My
Family
And
it’s glorious extensions…
When
I began researching my family tree several years ago, I never thought it would
become such an obsession! I knew very little… and as far as what I had to learn
– there was A LOT! Since my first web search I have been hooked. I have always
enjoyed history, but when it became MY history… it took on a new flavor!
~*CAPUANO*~
Rosa
GIALLOMBARDO (1870-1955) and Francesco CAPUANO (1864-1934)
Francesco
is the son of Michele
CAPUANO (born 1825) and Crucia TESTA
Rosa
is the daughter of Giuseppe
GIALLOMBARDO & Maria TAORMINA
Pictured
above are my paternal great-grandparents, both natives of Lascari, Palermo,
Sicily, Italy.
Rosa
immigrated to America in 1937 after my great-grandfather Francesco died in
1934.
She
later died in Los Angeles, California in 1955. They had 6 children;
Emilia,
Mary, Crucia, Michele (“Mike”), Giuseppe (“Joe”), and Rosario (“Ross”).
Rosa Giallombardo’s ATTI DI NASCITA (Document of Birth) Click the
picture: |
1937 S.S. Rex, Ship Manifest Document
proving parents of
Rosa Giallombardo (Line 11)
Francesco Capuano and
Click the picture: Rosa Giallombardo
Click the Picture:
The
Commune of Lascari, in the Province of Palermo, on the island of Siciliy,
Country of Italy.
Lascari
is a tiny little town of beauty on the coast of
the
Mediterranean Sea, near the Tyrrhenian, east of Palermo city…
The Lascari
Coat of
Arms The Palermo Coat of Arms
Early Capuano Coat of Arms
Lascari comes from the Greek name Làskaris, which
means soldier. The first inhabited place has medieval origins (complete with a
ruined castle) and was in a neighboring locality, Sant'Eufemia. The present
town was originally part of the commune of Gratteri. Now it is a self-governing
commune. Lascari produces great agriculture, namely vegetables, olives and citrus fruit. Lascari’s
population is about 3,300.
Below
are two photos of the local Catholic Church located at Piazza Del Popolo in
Lascari.
The
name of the church is St. Michael the Archangel, where undoubtedly our ancestors
were parishioners; were baptized, received Holy Communion, Confirmation and
were married, etc.
The
church was built in the 18th century, as the town was formed.
Photo
by Edizioni Leopardi
Giuseppe
“Joe” CAPUANO (1900-1976) & Anna BARBERA (1906-2003) family
Giuseppe
is the son of Francesco CAPUANO (1864-1934) and Rosa GIALLOMBARDO (1870-1955)
Anna
is the daughter of Giuseppe BARBERA and Gioachina BARECCA
The
Family, circa 1950, Los Angeles, CA Anna
& Giuseppe, circa 1920, Lascari, Sicily
I
knew my father was 100% Sicilian and the first generation to be born in
1923 S.S. Conte Verde, Ship Manifest
Giuseppe Capuano (Line 5) Ellis Island, New York
Click Picture for full
size:
Our
line of CAPUANOs were first in the Chicago area, then we were in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, and finally in 1946 on to Los Angeles, Calif. Around 1948 my Grandpa
Joe & his brother Michele bought some property at 9130 S. Figueroa St. in
Los Angeles, and built a successful Italian Market & Deli called Capuano’s
Food Market. Two of Grandpa’s nephews and a cousin worked in the market as
well.
Picture’s
of Capuano’s Food Market
Grandpa Joe had a small Los Angeles backyard but I
remember as a young child going to visit and there were banana trees, fig
trees, tomatoes and peppers, onions - anything and everything growing in that backyard! He also had what
seemed like hundreds of little finches. He absolutely loved those birds, I
remember he used to talk to them (not that I could ever understand what he was
saying in Italian J
) but they were the sweetest sounding birds.
Nonna Anna was a
wonderful woman, a GREAT cook, and very frugal. She told me a story not too
long before her death that made me cry; when I asked her what it was like to
see the land of America for the first time. She remembered with tears in her
eyes the joy she felt when her ship approached NY's harbor at the sight of The
Statue of Liberty. She said she was very nervous and cried because she was so
happy. After waiting for almost 17 years, she was finally going to be with her
husband Giuseppe. Both my Nonna and Papa
were buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in
Interesting CAPUANO Tidbits –
·
There is a Castle in
·
There is a
·
The surname CAPUANO
is a name for a person who is very determined, or head-strong, as it derives
its origin from the Italian word “capo”, which means head! *Imagine that! I would have never guessed
that any of us Capuano’s were stubborn or head-strong or anything like that!
