Yes, that is definitely a factor! Also the language barrier. I know lots of relatives, even today, who have a problem speaking to those who don't speak Italian. My grandmom Lucia used to have a drawing pad that she kept with her because she couldn't understand or speak English; if the person didn't understand Italian, she'd draw a photo to explain what she was talking about. I'm so thankful that I'm bilingual.GinaFashioni wrote:It may have been Marianna - but on her my Grandads birth cert. it says Mariantonia.The problem was that all my ancestors were illiterate and so I think the priests just guessed the spellings! That is why when my Dad was born the priest spelt our surname phonetically, so we became Fashioni's! Are you on face book? If so we can make friends!
Yes, I am on Facebook! I put my FB url below.
https://www.facebook.com/dominiquesessa