Hi Laurie
We communicated briefly months ago and thought you might like to know about the success I have had searching for my Cicala Roots.
It is a very odd story that convinces me further that we live in such a small world.
I searched the Ellis Island site and found the ship manifest showing my grandfather Andrea Cicala and my grand mother Maria DiPaola's arrival to the U.S. in 1905. The manifest gave the the town in Italy , Collesano. I never had this info before. Now as luck would have it we moved recently and our neighbors are very Italian. We have become close and one day my neighbor asked what town my family came from in Italy. I told her Collesano and she gasped. "That is my husbands village" Well, I don;t have to tell you the excitement that followed.
My neighbor went on his yearly trip to Collesano to visit family equipped with all the info I knew about our Cicala Roots.
When my neighbor returned he asked me to sit down and not get too excited. He showed me a photo and asked if I knew any of the people in the photo......Oh my, It was my grandmother, along with many of my aunts and uncles. He was so happy that he had found the right family.
It turns out that my neighbors uncle is close friends with my cousin Gino Cicala.
Gino took my neighbor into his home and gave him a multitude of photos and information to share with me.
Gino doesn't speak english and I don't speak italian, but we communicated by phone with my neighbor as the translator. To make a long story short (?) my cousin gino has been looking for his american family for decades. He is so happy to have found us . We are planning a trip to Collesano this winter so we may finally meet. We have exchanged photos , letters and e - mails. Gino's grandaughter is the only one who can speak english so she has been a go between for us. So, that is my story. As someone interested in their family links , I thought you might enjoy my story.! I hope that you have had some success also. You may contact me at
kidkamp@optonline.net if you would like . Hope to hear your response.
Best Regards,
Marie (Cicala) Lanier