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Discovering Our
Mezzojuso Ancestry & Heritage
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| Articles by Mollye Bilao Blackburn |
Music:
"I Ragazzi
Innamorati" - by
Nitti & Agnello
Mollye Bilao Blackburn - - - E-mail: Blackcarl@classic.msn.com
| "A Little of My Family History, and My Visit to Mezzojuso"; |
| written on 20 April 1997. |
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| "Cucidate: Fig Cookies for Christmas, A Mezzojuso Recipe"; |
| written on 15 December 1997. |
"A Little of My Family History, and My Visit to Mezzojuso";
Written on 20 April 1997.
My grandparents were Salvatore Bilé and Rosalia Lampiasi. They were married in Mezzojuso on 24 April 1882. Their first recorded child was Anna, born in Mezzojuso on 15 March 1883. There would be eight children to survive to adulthod. I was told that there were others that didn't survive -- some born in Mezzojuso, New York and Houston.
My grandfather immigrated with a brother or brothers to New York, and he became Salvatore Bilao. My mother said that she thought the change from Bilé to Bilao occurred because no one knew how to pronounce an accented "e" and Bile was unacceptable.
My grandfather arrived in the United States in April 1896. I have his original "passport" framed in my kitchen. It looks like an edict from King Umberto the First, of Italy. They had three children born in Mezzojuso -- Anna, Stefano and Salvatore. They had two children born in New York -- Josephine and Francesca. In Houston, Texas, they had Anthony, Paolina and Felicia (my mother).
My Maternal Grandparents, Rosaria Lampiasi and Salvatore Bilé (born in Mezzojuso); and My Mother, Felicia Bilao McLeod (born in Houston).
In September 1995, my huband Joseph and I decided that we needed to find my roots. We had been to Italy many times, and I had been studying Italian for ten years, but we had never been to Sicily. My family only spoke dialect.
We started in the north of Italy, visiting friends in Sondrio. We then drove to visit my Italian teacher in the spa town of Cianciano Terme in Tuscany. Then we drove to Livorno, for a very exciting twenty hour ferry trip to Palermo.
Our travel plan was Palermo, Mezzojuso, Agrigento, Taormina, Naples, Rome and Houston.
So our trip to Mezzojuso was only for a day. We found the very narrow, hilly streets. We drove to a church school and parked. We encountered two friendly ladies, and obtained directions to the City Hall. Of course, all of our communication in Mezzojuso was in Italian and dialect. We found that the churches were closed -- we did not know about the buzzers. We spent several hours in the City Hall. One man in particular was very helpful, and he spent half the day with us. We discovered that my maternal second great-grandparents were Giuseppe Samperi and Francesca Canino. My maternal great-grandparents were Salvatore Lampiasi and Josephine Samperi. My paternal great-grandparents were Stefano Bilé and Giovanna La Barbera.
We left the City Hall to find my grandparents' homes. A very nice man looked at my last names and walked us to a house, yelling up that we were looking for Samperis. An older couple and their daughter came to the window, then walked down to the front door, and invited us in for coffee! The daughter, Natala Musacchia, spoke Italian so we could converse, but the parents, Giacomo Musacchia and Gesualda Chisesi, only spoke dialect. Gesualda's mother's name was Rosaria Samperi. We didn't know if we were related or not. But they were delightful, too! My maternal grandmother's home was next door to the Samperis and only a few steps from the City Hall. No one was home. I also picked up some rocks from Mezzojuso! We left for Agrigento, but hope to return to Mezzojuso again.
Every fall, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my family and my cousins get together and make cucidate (fig cookies) and biscotti -- just like our mothers used to do. It takes about one full day, and sometimes two days, to make the thousands of cookies. We also occasionally make sausage.
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I look forward |  |
| to participating in | ||
| "Il Circolo Mezzojusaro"! |
Ciao
Mollye
Bilao Blackburn
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"Cucidate: Fig Cookies for Christmas, A Mezzojuso Recipe";
Written on 15 December 1997.
It is a tradition in our family to make these fig cookies for Christmas.
The recipe comes from Mezzojuso, via my Nonna Rosaria Lampiasi.
Enjoy!
FIG FILLING: 3 lbs. of dry figs (cut off stems and soften in water), 1 box of dates, 1 box of raisins, 1 box of pecans, 2 orange rinds, 2 lemon rinds, 1 tangerine rind. Grind these ingredients two times through a grinder. Add in: ½ cup of sugar, hot water, pinch of black pepper, pinch of allspice, pinch of cinnamon. Mix completely, and adjust seasonings to taste.
FIG COOKIE DOUGH: 6 cups of flour, 2 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder, pinch of salt, 1 cup of sugar; 1 ½ cups of shortening (Crisco); 3 eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla, a little milk. Directions: Mix dry ingredients, add shortening, mix like pie crust, make hole in center and add wet ingredients, mix and knead. Dough should be smooth, soft and greasy.
TO MAKE COOKIES: Take a small amount of dough, roll out into a small 3" x 8" rectangle, place the filling down the center, pinch the sides together, and roll back and forth gently. Cut into 2" lengths, then cut each piece on its side in 2 places, bend into crescent shape, place on cookie sheet. Repeat until all dough and filling is used. They resemble Fig Newtons. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
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Discovering Our Mezzojuso Ancestry & Heritage
Blackburn, Mollye Bilao - - - "A Little of My Family History, and My Visit to Mezzojuso"; written on 20 April 1997. - - - "Cucidate: Fig Cookies for Christmas, A Mezzojuso Recipe"; written on 15 December 1997.
Briggs, Thomas - - - "My Family and I Visit Mezzojuso (during July, 1990)"; written shortly after the visit, and updated on 26 October 1997.
Cusimano, John - - - "My Trip to Mezzojuso (in the Province of Palermo)"; written on 7 November 1994.
De Angelo, Thomas - - - "My 'Discovery' of Mezzojuso"; written on 29 November 1999.
Di Stefano, Richard - - - "My Mezzojuso Immigrant Ancestors (Who Arrived in the U.S.A. in 1890)"; written on 1 November 1997.
Dunne, Laura Cutaia - - - "Genealogical Research on My Family from Campofelice di Fitalia"; written on 25 March 1999.
Frasca, Anthony - - - "Our Mezzojuso Reunion"; written on 10 May 1999.
Gallo, Frank - - - "Coincidence or Destiny? An Amazing Surprise during My Mezzojuso Research"; written on 29 April 1998.
Lagattuta, Salvatore Joseph - - - "My Family History from Mezzojuso"; written on 8 October 1999.
Lagattuta, Salvatore Joseph - - - "Remembrance of Visiting Mezzojuso (during the Summer of 1969)"; written on 26 April 1997.
Schiró, Anthony - - - "Mezzojuso Memories: Researching My Ancestry"; written on 26 October 1997.
Tavolacci, Giovanni - - - "I Soldati Garibaldini da Mezzojuso nel 1860" - "Garibaldi's Soldiers from Mezzojuso in 1860"; written on 12 April 1999. - - - "Campofelice di Fitalia e Mezzojuso" - "Campofelice di Fitalia and Mezzojuso"; written on 12 April 1999.
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