Proceedings

Friday, October 6, 2000

On a weekend when a cold, wet front swept across a large portion of the nation, including Austin, some 150 conference attendees, spouses, friends, vendors and others converged on the magnificently beautiful Doubletree Hotel North.

By 5 o'clock on Friday evening, a group of attendees had already gathered outside Room 586, the location of the Registration Area & Hospitality Room, which was hosted by PIP Chapter #10. 

When the door opened, they went to the registration desk, where members of the Registration Committee, headed by Pat Oxley, welcomed them and presented them with their conference packets.

Each packet included a name badge (designed by Jamie Cannone) with the attendee's name in huge letters, clearly readable from a good distance away; the superb Conference Program & Syllabus that had been produced by Laurie Riester; the Family History Library Research Outline for Italy, hot off the presses and hand-carried to Austin from Salt Lake City by Keith Rose and a copy of the Dictionary of Italian Occupations, which had been donated by the author, our own Lou Alfano. 

Each attendee also received a gift bag of goodies which Jim & Virginia Gerick had gathered from many sources.

From the registration desk, one turned right into the Hospitality Room itself, where a huge table covered with Italian food awaited. There was also a side table with a wide assortment of beverages. After the filling of plates and glasses, conversations got into full swing.

For the next five hours, people arrived and were absorbed into the festivities.

At some time during the evening, Tom and Phyllis Militello, along with the conference chairwoman, Lin Brinkman, gathered in a separate room with Mike Madeo to hear Mike's proposal that our Salt Lake City Chapter of POINTers In Person (Chapter #24) be allowed to host the next conference in Salt Lake City in October, 2002, some ten months following the Winter Olympics in that city.

There was considerable discussion about what Lin's committee had gone through over the past two years and what Mike was getting his committee into for the next two years and what would be expected of them.

Finally, Lin, who had come armed with the proxy vote of Chuck Panico, the chairman of the first POINT National Conference in Las Vegas in 1998, called for a formal vote.

With Mike 'sweating' out the results, the Selection Committee officially voted 4-0 to accept the Salt Lake City proposal.

The group returned to the Hospitality Room where the few remaining stragglers heard an informal announcement and were the first of many over the next two days to congratulate Mike and express their excitement over the prospect of a meeting at the center of world genealogy two years hence.

Saturday, October 7, 2000

Well before 8am on Saturday, attendees began arriving in the foyer outside of the Phoenix South Meeting Room - where the conference sessions would be held - to begin visiting the vendors who were there at the urging of Joe Mastrangelo. He and Don Villoni were in charge of vendors and sponsors, and they had done a marvelous job.

Along the far wall were KinShips (art prints of passenger ships); Bob Brinkman (books) and Pat Oxley (shirts); Italian Trade Services - Juliet Viola (translations to and from Italian); My Italian Family - Bianca Ottone (Italian genealogical research), represented by Paola Manfredi; and the Italian Cultural Association of Greater Austin.

On one side of the door to the meeting room was a freebie table overloaded with free items and on the other side, Ancestry Books was represented by Barnette's Family Tree Book Company with a display of books covering four tables.

Just inside the door were two more tables. Angie Clark was presiding over the PIP Chapter #10 table on the right (Italian-theme products). The many Door Prizes that Zina Graalfs & Maria Schulze had collected were distributed from the table on the left; items for the Silent Auction were on display on this table as well.

As the 8 o'clock hour approached, Joe Mastrangelo could be seen bustling about, making final adjustments to the audio-visual equipment, which operated flawlessly throughout the entire weekend. 

 Bill Brinkman
Round Rock, TX
Beginning Genealogy

8:00 - 9:00 am Synopsis:

Basic principles one should know when starting - in the US or in Italy

Opening Remarks

At precisely 9am, Lin Brinkman took the podium to formally open the conference with some announcements.

She thanked the many POINTers In Person chapters and individuals who had made monetary donations that had been used to purchase door prizes beyond those prizes that had been donated. 

