Mezzojuso Heritage Pages

	Discovering Our Mezzojuso Ancestry & Heritage
	Article by Thomas De Angelo

Music: "Emozioni" - by Adriano Celentano

Thomas De Angelo - - - E-mail: deangelo@yahoo.com

"My 'Discovery' of Mezzojuso";

written on 29 November 1999.

My interest in Mezzojuso began in May of 1996 when my second cousin, Marcello Schillizzi, and his bride Antonina came to America on their honeymoon. My mother had planned a sort of American wedding shower for them in her house, since their father had showed her incredible hospitality the prior year when she returned to her birthplace, Mezzojuso.

The evening featured food, drink, and a lot of "American" gifts, such as sweatshirts sporting "USA" (or 'oo-sa', as pronounced by Marcello) and china featuring the Stars and Stripes and New York City references.

It was at that time that I also learned that their plans included a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the following day, which was now becoming a major family outing. My children and I joined them on the trip, and met the group in Liberty State Park in New Jersey.

Since they spoke no English, I struggled with my Italian, but we were all able to communicate. I showed them the listing for my paternal grandfather, Rocco De Angelo, in the Ellis Island Roll of Honor.

Their plans called for them to visit my family and tour New York, visit Disney World with Tonina's American relatives, then return to us later that week. Since I wanted to spend more time with them, I offered to drive them to Washington the following week, and they immediately agreed. That Saturday, we made the three-hour drive from Staten Island at the crack of dawn, and got an early start visiting all of the national monuments.

 

 

Armed with an Italian dictionary and a semester of Italian taken in 1978, we once again worked very hard at communication. They were particularly fond of my reference to "la casa di Bill Clinton". They were also convinced that I would be speaking Italian if they stayed another week, which I feel was overly optimistic.

At the end of the trip home, I promised them that I would visit them in two or three years.

Fast forward to June 1998. With that third year quickly approaching, and my parents back the following summer from a month in Mezzojuso, I began to consider my plans for the trip, and work on an itinerary. My cousin Tony Frasca had begun the reunion with his surprise visit to Mezzojuso in 1986, and had also undertaken the beginnings of a genealogy project. My interest piqued, I realized that this trip would be unfulfilling unless I learned more about my origins.

The first step was to establish a reading list, and begin to understand fully the plight of Italian immigrants. That summer, I probably read about two dozen books, but several really stand out:

• "Blood Of My Blood", by Richard Gambino;
• "La Storia: Five Hundred Years of Italian Immigration", by Jerre Mangione;
• "Christ in Concrete", by Pietro Di Donato; and
• "Unto The Sons", by Gay Talese.

Both sides of my family had suffered hardships when they arrived here, so it was comforting to learn the stories of other Italian-American families with similar experiences and triumphs. It also occurred to me that I knew very little of my paternal grandfather, and had no idea of what he looked like as a young man.

It was about this time that I typed the word "Mezzojuso" into a search engine, and discovered web pages by Tony Schiro and Sal Lagatutta. When I realized what information was available, I was determined to write my family's story, especially since both of my grandmothers are still alive.

. .

On September 4, 1998, I made an excursion to the Family History Center (of the Mormon church) across the street from Lincoln Center. I was amazed at the amount of information that was available, and ordered several microfilms of Castel Di Ieri and Mezzojuso, which would be available in about three weeks. And I also made a great discovery … I had found my paternal grandfather's Social Security records, listing his date of birth, that very same day (September 4) in 1894!

That evening, I had just finished eating dinner when I received a frantic call from my mother. My father had suffered what would be a fatal heart attack on their way home from Brooklyn. He died on the same calendar day, 104 years after his father was born, which I had just discovered earlier that very day (September 4)! I never had the chance to tell him what I had learned about his father, from Castel di Ieri.

Thomas De Angelo, and his son Thomas Anthony De Angelo

Quite frankly, I was ready to give up the entire search. However, at his wake that weekend, I was approached by his older brother, Vito De Angelo, and my mother's cousin, Joe Pennachio, who both impressed upon me the value of the endeavor, encouraged me to continue. This motivation greatly helped me with the grieving process, and kept me focused on the contribution I would be making.

The next few months were very fruitful, uncovering much forgotten information about our family, culminating in the opening of my website -- the De Angelo / Bellone Genealogy Pages -- on June 1, 1999.

The research helped me learn a great deal about two places -- Castel di Ieri and Mezzojuso -- that are now very special to me, and more importantly, to reunite with "old" relatives in America, as well as "new" ones in Italy.

Thomas De Angelo and Josephine Bellone, and their son Thomas Anthony De Angelo

Thomas De Angelo (1935-1998) has family roots from Castel Di Ieri (Aquila province of Abruzzo).

Josephine (Domenica) Bellone (1939- ) was born in Mezzojuso (Palermo province of Sicily).

Their son, Thomas Anthony De Angelo (1958- ), was born in Brooklyn, New York.

I look forward to seeing for myself those places -- Castel di Ieri, my paternal ancestral town in the Aquila province of the Abruzzo region, as well as Mezzojuso, my maternal ancestral town in the Palermo province of the Sicily region -- next July (2000) in Italy, and to walk in the footsteps of those who came before me.

Tanti saluti cordiali,

Thomas Anthony De Angelo

Street Map of Mezzojuso

"De Angelo / Bellone Genealogy Pages" -- by Thomas De Angelo

http://home.att.net/~t.deangelo/deangelo-bellone.html

Tom recounts his charming and delightful family history and genealogical studies -- in regard to his paternal De Angelo ancestors from Castel Di Ieri in the Aquila province of Abruzzo, and in regard to his maternal Bellone ancestors from Mezzojuso in the Palermo province of Sicily -- including plentiful photos, family stories, and the nifty GenDesigner genealogical software describing and picturing his ancestors.

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.

 

Home PageMain MenuDiscovering Our Mezzojuso Ancestry