Joseph CAPUANO,
Joni CAPUANO (FORTIER) & Janna Jeanne DENTON (CAPUANO-CRAIG) (1947-2003)
This
is my father, me, and my mother on my wedding vow renewal ceremony in 2000 (I
married in 1998). My mother passed away from colon cancer in 2003. She was only
56. Both my parents ended up working careers at Lockheed-Martin in
~*
John
M. DENTON (1847-1916)
Deputy
Marshall,
This
is my maternal great-great-grandfather. He is the son of David
DENTON (1817-1858) and Eliza Emeline “Sarah” BOLT (1823-1860). He also
worked in his younger years as a mill-worker in the lumber industry, and as a
rural mail carrier. He served in the Civil War with the 57th
Earl
DENTON (1891-1934) & Leora HOWE (1890-1964) family
What
I have learned about my DENTONs has been fascinating! Earl (pictured above) is
my maternal great grandfather. He was a railroad man (boiler maker), worked on
the old Nickel Plate R.R., and also was a Fireman in the city of
Left: Eva WANN (1925-1963) Middle: Eva & John DENTON (1922-1996)
Right picture –
John DENTON, Judith JOHNSON DENTON (1943-1994), & Martha I. HAYES
(1918-1994)
My
maternal grandparents, Eva died at 38yrs old from colon cancer, and my grandpa
John later in life from Lung cancer. They divorced within a few years of
marriage, and my Grandpa remarried to Martha Irene HAYES (1918-1994) in 1954.
Grandpa John was a career Airmen in the US Air Force (1942-1973), and worked as
a Flight Engineer. He retired in 1973 as a Master Sergeant. He was involved in
several military conflicts, to include being a WWII POW in
For
more information on the
please
view Sue Montgomery’s awesome website at:
~*WANN*~
The
family of Daniel WANN (1883-1964) and Celia Jane HOLDEN (1898-1977)
The
four men standing are (L to R): Floyd WANN, Fred SMITH, Forrest WANN, Clifford
WANN
The four women standing are (L to R): Eva WANN
(DENTON), Mary Ann WANN (SMITH), Lenabelle “Sally” HARSHMAN (WANN), and wife of
Clifford WANN (I am not quite sure which wife - He married 6 times!)
The bottom row, sitting are (L to R): Daniel WANN,
Aaron WANN, Larry SMITH, Celia HOLDEN (WANN) and Daniel R. WANN.
Daniel
WANN (1883-1964) is my maternal great-grandfather. He was a 47 year
Railroad man, being an engineer most of that time, and retired from Nickel
Plate R.R. out of
Daniel
WANN was married three times. His first wife was Effie STINE (Mother to Floyd,
Forrest and Clifford); second wife was Celia Jane HOLDEN. And his third wife,
with whom he had no children, was Elizabeth “Gail” RITCHIE. Gail RITCHIE had a
son, Earl Eugene RITCHIE, who was raised by Daniel WANN.
Daniel WANN
(1883-1964) is the son of Daniel WANN (1847-1895), who was the son of Daniel
WANN (1806-1865), who was the son of Jacob WANN (1771-1838), who was the son of
Johann Wilhelm WANN (1735-1785), who was the son of Jacob WANN, and the son of
Frantz WANN!
Our
WANN ancestors came first to
LEFT:
Behind
RIGHT:
Across from the cemetery is a large farming field, backed by Coal Creek
Many
of my WANN ancestors are buried in this cemetery
Cemetery
Photos I took from
Silver Island
Cemetery Tombstone Photos
For
a Partial Tombstone Transcription of Silver Island click here:
Silver
Island Tombstone Transcriptions
And
now on to my husband’s family tree…
My
husband’s tree is full of NUTS! J Just kidding… but my husband’s
tree is a very deep one, made up of many generations of French and
French-Canadian roots on his father’s side, and Irish on his mother’s side.
~* FORTIER *~
The FORTIER family
genealogy is well-documented back to the late
1500’s to early 1600’s in
My husband descends from
the marriages (dates) of:
Noel FORTIER and Marie
Marthe GOLLE (1638)
Antoine FORTIER and Marie
Madeleine CADIEUX (1677)
Jean Baptiste FORTIER and
Marie Madeleine RUEL (1708)
Jean Francois FORTIER and
Marie Clothilde TALBOT (1745)
Pierre Francois FORTIER
and Marie Marguerite FOURNIER (1792)
Francois FORTIER and Marie
Marguerite BALARD-LATOUR (1819)
Joseph/Casimir FORTIER and
Eleonore MENARD (1850)
Joseph Francois FORTIER and Cordelia PELTIER (1869) *Pictured directly above
George John FORTIER and
Mary PROVOST (1891)
Louis Eli FORTIER and Lea
M. LOISELLE (1915) *Pictured
directly above
George Leo FORTIER and
Mary Elizabeth PURCELL (1941) *Pictured directly above
Mary is the daughter of
Donald E. PURCELL and Johanna R. McKENNA
John Joseph FORTIER and
Joni Michele CAPUANO (1998) *Pictured directly above
~*
It is said that all
French-Canadian families can trace themselves back to ONE huge power couple,
responsible for most descendants of Nouveau France; Jean (COSTE) COTE and Anne
MARTIN.