She urged everyone to bid on the items that were on the Silent Auction Table in the back of the room. The proceeds from the auction (along with an equal amount to be matched by POINT) would be passed on to the PNC-2002 Organizing Committee as seed money for the next conference. The winners of the auction items would be announced on Sunday before the conference closed.

She said that 120 attendees had registered for the conference and that over 130 would be at the banquet that evening. She also said that 63 had signed up for the bus trip to San Antonio on Monday. 

She emphasized that each session would start on time and each speaker would close on time.

She then introduced Dr. Tom, who made a brief welcoming statement and then turned the conference over to the very capable hands of Marilyn Henley, who was one of those responsible for assembling the great roster of speakers we would be hearing over the next two days and it was she who would introduce each of them.

With that, Marilyn introduced Paola Manfredi and the learning officially began. 

Paola Manfredi
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
Italian Cultural and Historical Background For the Family Historian

9:15 - 10:15 Synopsis: 

Difficult to define Italy, as nothing is typical; much variety in food and language
Languages of Ancient Italy
Origin and meaning of surnames in Italy
The plague was a major factor in shaping events in Italy (and all Europe) for centuries
Records are available in Italy back beyond the 13th century - not necessarily vital records, but records of dealings and legal procedures
The Council of Trent, held by the Catholic Church in 1563, mandated that each local parish should keep vital records

Cindy Smolovik
Archivist, NARA, Ft. Worth, TX
Researching at the National Archives 

10:30 - 11:30 Synopsis: 

Genealogy resources at NARA - with special emphasis on the Southwest Region
Things to remember when visiting a NARA facility
Misconceptions
Census Records on microfilm; passenger arrival records; naturalization records

Lunch Break

Jonathon Galli
American Ancestral Associates, Cranston, RI
What to Expect When Researching in Italy

1:30 - 2:30 Synopsis: 

Advisable to seek out the original record, even after receiving an extract of the record from Italy
May need to have the original record translated
It is necessary to fill out an application in order to receive permission to see records in Italy
Civil boundaries and church boundaries differ - need to know what the boundaries are/were when seeking a particular record. Civil Registry Office (Ufficio dello Stato Civile); Church Records (Registri Parrocchiali); Diocesan or Church Archives (Archivio Archivescovile or Archivio Vescovile di Diocesi); State Archives (Archivio di Stato); Comune Archives (Archivio di Comune); Notarial Records (Minuti/Atti Notarili)

 Robert Harris
Computer Programmer, San Antonio, TX
Using the Internet for Genealogy Research 

2:45 - 3:45 pm Synopsis:

Some of the very best genealogy sites on the web
Using search engines
Yahoo - like a Table of Contents to the Web (as would be found in the front of a book)
Google - like an Index of the Web (as would be found in the back of a book)
FastSearch - another very good search engine
Some good Italian web sites
Language translation services on the web

Lee Simms
Wine Consultant, Grapevine Market, Austin, TX
Wines of Italy

3:45 - 4:45 Synopsis: 

 The land is the most important factor in producing good wine
Since 1920, by establishing criteria for rating the quality of wine, Italy has gone from making wine solely for consumption in the part of Italy where it was made to producing world-class wine for international distribution
There are 20 wine-producing regions in Italy - the type of wine produced by each region was mentioned along with how they differ and how each wine is best used 

Regional Gatherings

At least three time periods and six separate meeting rooms were allotted for those who were researching a particular region of Italy to gather and discuss their successes and problems.

PIP Chapter Meeting

Leaders or representatives of PIP chapters #1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 21, 22 and 24 met in Room 586 to discuss matters specific to our POINTers In Person program.

Columbus Day Banquet

Following the precedent established by Chuck Panico at our first national conference, a lavish banquet was held in the Dovers Dining Room.

Following a buffet dinner (with only a minor glitch or two), Lin introduced Dr. Tom, who spoke about some of his Pet Peeves.

