Di Dia in Marsala

Well I might have found distant relatives in Marsala. The research is still on going via Facebook. It seems that Di Dia is a common last name in and around Marsala, but all the Italian surname databases really doesn't detect that name, but don't be fooled by this though. Some database software out there has to have 3 or more letters before it will detect and since the name starts off as "Di" so you might have to take out the space and add it as one "DiDia".

I will be leaving to Sandusky, OH this coming July. I will be meeting my great-grandfather brother Vincenzo side of the family. I really need to get my records inline before my departure. I let you all know how it went, so stay tune!

Well I have located another distant Italian family member Bertolino. The Bertolino's immigrated to the U.S. in 1906. Michele Di Di (my great uncle) married to a Maria Bertolino. Now it's unknown why Maria and her husband came to either live or visited her brother Benadicto Bertolino. Benadicto stayed in the Boston, Mass. area it seems that the men all worked in the fishery. I do know that Michele Di Dia did in fact enlisted into the World War I Draft. So this might mean that he did plan on living here, but he and his wife return back to Marsala, Sicilia, and this is known because of letters that have been written to my father James Dee after the passing of my grandfather James Dee Sr., back in 1973. So a new chapter has been written, and I am glad that I was able to find some living Bertolino's. The funny thing about this is that in my teen years, I have lived up in the New Hampshire area and could have ran into these folks with all the visit I have made to Boston. I have past this information onto my other family that currently live up there, hopefully one of them will drop by for a sweet Ciao!
 

Facebook and your family tree

I have started a Italian Family Tree Facebook check us out! Also want to mention this desert to you all. It so Ummmmmmmmy!

Pignoli Cookies

Yield: 2 DozenPrep Time: 10 minsCook Time: 25 mins
A perfect addition to any holiday cookie tray, these delicious traditional cookies will be a hit with family and friends alike.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) Can Almond Paste
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup All-purpose Flour
2 Medium Egg Whites, Lightly Beaten
8 Ounces Pine Nuts
Extra Powdered Sugar To Finish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper, or use silicone linings.
Place the pine nuts in a bowl.
In a food processor, break up the almond paste into small pieces, and pulse with the two sugars and the flour.
Once the mixture is finely ground, begin to add the egg whites a little at a time, just until the dough comes together.
Depending on the humidity, or the size of your egg whites, sometimes you may need all of the egg whites, while other times you won't.
Using a spoon and slightly wet hands, scoop a small spoonful of the dough, and place this into the bowl of pignoli.
Roll the cookie arround until it is lightly coated, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet.
Continue forming the cookies in this manner, placing them 2 inches apart on the baking pan.
Bake the cookies 20 to 25 minutes, and then cool.
Dust lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

My Family Tree Update

Even though I haven't been working on my family tree lately, I just wanted to tell you all that I will still be updating my blog. So with that out of the way. I have decided to add a memorial page for my great-grandfather Giacomo Di Dia aka Chris Dee on FindAGrave.com, I've also added one for his brother Vincenzo Di Dia aka James Dee. A short bio has been added to Chris Dee, since I have the primary information on him. I have asked another family member to write the bio on James Dee. I hope to have more bio information on them both, once I heard back from a couple other folks related to the family. Check back soon!

Not Related to Chef Boy-Ar-Dee

But wish I was! As a kid I loved eating Chef Boy-Ar-Dee. I always wonder if I was related, but found out that Chef Boy-Ar-Dee was actually made from a man named Ettore "Hector" Boiardi. He decided to name his product "Boy-Ar-Dee" to help Americans pronounce his name. The same must of happen with our last name Di Dia to Dee. I was also told it was due to Italian discrimination. It makes me think about the time when people were discriminated because of skin color, and sex discrimination. I couldn't believe that the nationality of a person would be a reason to discriminate. But I truly believe that there would even be reverse discrimination. I have known people that wouldn't even serve thier food to people of certian nationally, but Itilians loved to serve their food, and were very proud to show it off. Pasta was the main reason for this. Adding pasta to meats and vegitables dishes, was something new in America. Maybe that is why I am so addicted to pasta! Please visit Hector Boiardi FindAGrave.com.

Sandusky

It's funny how I continue to work on my family tree and how many KINS I have in the Sandusky, Ohio area. The names are getting longer and longer every week I work on my family tree. I am getting to think that Ohio is the main area of Italian immigrants, you would think New York or New Jersey would be the main hub for Italians, but I am think that Ohio was the largest Italian immigrants. As I sit here I am watching Tommy Boy, a 1995 movie starting Chris Farley and David Spade. The movie is hosted in the city of Sandusky, Ohio. Ohio was the leading automotive parts and I have found records of some of our family members working in the automotive industry, even though most of them were barbers or shoe makers. The newest family member that has been added to the family tree "Farrar". In the next day or two I will list all those that have direct connection to the Italian Family Tree.  

My Italian Family Tree

The apple doesn't fall far from the family tree.

Sorry that I haven't blog lately, and I'm kinda new at blogging, but I will try better. As a kid I didn't think my about "where I came from" much, and it wasn't talked about alot in the family. All I knew was that I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I though that we all were just "Texans". Just over a year now I get a call from my daughter Ashley who tells me that she has to do a Family Tree for her history class. I didn't even know where to start, all I knew was my father and mother and my grandparents. So I decide to call my dad and ask about his parents, parents and so on. I found myself on a longer quest then I ever though, and even today I am still on the quest, but I am enjoying it. I found that on my father side of the tree that I am a third generation Italian! Here's what I do know now. In 1903 Giacomo & Vincenzo Di Dia (brothers) came to the United States of American from Marsala, Sicily, Italy. They stayed with a cousin named Gaspare Anastasi in Cleveland, Ohio. Some how Vincenzo (aka James Dee) ended up in the Sandusky, Ohio, and Giacomo (aka Chris Dee) ended up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Vincenzo married Anna Rose Corso, and Giacomo married Maggie O'Brien. Vincenzo contracted some type of lung disease and return to Marsala, where he later past away. Giacomo and Maggie had two other children that past away early one at birth (girl) and the other 7 months old boy from measles. Some how they ended up in San Diego, California where a John W. Dee was born 1918, and later my grandfather James E. Dee Sr. born in Chattanooga, Tennessee 1920. Giacomo and Maggie who was pregnant at the time, and the two sons went to visit family in Marsala, Italy. Now I don't know the full story behind what happen next, but all I can do is report the facts. Maggie O'Brien and my grandfather who at the time was only 2 years old were the only two to return back to the U.S. from Marsala, Italy. Family story was that Giacomo didn't want to return to the U.S. and Maggie did. The two boys were split up between the two. Also remember Maggie was pregnant with their 5th child and her name was Mildred C. Dee 2 Apr 1923. And so the rest is history. I have been able to find living relatives all over the U.S. and most of them haven't moved far from where our great great grandparents started. Sandusky, Chattanooga, and Houston. I am making plans this coming summer 2013 to visit as much of them as I can. I am an addict now of genealogy, and will be for the rest of my life.