ever wish you hadn’t come? What was the best thing about coming here? And what do you most miss about Italy?

I’d want her to share the family stories—stories of growing up in a small village in Tuscany. I’d want to know about her parents; and their parents—back as far as she could tell me.

I’m trying to learn Italian, using Duolingo and Coffee Break Italian. If I could meet her, I’d ask her to spead Italian to me; to help me practice and understand. To learn of the region and the culture she grew up with.

And if I was really lucky, at the end of the day, we’d sit down to a great spaghetti dinner—one she’d let me help her with so I could learn first hand the secrets of her sauce! And of course, I’d pull out my iPhone and take a selfie with her, and I’d finally have a picture of her!

To learn more about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow, visit her website here.

52 Ancestors, Week 6: Maria Fravolina Orsi Gallacci

 It's Week 6 of my 52 Ancestors in 2017 Challenge, and so far I'm keeping up! This week I am going to tell you what I know about Maria Fravolina Orsi, the sister of Maria Aurelia Guglielma Orsi.

Maria Fravolina Orsi was the daughter of Innocenzo Orsi and Maria Domenica di Menco. She was born February 13, 1882 in Compito Sant’ Andrea, Capannori, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.

Fravolina arrived in the United States aboard the SS Duca degli Abbruzi on August 8, 1909 [1041], about a year after her sister Aurelia immigrated. Interestingly, they both list the same sister, Carola Orsi, as their nearest relative back in Compito Sant’ Andrea.  The ship manifest shows that when she was asked for the name of the friend of relative that she intended to join in the U.S. Fravolina gives the name Vincenzo Miciletti of Chicago, with the notation ‘promised’. I don’t know how to interpret ‘promised’. It may indicate a ‘promise’ of marriage, but it could also mean he promised to help her get started in the U.S. Whatever it means, we do know that Fravolina was married to a different man less than two years later.

 

Clip from ship manifest showin the arrival of Fravolina Orsi to the United States
8 Aug 1909

 The ship manifest shows that Fravolina was traveling to Chicago to join Vincenzo Nicoletti. 

What does 'promised' mean?

Fravolina is found in the 1910 Alton (Illinois) City Directory living at 211 W 13th in Alton. Her brother-in-law, Umberto Petrini, is found living at this same address in the 1910-1911 directory.
Fravolina married Elpidio Gallaccio/Gallaccia in St. Louis, Missouri on February 20, 1912.  At some point, Fravolina adopted the name of Flora, and Epidio became Peter Gallacci. They had at least three, and possibly four children together. I am working to confirm the parentage of the fourth child, but at this time I’m 90% convinced that he is a child of Fravolina and Elpidio.

• Emma (1914-1945)
• Vincent B (1915-1969)
• Fara (1918)
• Francesco/Frances*
  

       *parentage not yet proven

Fravolina died in St. Louis City Hospital from lobar pneumonia at age 36 on April 18, 1918, just one week after the birth of her daughter Fara. [1040] She is buried in Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri.

Sources

• GALLACCI, Vincent B, “Obituary,” Alton Evening Telegraph, Alton, Illinois, 15 Jul 1969, B4, NewspaperArchive.com, 14 Apr 2013, JPEG, Petrini binder, 115948486.pdf; GALLACCI_Vincent_obit.jpg.
• SHORT, Emma, “Death Certificate,” St. Louis City, Missouri, File #42513, 20 Dec 1945, Missouri Digital Heritage, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/, 2 April 2015.
• ORSI, Maria Anastasia Fravolina, “Birth Record,” Cappannori, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, 13 Feb 1882, Family Search, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-32554-13698-37?cc=2043811, accessed 25 Oct 2015.
• GALLACCI, Flora, "Death Certificate," File Number 15285, 18 Apr 1918, St. Louis City, Missouri,  digital image at Missouri State Archives, Missouri Secretary of State, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/d downloaded 10 Jul 2016
• ORSI, Fravolina, “Ship Manifest,” New York, New York, 8 Aug 1909, microfilm, The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation, http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ Passenger ID #101653050169, accessed 13 Nov 2016.
• ORSI, Fravolina - GALLACCIA, Elpidir, “Marriage Record,” St. Louis City Marriage Records, Vol. 76, pg 535, License No. 171023, St. Louis City, Missouri, 20 Feb 1912, Family Search, accessed 14 Nov 2016.
• GALLACCI, Fara, "Death Certificate," File Number 21659, 14 Jun 1918, St. Louis City, Missouri,  digital image at Missouri State Archives, Missouri Secretary of State, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/ downloaded 10 Jul 2016
• GALLACCIO, Elpidio - ORSI, Fravolina, “Marriage - Church Record,” 20 Feb 1920, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, St. Louis, Missouri, “St. Louis Archdiocesan Parish Records”, St. Louis County Library, St. Louis, Missouri, Roll 50, FHL microfilm 1870931, 24 Jan 2017.

