I know just a little about my family and I admit that I am not entirely sure on the facts. I am somewhat outside the family circle and do not know the dates of any events.
Egadio (sp?) Gizzi apparently came from Florence with Margaret (sp) to Cleveland OH. I am not sure when Egadio passed away but Margaret lived a long life and may have been close to a hundred when she passed away in the mid 90's. Their children are (forgive me if I get this wrong or miss someone) Alfred, Alvin, Eugene (my Grandfather), and Christoper. For some reason, I believe there was a sister but I cannot remember her name, Ann perhaps. Was every girl named Ann in that generation. I may be confusing this with my Mothers family. The family seems to have relocated to Florida although I do not know the details of this move. They ended up spreading out with about half the family in Ft Lauderdale FL.
Eugene went to Italy during WWII and met Maria on a beach in Naples. The story is that she was digging up clams and eating them and this grossed my Grandfather out. They married and returned to America. Despite having several children, the marriage did not last. My grandfather raised the children including my father Eugene. He remarried Lillian and who took the role in caring for Margaret as she grew older. A few years ago they left Ft Lauderdale and returned to Ohio.
Christoper and myself reside in Western Washington State pretty much by coincidence. To my knowledge most of the family is currently in Florida and Ohio.
My dad Eugene, is in the Orlando Deltona area. He is really the only family that I have kept in touch with.
I understand that the star Navy football player named Chris Gizzi (now with the Packers) is, in fact, my cousin. I am not sure if I have ever met him.
If anyone who reads this knows the details better than myself I would appreciate an email.
Thanks, Chris Gizzi Olympia, Washington
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hi chris I am your cousin your father is my mothers brother. I am cookies daughter. I was just looking threw the gizzi file and happen to come across you message. There are eight cousins on this side,as for everyone else there are many. As like you we dont know much. The eight of us are very much in contact with each other. Ages range from 30-16. Your father is my godfather. There are many Gizzi's in Ohio but not everyone is in contact with each other. Our side is close because of our grandmother Maria. We have also been trying to look for any information on her side but everyone has came up short. To us the Gizzi side is less unknow. We dont have a clue of any family on nanna's side. No one gave much thought of it until her death. We have not been able to find anything, not even a birth certificate. Some are thinking she was adopted, but we may never know. My mom Cookie is on line her Email address is Dadindadin1@aol.com. Idont have anyone elses address up if you contact her she will tell you more than I can. Barb and Rick are also on line Im positive they all would love to hear from you. Must go mfor now. Your Cousin, Angela
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Saw your e-mail to Chris Gizzi. You might want to try something called the Lettopalena Project. It's a genealogy site of the entire village of Lettopalena Italy and there are a lot of Gizzis. Some of the Gizzis had gone to Pennsylvania/West Virginia area. They had something to do with mining. It's not a farfetched idea to go from there to Ohio. Let me know if I can help you out.
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Just came across the string of email messages concerning the background of the Gizzi surname. My mom, Margaret Gizzi, came to the U.S. approximately in 1912-1914. Her father, Peter Gizzi, settled Connecticut with his family, but also had a sister in Chicago, Sophie. Somehow he became associated with a well known family, from Chicago, who were the owners of the A.B. Dick Company, later to become "Dictaphone".
Peter Gizzi, along with my mother settled in Connecticut where he was employed by a U.S. Federal Court Justice, Thomas Swan. Judge Swan had married one of the AB Dick family and had a home in close proximity to the Yale University campus as well as a summer estate in Guilford, CT. My grandfather was to be employed by this family from approx. 1920 througn the time of his passing in 1965. The Swan/Dick family were very good to my Grandfather as well as his family, providing education to my mother and her sisters.
I have recently started to assemble information on both my paternal, as well as maternal (Gizzi) background and would be very appreciative of any information which can be provided. Would be happy to provide additional details as well. Regards,
Peter Concelmo
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Try something called Lettopalena Project. It's a rather complete genealogy history of the villagers from Lettopalena and surrounding area. The Italian portion has been done and the owner of the website would like contributions as to the American ancestry. Let me know if this helps.
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Thank you very much for the information on the Lettopalena Project. I will be folllowing up on this and will keep you aware of any progress. Regards,
Peter Concelmo
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Hope it helps (ps - you could send me some real Italian food - I'm in Utah and it's VERY scarce [only kidding 'sort of']). I hope the website helps.
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Suzanne:
Just returned from one of our favorite pizza restaurants where they still bake the pizza in a wood oven !! Sorry that Italian food may be scarce out there and if there's ever anything that you would like sent, just let me know. I've tried sending pastries via mail, but it takes a bit to long. Thanks again for your info. Will stay in touch.
Peter
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My husband makes most of our Italian Food (fettucini alfredo from scratch, lasagna and other stuff). Found a place in NY that makes really good Italian cookies and ships them. If I think of anything, I'll let you know. I forgot, though, what area of the country you live in. Good luck with your search and let me know if you need any help.
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Suzanne:
My wife, Patricia, and I live in Conn. on the coast line in a little town, Branford, CT. Settled in 1647; very quaint and typical New England. I work in New York and commute approx. 70 miles via train. Have loads of Italian restaurants as well as "authentic" markets to pick up the typical italian type specialties. Where about's are you located ??
I've neglected the "search" for a few days as I've been travelling on business. As I continue, and pick up additional info, will be sure to forward. Regards,
Peter Concelmo
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