Tuesday, February 4, 2020

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT...

Hi there... I have started a new blog. Are you wondering why, when I already have two others? Hmm… 🤔 good question! The short answer is I had created one blog devoted to a favorite topic of mine...genealogy and the other... for anything else that I felt like writing about. If you're confused, you're not alone... I was, too. I'm new at this blogging stuff...so please bear with me. To simplify my life and make it easier on anyone that tries to follow or subscribe...I decided to combine the two original blogs into a new one, called... 'Through My Eyes."





I have created a link that SHOULD automatically reroute posts from "Digging Up My Family Tree" and "Scribblings and Other Such Stuff" to my new blog... Through My Eyes. All of the work is on my end. You just need to sit back and enjoy reading it, but... just in case it doesn't work 😨😟… click on the link above and you'll be directed to the new blog.

When it opens... you can click on the blue and white Follow button or... complete the 'Follow by Email' tab just below it. Once you've filled in your email address in the space provided, click Submit. You'll receive an email verification within a few minutes. Open the email, click on the word Subscribe and that's it. I do hope you'll want to continue following or subscribing to my blog. There are a couple of interesting, poignant and somewhat humorous posts coming up in the next few weeks and I'd love to share them with you. Thanks for reading!


-JMP








Monday, February 3, 2020

SAME NAME

As I attempted to construct my family tree over the years and it started taking shape...a pattern began emerging as that of a crazy quilt of specific names. It’s not unusual to have a son or daughter named for one of their parents. I just had no idea how many namesakes existed within my family. It's sort of like a veritable Noah’s Ark of name pairings! 😲


There is an established naming convention used in Italy, especially amongst older generation Italians...


· The first male is named after his paternal grandfather.
· The second male is named after his maternal grandfather.
· The first female is named after her paternal grandmother.
· The second female is named after her maternal grandmother.

Subsequent children could be named after the parents, a favorite aunt or uncle, a saint or a deceased relative. I have discovered that this tradition runs rampant throughout my family tree. It can be intriguing, but it's also a little nerve-racking, while you are figuring out who’s who.



In an ideal world, this naming tradition should make it easy to identify ancestors...nope, uh-uh, no way. Think about it for a second...an ancestor that had a falling out with his family, wouldn't presumably name his child after his parents. If he was orphaned...he may not know who his parents were. If the firstborn child was named after a grandparent and subsequent children followed the same naming tradition...what happens if that child dies suddenly? The child named after the grandparent may in fact be the third or fourth one down the line.

Here's a sampling of some of the namesakes from my family. Hopefully, it will provide a general idea of what I was dealing with. The chart isn't pretty and it's not all-inclusive, but I think the point is made...

NAMESAKE CHART


The first column labeled 'primary' in the chart below is the ancestor bearing the name starting with my great-grandfathers.  The next column labeled, 'secondary' is a list of all ancestors where there is a direct correlation to the 'primary.' (Note: the numbers behind each name is another identifier that I use within my Ancestry tree). The 'namesake' column identifies who the 'secondary' individual is named after and the last three columns...should be self-explanatory. 😵

Name - Primary
Name - Secondary
Namesake
DOB
Role / Relationship to Primary
Role / Relationship to Secondary
Fedele Poppa (1) (paternal great-grandfather)


1856



Fedele “Fred” Poppa / Pope (2)
Fedele Poppa   (1)
1911
Grandson


Fedele “Fred” Poppa Sr  (3)
Fedele Poppa  (1)
1928
Grandson


Fred A. Poppa (4)
Fedele Poppa  (1)
1928
Grandson


Fred Poppa/Pope (2a)
Fedele “Fred” Poppa / Pope (2)
1946
Great-Grandson
Son
Leonardo Poppa (1)
(paternal great-uncle)


1884



Leonardo “Nardo” Poppa (1a)
Leonardo Poppa
1921
Son


Leonard F. Poppa (2)
Leonardo Poppa
1956
Grandson

Isidoro Poppa (1)
(paternal grandfather)






