Buno Natale

Toni Lynn Bennett Toothman

Merry Christmas!!  or Buno Natale if you understand a little Italian.  I want to wish everyone in the family and all our friends a very Merry Christmas.  We have had  a very blessed year.  I love this photo of my little sister from a Christmas a few years ago.  Love and Kisses.

The Live Tour



Sandy, Mike, Pauline and Mary Ann...Where is John???


The "Live Tour" is a term that my sweet cousin Donna Albany Lombardi coined when I recently visited the family in Baltimore.  I say recently, it was back in June of 2010.  It has taken me this long to update my blog.  Anyway, the attached photo was taken at my mother's memorial in July of 2009.  At the time I said it was ashamed that is took so long to visit the family.  So, my first trip was to visit my aunt Pauline and her crew in Baltimore.  The idea is instead of waiting for the next funeral, we should visit while we are still alive and kicking - thus the "Alive Tour" was born.  While visit aunt Pauline, she was a valuable source of information on the family.  She went though nearly a hundred different photos and identified several family members.  I appreciate my family for putting up with my constant search for family photos and information.  I took some time off, but I am back on the hunt.  So, for the rest of the family, you might just get a phone call saving I am planning a visit.  Be ready to pull out the old family photos and scrap books.  Love and Kisses to all - I hope you have a great holiday season.

Wordless Wednesday - Swimming

In the photo is a very young Christina Lamonica (my grandmother).  She is the second from the left.  The location of the photo is unknown.  I believe the photo is from the late 1920s.

Great Assistance

One of the truly fun things about research and genealogy is the people you meet along the way.  This past week was a great week for me.  I received an email from Rome, Italy from Carlo Cicone.  We found that both parties are researching the village of Pettorano sul Gizio, Italy.  While Carlo was asking for some assistance, which I plan to provide, he was the hero of the day.  I gave him some details from the Ciccolella side of the family and he was able to provide me with three more generations which I did not have.  How about that!  Once again, I am very appreciative to get this information - thank you very much Carlo.   This is encouragement for all researchers-assisting your fellow man is honorable and the right thing to do!  I will add the details shortly.

Wordless Wednesday - Who Are These Guys?

Who are these guys?   The photo was included in the family group, so I assume someone once knew them.  Anyone??

Mother's Day

Well, it is my first mother's day without my mom - Maria "Gigi" Ciccolella Bennett.  We all miss her, but it is the fun times, the great support and all the other joys she brought into our lives that I will think about today.  Mom was born in Follansbee, West Virginia, married Chuck Bennett, Sr., raised two kids, help run the family business for a bunch of years and died in June, 2010 living in Fairmont, West Virginia.  She is a first generation "Ciccolella", both of her parents emigrating from Italy to the US.  So, here's to all our mother's who have left this earth to join their heavenly family.  One day we will all be reunited into one very large genealogical society.

Uncle Dan

My grandmother, Christina Lamonica Ciccolella, had a brother - Dan Lamonica - Uncle Dan to us kids back then.  My Uncle Dan was born February 17, 1908 in Steubenville, Ohio.  He was the son of two immigrant Italians, however, unlike his two sisters who were born in Forenza, Italy, Dan was born in America.  He went on to follow in his father's footsteps and became a barber.  He later married Mary Lupinetti and they had a daughter Mary Louise.  Uncle Dan died on October 16, 1983.