52 Ancestors, Week 4….. Maria Aurelia Guglielma ORSI - Grandma’s Sauce!

 It’s week 4 of my 52 Ancestors in 2017 challenge.  Today I am spotlighting my great-grandmother, Maria Aurelia Guglielma ORSI. She was known simply as ‘Aurelia’ in most documents I’ve found. I didn’t realized she had ‘Maria’ and ‘Aurelia’ as part of her name until a couple of years ago when I started researching my Italian roots in earnest.

Aurelia was born in Compito Sant’ Andrea, Capannori, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy November 23, 1868. She was the daughter of Innocenzo Orsi and Maria Domenica di Menco, [633] and married Roberto Petrini on May 12, 1894.[ She immigrated to the United States with her three young children in October of 1907 to join her husband, who had come over previously.

Aurelia died in her home in St. Louis, Missouri on November 23, 1930. She is buried in the family plot in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

Umberto and Aurelia had three children.

• Ida aka Chena/China (ca1899-1928)
• Frank (1901-1976
• Giovanni Olivi Adelindo aka William (1904-1948)

I don’t have a picture of Aurelia. I wish I did. Maybe a cousin somewhere has one and someday they will share it with me. I hope so!

I don’t have a photo, but I do have a story for you, shared by my grandma when I was a girl. 

Grandma made a great spaghetti sauce and we all loved it as kids. It was a recipe that was handed down to her from her mother-in-law, my great-grandma Aurelia Orsi Petrini. The story goes that Aurelia really didn’t like my grandma very much at all. She’d apparently had a ‘nice Italian girl’ picked out for my grandpa to marry. Instead he married my grandma, who was NOT an Italian girl — her family immigrated from the slovakian region of Austria-Hungary! When it came time to share the family sauce recipe with her new daughter-in-law, Aurelia did so. She cooked with her and showed her how to make it, but when all was finished, it just didn’t taste right! You see, Aurelia had decided to leave one ingredient out of the recipe. Lucky for Grandma — and for all of her grandchildren! — Aurelia’s daughter took pity on her sister-in-law and shared the ‘secret ingredient’.  I’m so glad that she did! I never was told what the missing ingredient was, but I’m sure it must have been one of the spices.

I may not have a photo of Aurelia, but I do have a photo of the sauce! Yum!!

Grandma Petrini's Spaghetti Sauce

You can view the family group sheet for the family of Umberto Petrini and Aurelia Orsi here.

Sources

• “1930 U.S. Census,” PETRINI, Albert household, St. Louis City, MO, Ward 26, ED 194, 2 Apr 1930, NARA microfilm, T626, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-22813-7745-88?cc=1810731, image 1 of 44, accessed 11 Jul 2016.
• “1920 U.S. Census,” PETRINI, Albert Family, St. Louis, Missouri, Ward 5, ED 89, 16 Jan 1920, NARA Microfilm, T625, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-23020-17174-54?cc=1488411, image 22 of 24, accessed 11 Jul 2016.
• PETRINI, William, “Death Certificate,” File #67924, St. Louis, Missouri, 28 July 1948, Bureau of Vital Records, St. Louis, Missouri.​
• PETRINI, Aurelia, “Death Certificate,” File #7142, St. Louis City, Missouri, 26 Feb 1930, Missouri State Archives, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/, accessed Mar 2007.
• PETRINI, Giovani Olivio Adelindo, Birth Certificate, Capannori, Italy, 19 Feb 1904, Commune di Capannori.
• PETRINI, Roberto - ORSI, Aurelia, “Marriage Record,” Lucca, Italy, 5 Mar 1885, Family Search, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-32572-1873-82?cc=2043811, 30 Mar 2015.
• ORSI, Maria Aurelia Guglielma, “Birth Record,” Lucca, Italy, 23 Nov 1868, Family Search, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-32563-13413-85?cc=2043811&wc=M9SF-9DQ:n381663377, accessed 29 Dec 2013.
• 1PETRINI, Aurelia, “obituary,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri, 26 Feb 1930, pg 23, Newspapers.com, accessed 9 Jul 2016.
• 1ORSOLINI, Ida, “obituary,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, Missouri, 8 Jul 1928, pg 71, Newspapers.com, accessed 12 Jul 2016.
• PETRINI, Frank L, “obituary,” Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1 Jun 1976, pg 23, Newspapers.com, 17 Jul 2016.