Corti

[jbower]

Hello

I am looking for information about my grandmother's ancestors. She was born Rena Corti as a first generation American, and used to make trips back to her Italian family in the area of Florence (I believe that's the area, anyway).

I'm curious because I am planning to make a trip to that area and I'd like to see where her roots are from. The history of the family has been terribly difficult for me to track down

Thank you

[VaDeb]

Hi,
We need additional information to help you.

Rena Corti born ? year in ? state in USA.
Names of parents who were born in Italy. Any siblings?

Have you done any census research? If we can find a 1930 census record, that will give a year of immigration. Where did the family live in 1930? What names and ages of family members that would be living there?

[jbower]

I tried the 1930 Census, but no dice. I'm sure that the family was in the states by then: I can recall a trip my mother and I took to Ellis Island where she said my gramma's family arrived sometime between 1900-1910.

I am fairly sure that she was born between 1920-1925 - I found my grandfather's military enlistment record for WWII and it lists his birthdate as 1923. They were not that far apart in age. He died in June of 2000.

I am also fairly certain that any sort of birth records or other documents would be located in southcentral Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, Altoona, Selingsgrove, Lemoyne.

Rena Corti's married name was Rena Steele. Her last residence (besides the assisted living home where she lives now) was Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. She had a sister named Helen (deceased) and a brother named Floyd. Floyd and his wife Jo (Olivia) lived for awhile in Louisiana, he was a professor of Agriculture at a college down there. Helen and her husband lived in Mechanicsburg not far from my grandmother. She had another brother named Louis, and two other sisters Mary and Ida. I don't ever remember meeting any of them.

If she did not have severe dementia, I would ask her these things myself

[VaDeb]

Thanks for the additional information. It will help.

Do you know the names of Rena's parents? Also please list the names of Rena and her siblings from youngest to oldest. We need to find a 1930 census record for this family as a starting place.

[jbower]

Do you know the names of Rena's parents? Also please list the names of Rena and her siblings from youngest to oldest. We need to find a 1930 census record for this family as a starting place.

That's part of what is making it hard. My mother doesn't remember her grandparents at all, including their names. My grandmother is too sick to remember them. As far as her and her siblings go, I only know that Ida was the oldest, then Floyd and Mary then I think my grandmother Rena and Helen being the youngest.

[VaDeb]

Genealogy research is best done starting from the known and working backwards. I would suggest two thigs: (1) get a copy of your grandmothers birth certificate. This will have the names of her parents. This is available from the state of PA if no one in the family has it. (2) Get a copy of your grandparents marriage record. This will have the names of her parents. You had a death date for your grandfather. Get a copy of his obituary (check more than one paper if avaialable, as the printed details tend to vary). This may tell how long he was married to your grandmother. We need to get some hard facts and narmes to proceed backwards.

[jbower]

Okay, here is what I managed to find. It's not terribly helpful, I think, because I am currently in Oregon and can't access any hard copy of my grandfather's obituary. He and his family are in the 1930 census, but my grandmother and her family remain a mystery ><

Here are his vitals if it will help to find hers:

Don Linn Steele
Born April 13, 1923 Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Died June 2000 (obit published 6/13/00 Harrisburg Patriot-News)
Mother: Carrie E Steele
Father: Don Steele

[VaDeb]

I don't think that is going to help us find your grandmother. You are going to need some facts (names and dates). Since you don't know the names of your grandmother's parents, use the link below and order the marriage record for your grandparents. It will serve as a starting point. I don't think you will be sucessful in ordering a birth record for your grandmother without her year of birth or names of her parents. Talk to family, maybe someone has her birth record.

http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/healt ... lthNav=%7C

[brujaojos]

Hi There,

I have to ask a question, I'm a little confused as to who is who and what we are looking for.

I did find the 1930 Census for Carrie E and Donald in the 1930 Census with a son, Donald Jr.

Per the 1930 Census, they were married about 1922. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania.

Name: Don Steele
Age: 32
Estimated birth year: abt 1898
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Relation to head-of-house: Head
Spouse's Name: Carrie E Steele
Race: White
Home in 1930: Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
Image source: Year: 1930; Census Place: Huntingdon, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania; Roll: 2044; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 20; Image: 795.0.

Now if the son, Donald Jr, married your Rena Corti, then you need to find out what State they married and write to the County of that State for their Marriage Application.

If you get the Death Certificate for Donald, then you can find out what cemetery he is buried and then contact the cemetery to find out everyone that is buried in the plot. Hopefully, Rena is buried with him and you then can get her death date and send for her death certificate. Her death certificate could list the parents' names.

I hope this helps some.
Trish

[VaDeb]

Hi Trish,

The poster is looking for the spouse of Donald Jr.