This is very true for my
husband. He descends from COTE’s as well as LOISEL/LOISELLE on his paternal
grandmother, Lea M. LOISELLE’s side. She was the daughter of Theophile LOISELLE
and Herminie COTE.
Herminie can be traced
back to Jean
Theophile traces back to
Toussaint LOISELLE and Marie Louise COTE,
and Marie Louise back to
Jean COTE and Anne MARTIN.
So it’s TRUE! Somehow,
someway… French Canada goes back to this power couple! J
Theophile LOISELLE (1848-1923), Herminie
COTE (1856-1933) and their daughter Lea M. LOISELLE (1893-1973)
~*
PURCELL *~ and ~* MCDERMOTT *~
My
husband’s maternal ancestors hailed from “across the pond” in
Christopher
PURCELL, born about 1796, is found in
Christopher’s
son, Patrick PURCELL (1821-1899), married Ann MCDERMOTT (1824-1894);
They
married in Canada in 1844. The parish register at St-Ambroise de Kildare,
Joliette, Quebec, Canada shows parents Christophe PURCELL/James MCDERMOTT &
Nancy MCAULEY. It’s reasonably safe to assume Patrick and Ann originally came
from Killabban, Laois, Ireland because
also
found in Griffith’s Evaluation of the same area is a James MCDERMOTT,
living
on land Leased from Thomas Whitty, Esq., in Gortahile, Killabban,
James’
occupation is a Grocer and Vintner at
Patrick
PURCELL and Ann MCDERMOTT lived full lives and had 8 children; John, Catherine
(DELANEY), William, Patrick, George, Peter, Mary and Edward. They ended their
days in Hampshire County, Massachusetts and are buried in a family plot at St.
Mary’s Cemetery in Northampton.
Edward
PURCELL (1868-1949) married Margaret
MURPHY (1871-1950)
Edward
is the son of Patrick PURCELL & Ann McDERMOTT
Margaret
is the daughter of Patrick MURPHY (1827-1886) & Mary RILEY (1830-1886)
Children
of Edward PURCELL & Margaret MURPHY
)
Left:
Donald E. PURCELL (1891-1970) *crossed
arms in middle*
Middle: Helen I. PURCELL (1894-1951)
Right:
Grace A. PURCELL (1905-1988)
Johanna
R. McKENNA (1890-1955) and Donald E. PURCELL (1891-1970)
Johanna
is the daughter of John MCKENNA (1860-1899) & Johanna TOOHEY (1869-1933)
Donald
was born in Connecticut and Johanna was born in Northampton, MA. They had 8
children together; Margaret, Edward, Dorothy, Helen, John, Mary, Donald and
Ann. Both lived long lives, and are now at rest at St. Brigid’s Cemetery in
Easthampton, MA
~*
MCKENNA *~ and ~* TOOHEY *~
I
am still working quite a bit on the MCKENNA part of the family.
My
husband’s maternal great-great-grandfather was Denis McKENNA (born about 1840),
who was possibly the son of Martin McKENNA (born about 1820) from Killorglin,
County Kerry, Ireland.
Denis
McKENNA married Anna O’CONNOR and their son was John MCKENNA (1860-1899).
John
McKENNA (1860-1899) married Johanna TOOHEY (1869-1933).
John
was born in Ireland and Johanna was born in Northampton, MA.
Johanna
TOOHEY was the daughter of John TOOHEY (1842-1886) and Mary GRIFFIN (1845-1894),
who were both born in Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland. John TOOHEY
(1842-1886) who married Mary GRIFFIN was the son of John TUOHY (born about
1805) and Mary DOYLE (1805-1877)
John
McKENNA and Johanna TOOHEY had 6 children; John, Mary (LAURIA), Johanna
(PURCELL), Nora, Peter and James.
Their
son John J. McKENNA (1886-1947), for over 15 years, was a benefactor for
patients and elderly who were in convalescent homes and hospitals in the
Hartford, CT area between 1930-1947. He was never married and used his vacation
money, from his job at Sisson Drug Company, to take the patients and inmates
from local area hospitals on outings to the beach, to enjoy outdoor picnics, holiday
parties, etc. For those that were unable to attend off-site outings, he
provided the women with boxes of cand, and pipes with tobacco for the men.
There is a rumor/family legend that there is a bust of John in or near a local
Hartford park or in an area of the city, because of his generous and charitable
works.
Here
is a picture of their daughter Johanna McKENNA (who married Donald E. PURCELL
above)
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