52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 9

Week 9:

The theme for Week 9 is “Family Secret.” Have you uncovered a family secret?

This particular family secret isn't Earth shattering or scandalous. There was always a family theory that my great-grandmother, Apollonia Napoleone, had a husband in Italy that died before she came to America and that her mother shipped her off to alone to America as a young widow.

While the story wasn't entirely accurate, there was a thread of truth to it.

Apollonia did indeed have a marriage before she met and married my great-grandfather, Giuseppe Casini. She had been married to Domenico Giusti in Italy. He came to America and she followed in September 1913. They both returned to Italy and unfortunately Domenico died during World War I, fighting in the Italian Alps against the Austro-Hungarian army.

When Apollonia again arrived at Ellis Island on 15 June 1917, she appeared in the documents as a widow. 


Domenico Giusti 

February 27, 1888
June 21, 1916

Died: The Seven Municipalities Plateau, also known as the Asiago Plateau, is a mountain range in the Veneto region of Italy.

Cause of death: Wounds suffered in combat



















Register of the Italian Fallen of the Great War.














The remaining alpine vegetation after the attack on Asiago.



















Apollonia Mary Napoleone Casini
1893–1987

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reintroducing Jeremiah Miley Spahr, Sr

Image
Reintroducing Jeremiah Miley Spahr, Sr. For years, I've been searching for a photograph of Jeremiah and haven't been able to find one until today!  Looking through a drawer full of pictures, I found a photograph of Jeremiah amongst pictures of his daughter, Amanda.  Jeremiah Miley Spahr Sr 19 Jul 1840 – 26 Nov 1926 3rd great-grandfather Jeremiah Miley Spahr was born on July 19, 1840, in Warrington Township . Jeremiah Miley Spahr joined the military on September 19, 1861, in York, Pennsylvania, when he was 21 years old. Unfortunately, after the Third Battle of Winchester, Jeremiah's story takes a dark turn. https://a.co/d/40ArEsU https://yorkblog.com/cannonball/a-murder-in-warrington-townshi/ ARREST ON THE CHARGE OF MURDER. On Friday last, Jeremiah Spahr, Henry Spahr, Levi Reirer, Lewis Spaht, and Lewis Rester, of Warrington Township, York County, were arrested and brought to this Borough, charghed with killing a certain colored man whose name is unknown, but who came into t...
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 6

Image
  Week 6: The theme for Week 6 is “Surprise.” What ancestor dealt with a surprising thing in their life? Any stories of surprise birthday parties? How about the most surprising thing you’ve found or something in a surprising place? I am the creator of the Facebook group, Preserving the History of Newberrytown. My family has ties to Newberrytown dating back to the 1700s, which was way before it was even called Newberrytown. My grandparents knew everyone. My parents knew everyone. I grew up knowing everyone. The joke was always, "Be careful who you date because you might be related!". A few years ago I attended a presentation at the Red Land Community Library. Scott Mingus, renowned Civil War author, was giving a talk on murder mysteries, based on his book Marauders & Murderers: Civil War Mysteries of York County, Pa.  Scott started recounting the story of  Jeremiah Miley Spahr , a soldier from Company H of the 87th Pennsylvania who had walked back to his home following...
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 24

Image
Week 24: The theme for Week 24 is “Artistic.” Is there a painter, crafter, quilter, knitter, crocheter, or musician in the family? This is their week. Dora Elizabeth Casini DeJoesph  Born: 16 Feb 1930 Hersey, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA Died: 21 Oct 2014 Texas Dora Elizabeth Casini Coleman DeJoseph was my paternal grandmother's sister. My great aunt Dora was a chain smoker. Growing up, the only time I remember seeing her without a cigarette was when she was crocheting Afghan blankets. She lived in Oregon and would fly to Pennsylvania for family visits. She couldn't smoke on the plane, so she'd crochet to occupy her hands. She couldn't smoke inside of our house when she visited, so she crocheted. She could whip up a blanket in record time! Everyone in the immediate family had at least one of Aunt Dora's handmade Afghan blankets.  She was a talented and longtime seamstress. She made custom draperies and bedspreads for movie and TV shows such as `Golden Girls...
Read more