Now that I've figured out how to add labels on this blog, I don't mind spending 2024 writing about different surnames! For the 'Family Lore' prompt, I'm not going to focus on one specific story but a couple smaller ones.
First up is my great grandma, Serafina (Sapienza) Aloisio, more commonly known as Sophie. Grandma Sophie was born in Collesano, Italy. The 'where' is certain, but the 'when' is not, and that's not just because I don't have her birth record. As the story goes, Sophie's mother (Anna LiPira) was in labor on the evening of Christmas Eve 1887. As the church bells were ringing midnight, Great Grandma made her appearance, so there was some uncertainty as to whether she was born on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. When Great Grandma filed for a social security number, she used Christmas Eve as her birthdate, so that is what all her American paperwork says.
Other interesting family lore revolves around Sophie's daughter (and my grandmother) Rose. Grandma Rose was married three times. Her first marriage was very brief (and will be covered in a different prompt). Her second marriage was to my grandfather, and her third marriage was to Ralph of Australia (a family inside joke because that is how Ralph was listed in various newspaper articles). However, I vaguely remembered a story about my grandmother dating Burgess Meredith, so I texted my cousin to confirm this story. And while family lore doesn't always turn out to be true, this story was. After consulting with my aunt, my cousin said that yes, they had dated, and that Grandma used to have a picture of him with a very personal message. Unfortunately, that picture has been lost.
I know Burgess Meredith as the actor from the Twilight Zone episode 'Time Enough At Last,' but it's interesting to think he could have been my grandfather!
No comments:
Post a Comment