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My grandfather Michael Anthony
Ambruso passed away in October of 1976.
Since I was the oldest grandchild, I helped go through his belongings
and papers. I kept a few mementos like
his pocket prayer book in Italian, an old riding spur, and some personal
papers. Among those papers was a holy
picture, a memorial card given out at a funeral. The funeral director had a South Philadelphia
address, and the name and date on the card was: Leonardo Ambruso, died February
28, 1948. At the time, I had no idea who
Leonardo was. I put the holy picture in
a file and forgot about it. Little did I
know at the time how important this little card would be in my genealogical
research linking the Ambruso families.
I knew my grandfather had relatives
in Philadelphia, but I didn’t know whether these were distant relations or
first cousins. I also knew that he made
trips there when he was younger. But I
don’t remember him ever making a trip to Philadelphia in the last 20 years of
his life. Yet this card in his bureau
drawer must have meant that he attended the funeral in 1948, so Leonardo must
have been a close relative, probably a first cousin.
Unlike the name Michael, Leonardo is
not a very common Italian name. To a
genealogist, the more unusual the name; the easier the search. This search proved to be easier than most. Using Ancestry.com, Family Search.org (the Church
of Latter Day Saints genealogical database), and a letter to the town clerk in
Salandra. I managed to connect the
families. Leonardo was indeed my
grandfather’s first cousin.
Without that one little holy picture,
I would probably still be trying to make a connection. Funny, how important such a little thing can
be.
Cool, Dad! Yes, little things can be very important...although I think you may have inadvertently reinforced all of the "hoarders" out there...(who, me?)...how can we throw anything away now?? ;)
ReplyDeleteMaria
Maria,
DeleteIf you are a pack rat, you obviously have genes from your Grandfather Casteline, and your Grandmother Rodichok.
Dad