Cyndi's List

Any serious genealogist would tell you that one of their most valuable research tools is Cyndi’s List.  Cyndi’s List is a very large collection of genealogical resources on one website.  It is a labor of love by one person, Cyndi Howells, and a handful of volunteers.  Genealogists, both amateur and professional, have been using it for almost 20 years now.  It does not contain all the answers, but it probably can tell you where to find all the answers. 

A website or blog must be reviewed and approved before it is included on Cyndi’s List.   Not every blog or website makes it.  I am proud to announce that the Ambruso Family History blog that you are reading has just been added to Cyndi’s List.   This means that anyone searching for information on Ambruso genealogy can go on Cyndi's List, type in the surname "Ambruso" in the Search Box, and will be directed to this blog as one of the available resources.  

By the feedback I have received, I know that this blog has been helpful to many people, and that they enjoy the images and stories.  Anything that has been accomplished thus far in this endeavor has been made possible only because of the contributions by family members.  Please continue to send me family stories and photos.  I will gladly include them in future blog articles.  

I wish you all a very happy, blessed and peaceful Christmas.

Featured Family Photo #2

 

As I mentioned previously on this blog, the importance of 139 Harrison Avenue, Garfield NJ cannot be overstated.  That house was the cental location for my branch of the Ambruso family when they first decided to travel to the America.  It was built by Patsy Bonelli and his wife Mary Ambruso in 1909.  It was where Mary's siblings and mother came when they first entered the United States.  Patsy and Mary had a daughter, Rose, who married a guy named Mike Melfi, who lived just around the corner.  Rose and Mike came to live at 139 Harrison Avenue.  They raised their family there.

 



The picture above shows my mother Esther Ambruso Casteline with me and the three children of Mike Melfi and Rose Bonelli, all sitting on the front steps of 139 Harrison Avenue.  The year is about 1948.  My mother is holding Tommy, the youngest.  On the far left is Michael Melfi Jr.  On the far right, with the bannana curls, is Marie Annette.  I'm the little guy with the wavy hair sitting next to my mother.  Tommy Melfi, the baby, still lives in the house today.