The January 20, 2015 episode of “Genealogy Roadshow” (S2, E2) featured several guests wanting to get to the bottom their family stories. Em Piro of St. Louis, MO was one of these guests.
Through family lore, Em believed that her great grandmother, Isabella [Rizzo] Piro, from Sorbo San Basile, Calabria, Italy, came to America to marry a “Cowboy from Wyoming;” and that after her arrival in Denver, she didn’t like the cowboy and decided to marry somebody else – Em’s great grandfather Eugene Piro. Em contacted “Genealogy Roadshow” wanting to know who the “Cowboy” was in this love story.
Immigration stories in families of all nationalities are commonly passed down through the generations. These stories become the family lore. Why is that? Possibly, it occurs as a way of beneficially establishing prior personal events and histories that may otherwise be unremarkable, embarrassing, unsavory or even scandalous. It codifies and legitimizes the past and shapes our thinking about our ancestors. But under the cold light of research, sometimes family lore is unraveled.
One hundred years ago when Em’s great grandmother, Isabella, journeyed from Sorbo San Basile, Italy to Denver, CO, there were very few resources available to inform her of what to expect. Her knowledge was probably based on letters from friends and relatives already living in Denver. There was no Wikipedia or YouTube to give her a glimpse of what life would be like in Denver in 1912. And for all Isabella knew, there could have been a cowboy waiting there to sweep her off her feet.
Three steps to start researching your family stories:
- Ask your relatives (and family friends) for their versions of the family story.
- In the case of the immigration story, ask folks who may have heard the story directly from the immigrant.
- Conduct genealogical and/or historical research focusing on:
- The ancestor or ancestors who are the subject of the story.
- Any other individuals who may be included in the story.
- Historical and cultural context. This kind of research can help us step inside the shoes of our ancestors.
- Most of all, have fun with this research – it’s part of your personal history!
So who was Isabella [Rizzo] Piro’s “cowboy?” Did she find him? Watch this episode of PBS’s “Genealogy Roadshow” to find out!
Learn more about Italian Genealogy.
-Mary M. Tedesco, ORIGINS ITALY.
Photo credit: Jason Winkeler
