AMATEUR GENEALOGIST

Saponaro - Mattera Family Tree

;

1988

My Parents 6oth Wedding Anniversary

Nicholas William Mattera, born 1906 died 1989

Susanna DeBlasio, born 1910 died 1998

Why Are You Doing This?

The Fall of 1945 term started, I was sitting in a junior year history class and the usual routine of teacher getting to know student proceeded.

After Miss Baird called my name, she found it difficult connecting my Irish looking face with my Italian name and on consecutive days asked me the usual following three questions:

	Are you Italian?
	Are both your parents Italian?
	Are they from the north of Italy?

If I were as sophisticated as my sharp thinking cousin Charlotte, I would have proclaimed: the King of Ireland traveled south and raped the Queen of Italy.

Still not convinced of my southern Italian heritage, on the last day of school, Miss Baird suggested I search my family tree; the seed she planted lay dormant until 1994.

Married in 1950, I spent the next 15 years having and nurturing my 6 wonderful children. In 1981, I separated from my well meaning spouse and embarked on a lucrative career in Real Estate sales. In 1990, I retired to a secretarial position in one of Trump’s Atlantic City Casinos and in 1995, I decided to water the dormant seed.

Blindly, I made all the correct choices: Compuserve’s Genealogy Forum led me to POINTer’s and the newly formed PIE list with enthusiastic members providing treasures of information. Additional information gained from Compuserve’s Italian Forum with Sysop David Zerga and then with COI list owner Steve Saviello. With this very knowledgeable direction, I learned what, when, where and how to search for my family history. Information from family members, even if much of it is incorrect, lays the foundation for tracking down needed documents.

Although my obsession began with the seed planted by my history teacher, the main thrust is my desire to be sure that in this huge, melting pot, unique country of ours, my descendants, who question from where they came, will know the courageous Italian ancestors who came before me.

Thank you for visiting.

Marie Mattera, webmaster

A special Thank You to A. David Walker and Grace Swain for their constructive input.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS HAPPY HOLIDAYS HAPPY HOLIDAYS HAPPY HOLIDAYS