After using the opportunity to vent, Dr. Tom made the formal announcement that Salt Lake City had been chosen as the site of POINT National Conference-2002 and called Mike Madeo to the podium to outline his plans and introduce two members of his organizing team, Paola Manfredi and Keith Rose.

Next up was Dr. Vincent D'Orazio, who gave a humorous account of his many visits to Italy and his experiences cooking for his Italian relatives.

When Vincent finished, Lin returned to the podium to close the evening's activities, she thought. 

However, she was interrupted by Dr. Tom, who asked that all the members of the POINT National Conference-2000 Organizing Committee stand while he read the following plaque, which he presented to Lin on behalf of POINT:

Sincere thanks to POINTers In Person Chapter #10-Texas and Lin Brinkman and the members of the POINT National Conference-2000 Organizing Committee for all the hard work they have done over these past two years to make our second biennial conference a great success.

The long applause that followed indicated that those present agreed with the sentiments expressed on the plaque. Finally, Lin closed the program and urged everyone to attend the regional meetings to follow. 

Sunday, October 8, 2000

Lou Alfano
Sterling, VA
Passenger Arrival Records

2:45 - 3:45 Synopsis:

When did my immigrant ancestor come to America?
From where - from Italy or from some intermediate country?
The year of immigration is shown on Census records
With this information, can search passenger records to learn from where they came
From 1870 to 1890, New Orleans was the most common port of entry
After 1890, east coast ports (Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York) were more common
Four ways to find an arrival record:

        Information extracted from passenger lists using the Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli data base on the Internet

        Published works such as Italians To America

        Information from family members

        When all else fails - go through all the reels of microfilm around the year of presumed arrival

Passenger lists on-line are usually not reliable
How to use the Census Soundex
Why the fascination with Grandpa's Ship? - Grandpa hated his ship and never wanted to think about it again
Not everyone who arrived at New York came through Ellis Island 

Vincent D'Orazio
Racine, WI
Doing Genealogical Research in Italy

10:30 - 11:30Synopsis: 

 Prepare before you go by doing as much preliminary research in the US as you can
It helps to have some facility with the Italian language
Both church records and civil records are available
Reading Italian records ranges from challenging to impossible
Vast majority of immigrants were poor - finding your family name on a coat-of-arms does not mean you belong to a branch of that family
The amount of information on the Internet is expanding rapidly

(Vincent's presentation was interlaced with many anecdotes about his personal adventures in Italy)

Luncheon

Following yet another precedent established at our first conference (thus making it another tradition), attendees and their guests were treated to a catered luncheon in the Phoenix North Meeting Room, and for this meal, there was nary a glitch. While everyone ate and talked, they were treated to Italian music by Shirley Johnson, who sang and played the accordion. 

Keith Rose
FHL Collection Development Specialist (US & Italy), Salt Lake City, UT
Family History Library Resources for Italian Researchers

1:30 - 2:30Synopsis: 

 Everyone is urged to submit their personal genealogical information to the Family History Library so that it can be shared by others
A brief history of how the FHL grew from just one room with a few books to the huge repository it has become
How the microfilming of records is done
Italian records available on microfilm include Civil Vital Records, Roman Catholic Church Records and other records, such as Notarial, Military and Nobility records.
There are also microfilmed records from the United States (local, county, state and national records) that will be helpful in researching Italian immigrants

Emily Doyle Iland
Saugus, CA
Translating Italian Records

2:45 - 3:45 Synopsis:

Be prepared for variations due to: location, time period, language, format, originating entity, original purpose and condition
There is a 'bag of tricks' that one should have
Learn to 'read the writing' by going from clear, legible records to the ones you really want
Learn to 'spot the records' you really want from among others
Learn how to 'get to the records'
On the screen were displayed the contents of some sample records

Jonathon Galli
Editor, Rhode Island Roots, Cranston, RI
Writing Your Family Story

3:45 - 4:45 Synopsis: 

Set your goals and clarify your reasons for writing your family story
Decide what the content will be
Organize and format your information
Describe the meaning of the documents in the work
Decide on a style of writing for this particular work
Be sure that the story ends on an up-beat note 

Closing Remarks

The talks were complete and it was almost time to say 'good-bye.' Dr. Tom thanked everyone for coming, thanked Lin and her team for a job well done, and challenged Mike and his team to do even better, suggesting that a turnout of over 200 in Salt Lake City would not be unexpected.