Isidore Quaranta (2)
Isidoro Poppa (1)
1927
Nephew


Isidore R. Quaranta (2.1)
Isidoro Poppa (1)
1930
Nephew


Isidore Joseph Poppa/Pope (3)
Isidoro Poppa (1)
1941
Grandson


Isidore “Izzy” Quaranta Jr (2.1.a)
Isidore R. Quaranta (2.1)
1954
Great-Nephew
Son
Agostino /August Poppa (1)
(paternal great-uncle)


1902



August “Augie” Poppa/Pope  (2)
Agostino/August Poppa (1)
1922
Nephew


Anthony “August” Poppa Sr  (1a)
Agostino/August Poppa (1)
1935
Son


August I. Poppa/DeGuide (2a)
August “Augie” Poppa/Pope (2)
1952
Great-Nephew
Son

Anthony “August” Poppa Jr  (1.a.1)
Anthony “August” Poppa (1a)
1958
Grandson
Son
Leonardo DiFoggio (1)
(paternal great-grandfather)


1860



Leonard DiFoggio/Andre (2)
Leonardo DiFoggio (1)
1915
Grandson


Leonard Vito DiFoggio  (3)
Leonardo DiFoggio (1)
1915
Grandson


Leonarda “Lena” Zaccari  (4)
Leonardo DiFoggio (1)
1917
Granddaughter


Leonard V. Poppa/Pope  (5)
Leonardo DiFoggio (1)
1918
Grandson


Leonard “Lee” Popa (5a)
Leonard V. Poppa/Pope (5)
1957
Great-Grandson
Son
Michele “Michael” Lufrano (1)
(maternal great-grandfather)


1859



Michael DeLio (2)
Michele “Michael Lufrano (1)
1909
Grandson


Michael F. Lufrano (3)
Michele “Michael Lufrano (1)
1914
Grandson


Michael Lufrano Jr 
Michael F. Lufrano (3)
1936
Great-Grandson
Son

Michael J. DeLio Jr  (2a)
Michael DeLio (2)
1941
Great-Grandson
Son

Michael C. DeLio
Michele “Michael Lufrano (1)
1964
Great-Great Grandson


Michael R. Lufrano
Michele “Michael” Lufrano (1)
1965
Great-Grandson


Michael S. DeLio
Michael J. DeLio Jr  (2a)
1964
Great-Great Grandson
Son


In a slight loophole identified within the naming convention traditionally used...Isidoro's second eldest son, my dad... was named after his uncle, Rocco DiFoggio instead of his grandfather, Leonardo. Isidoro and Rocco were traveling companions from Italy to the United States in 1911. While in Chicago, they lived in the same building with their families according to the 1920 census. I know of no facts to the contrary, so I think it is safe to say that Rocco and my grandfather were close friends as well as brothers-in-law. As testament to that relationship, my father was christened Rocco, in honor of his uncle.


The word namesake means having the same name as another. The christening of a newborn with the name of a family elder or someone else held in high esteem, is a way to show honor and respect to those that came before, and in a sense... connect us with our past. As difficult as it was at times to identify some of the same-name relationships found throughout the history of my family... I believe the naming tradition is a good thing and helps to keep our loved ones alive in our memories, as well as for future generations.


PHOTO GALLERY







Fedele Poppa & Sons...
Left: Great-Grandpa Fedele Poppa;
Top Right: Great-Uncle Leonardo;
Middle Right: Grandpa Isidoro;
Bottom Right: Great-Uncle Agostino


















Isidoro Poppa & Sons...
top row L-R: Uncle Fred & Grandpa Isidoro;
bottom row L-R: Rocco (Dad), Uncle Leonard and 
Uncle Agostino















Leonardo DiFoggio & Sons...
Left: Great-Grandpa Leonardo;
Top Right: Great-Uncle Michele (Michael);
Bottom Right: Great-Uncle Rocco












Michael Lufrano & Sons...
Left:  Great-Grandpa Micheal
Right Top: Great-Uncle James
Middle: Great-Uncle Anthony
Bottom: 
Great-Uncle Frank
















SOURCES:
  
     'A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Italian Ancestors' copyright © 1997 by Lynn Nelson

    ' Italian Naming Traditions and Their Ramifications' an article dated Saturday; 24 October 2016 found at ItalianGenealogy.com