The Grapevine: Researching a Little Family History
By Rosalyn Queen on July 13, 2023 from The Grapevine
Last week I had the opportunity to do a little more research on our Italian roots. My brother was given a book entitled “Maria Rosa Oliverio,” written by Jim Oliver. Pete Iquinto had the book and shared it with my brother. It contained a lot of the history of Pete’s family on his father’s side.
Oliver is from South Jordan, Utah, and traveled to Clarksburg in search of his family history. He has researched the Oliverio side and has maintained that Maria Rosa Oliverio is the sister of his grandfather, Salvatore Oliverio, and his brother Giovanni Oliverio.
Of course, my interest was piqued from my research of my grandfather Giovanni Oliverio. I will state from the beginning that I still have found no trace of Maria Rosa Oliverio to my grandfather. But this still did provide a fascinating story of Maria and her connection to the Pete Iquinto, the Merrotto, and Mancuso families.
Growing up in the close-knit Italian families in East View, there were many visits to the Iaquinta, Merrotto, and Mancuso families. I remember well the names of those listed in this history and will still wonder if there is not some connection since my grandmother, Giovanna Brunett was married to Giovanni Oliverio, who was my dad’s father and was killed in the Monongah Mine explosion.
What a wonderful story this was of the reunion of Jim Oliver, which was hosted by the Louis Iquinto family and his sister and brother. This is a good example of why we should start to trace our roots before all the history is lost.
While reading this story I was contacted by my cousin, Donna June who lives in New York. On Wednesday she was attending a breakfast at the local fire station. While there she struck up a conversation with a gentleman who said his family was from Clarksburg. She told him she was from Clarksburg and asked him what his name was. He said his name was Fran Agrossa. She inquired as to if I recognized this name. In all my research I have never ran across it. Perhaps the name had been changed to Grossa. He told Donna that he was born in New York. He had 12 brothers and sisters. If anyone has any information about this family, please share it with me.
These are just two examples of family histories that need to be told. And of course, I am always on the lookout for any information about my grandfather’s family. If you think you might know anything, please share it.
Take care, stay cool and until next week “Now you Have Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
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