Lin announced the winners of the Silent Auction and reminded those going on the bus trip to San Antonio of a short meeting to follow. She also said that Dr. Tom would be available for photos. After urging everyone to attend the last regional sessions, the proceedings were officially closed.

Regional Gatherings

The final regional get-togethers

Monday, October 9, 2000

Bus Trip to San Antonio

Highlights:

Coppini Institute - we were warmly received by the volunteers and given a tour of his studio and his home; based on a portrait there, we decided that Lou Alfano is a reincarnation of a young Poppeo Coppini.

Christopher Columbus Italian Society of San Antonio - we were told the history of the San Francesco di Paola Church, founded by the local Italian community; we were served a magnificent lunch by Cav. Francesco Cristadoro, an Assistant to the Italian Consulate of Houston.

A tour of the Alamo and El Mercado (The Mexican Market) and a few brave souls even toured the Riverwalk in the cold rain.

Return To Austin and final good-byes at the end of a lovely day.

For more, visit the website, courtesy of Tony Abbattista at:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3752/index.html 

Donors and Sponsors

Our sincere thanks to the sponsors, advertisers, merchants, individuals, POINTers In Person chapters, and friends of POINTers In Person Chapter #10-Texas, who, through their generosity, contributed to the tremendous success of the conference.

Lou Alfano
Ancestry Books
Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau
Austin White Lime
Bellagio - Italian Bistro
Vincent D. Bianchi
Bob Brinkman
Lin and Bill Brinkman
Frank and Levia Campanaro
Donald and Norma Cannata
Catholic Archives of Texas
Gaetano Cipolla, PhD
Angie Clark
Ellen Colangelo
Trafford Cole
John Philip Colletta, PhD.
Don Hilario Estate Coffee
F&L Primo Magazine
Susan and Gary Frederick
Virginia and Jim Gerick
Michael and Mary Gianetti
Maria Gloria
Myra Vanderpool Gormley
Zina and Henry Graalfs
Raymond and Mary Green
Diane E. Greene, AG
Marilyn and Arthur Henley
Debora Hill - Pallante Center for Italian Research
Italian Cultural Association of Greater Austin
Italian Travel Office
KinShips
Dorothy Lippincott
L'Italo Americana News, San Francisco
Sharon Marconi
Marie and Joe Mastrangelo
Lynn Nelson
Bianca Ottone
Pat and Don Oxley
Enrico Pelitti
Jennie Perkin
Andrew and Frances Pemi
Maria Persuitte
PIP Chapter #1 -Chicago, Illinois
PIP Chapter #2 - The Militello Chapter, Los Angeles
PIP Chapter #3 - Northern California
PIP Chapter #14 - Kansas City, Missouri
PIP Chapter #16 - San Diego, California
Laurie Riester
Mary Ann Riviere
Olympia Rosanski
Rosaria Salerno
Maria L. Schulze
Silver Visions Publishing Company
Speakeasy Liquors/Frank Santa Maria, owner
Valentine and Olga Terribile
Texas Department of Transportation
Augie and Lory Troiani
United Way of Round Rock
Versaggi Family
Juliet Viola
Bill and Shirley Vipraio
Wal-Mart
Jesse C. White - Henington Publishing 

Third POINT National Conference Set For Salt Lake City in 2002

In Austin, our POINTers In Person chapter in Salt Lake City was selected to host our third conference. Mike Madeo and his organizing committee have already outlined their plans for the conference, which is scheduled for October, 2002. So, mark your calendar and make your plans now to attend what promises to be the very best POINT National Conference yet. 

 

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Last Updated: 15 November 2000

Send corrections / suggestions to: DrTom, POINTer #1

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