Her name is Rena Corti. Rena was born about 1920-1025 in PA. Rena's parents are from Italy and their names are unknown. Rena is still alive, but in a nursing home and unable to provide information.

I agree that the marriage record for Rena and Donald is the needed next step. It is hard to search for Rena, knowing so little about her. Hopefully some family member will have Rena's birth certificate and then we will have a good place to start.

I did some preliminary searching for an Italilan born Corti with a daughter Rena in PA in 1930, but didn't find anything. I think more details about Rena will help us to find her.

[brujaojos]

Hi Again,

Thanks Deb for clearing that all up for me. And yes, I agree, the Marriage Application from the County that Rena and Donald got married is the next step.

Also, just poking around in 1930 Census, for the State of PA, these are the peopel I found with the Corti Surname born in Italy and who were the Head of the household.

Name - Spouse - Town - County - State - age - town born
Peter Corti - Jennie Corti - Nanty Glo - Cambria - PA - abt 1878 - Italy
Faina D De Corti - - Hickory - Forest - PA - abt 1874 - Italy
Vincent Corti - Frances Corti - Scranton - Lackawanna - PA - abt 1888 -Italy
Charles Corti - Julia Corti - Scranton - Lackawanna - PA - abt 1890 - Italy

I hope this helps,
Trish

[jbower]

The researchers at the Pennsylvania State Library are awesome They found my Great-Aunt Helen's obituary which lists all my grandmother's siblings It also corrected the spelling of the family's last name...I never even thought to look for it as "Corty".

Here's the list:

Louis Corty d. unknown
Mary Corty (Dunkle) d. unknown
Helen Corty (Sheibley) b. 1926 d. 2004 (Mechanicsburg, PA)
Ida Corty (Nunnari) b. 1912 (living in Somerset as a boarder 1930)
Floyd Corty b. 1916 (enlisted in the military June 1941)
[Here is his LSU listing: FLOYD L. CORTY, Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Ph.D., Cornell University.]
Rena Corty (Steele)

I found Ida on the 1930 Census, but not any of the others. At the time of Helen's death in 2004, Ida was still living in Somerset, I believe she may have met her husband there and stayed put (I never met him that I can recall). I found Floyd's military enlistment record, but not in any census. I kinda got excited because I found a Mary and Helen on the 1920 census, but it turns out they were the wrong pair of sisters

I also don't know which county of Pennsylvania Don and Rena were married in to request the marriage certificate. I'm going to try Huntingdon, Cumberland and Dauphin.

Thank you guys so much! I feel like a newbie, hehehe.

OH I almost forgot: I think Rena's father or grandfather may have been named Louis - it is the name of his son and it is also Floyd's middle name.

[VaDeb]

Great the library was able to get you some facts to work with.

So Louis Corty and Mary Dunkle the parents of children Helen, Ida, and Floyd, correct.

Louis Corty is the ancestor born in Italy that you want to trace, correct? I understand the family surname was listed as Corty in the obit, but I don't think that this is the correct Italian surname. There are no Italian's in Ellis Island listed with the surname spelled exactly Corty. My guess is the Italian name sounded similar, but Corty is the Americanized version.

I will try and find the family in the 1930 census. But, we don't know the parents were even still alive in 1930, do we? Please let us know what your research objectives are at this point.

[VaDeb]

I did find the 1930 census for Ida Corty that you mentioned. She is in the hospital in Somerset. Hopefully her family was nearby. Somerset is also very close to Cambria county so both are possible.

Here is a link to the census record if anyone wants to see it.
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/1379/1930ida0qn.jpg

[jbower]

Great the library was able to get you some facts to work with.

So Louis Corty and Mary Dunkle the parents of children Helen, Ida, and Floyd, correct.

Louis Corty is the ancestor born in Italy that you want to trace, correct? I understand the family surname was listed as Corty in the obit, but I don't think that this is the correct Italian surname. There are no Italian's in Ellis Island listed with the surname spelled exactly Corty. My guess is the Italian name sounded similar, but Corty is the Americanized version.

I will try and find the family in the 1930 census. But, we don't know the parents were even still alive in 1930, do we? Please let us know what your research objectives are at this point.

The list of names I have are all my grandmother's sisters and brothers, including Louis and Mary. I'm going on the off-chance that Rena's parents used names familiar to them to name their male children - I don't think it's coincidence that my grandmother had a brother named Louis and also a brother with a middle name of Louis.

I'm hoping that backtracing even -one- of my grandmother's siblings leads to the names of her parents.

My goal is to find those names and then try and track it beyond that... I want to put together as detailed a tree as my father has done for his family - traced back all the way through 1528