Have you ever wondered who your Ancestors are, where they lived and what they did. Were they Peers or paupers? Is there a skeleton in the cupboard or a fortune?

I became interested in my Family Tree on 10/18/1999 when I received the following email:

Hi, Joe!

I have found your e-mail address with a search engine. I'm writing from Italy (exactly from Spinea, a small town near Venice) and my name is... Giuseppe Rotella!!! Very strange or nothing: we have the same name and, perhaps, we are parents. My family came from Gimigliano (a very small town near Catanzaro in Calabria) and my father came in Venice 30 years ago.

I just want to know if your parents came from Calabria too and, if this is true, how many years ago they went in United States.

I will be very happy if you can answer to this message and excuse me for my scholastic english.

Bye

Giuseppe Rotella

grotella@tin.it

 

I was visiting my parents in Stony Point, NY at the time and shared the letter with my father. Sure enough, his parents were from Gimigliano, Italy! I wrote Giuseppe back and was eager to learn more about my Ancestors. On 11/2/1999, Giuseppe and his sister, Patrizia, confirmed that we are cousins!

Since then, I've been actively researching both sides of my family. I've posted what I know on this web site - along with several links I've found especially useful. I'm always eager to hear from folks working on the same family lines. Use this Contact information to reach me.

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