Need Help Finding Information on my Grandfather Giacomo Riva

[pink67]

Grazie Maurizio!

per me è un piacere e un divertimento...
Mio nonno è stato emigrante per 13 anni quindi lo faccio anche per "onorare" quelli che, come lui, hanno lavorato duramente per offrire un futuro migliore alle loro famiglie...

Laura

[JeanR]

..........I'm always absolutely astonished at seeing how quickly and efficaciously the forumists here succeed in making optimum use of web sources to gather useful info when it comes to discover what happened to Italian emigrants after they landed in U.S.? BRAVISSIMI!

Maurizio,

I, too, am absolutely astonished at how much help I was able to get on this site. Back before I was computer literate---10-15 years ago---I had tried to trace our Riva/Alaria family history. I even interviewed what older relatives I had still living but I didn't get very far. I got more in two days here than I got in two years back the first time I attempted to trace my roots.

One thing that might be of interest to others wanting to know what happened to Italian emigrants after landing in the U.S.---in our family my uncle John Riva and his kids have kept the tradition going of naming their sons "John" and "James". That makes six generations of John and James Riva's. Nothing like confusing genealogists. LOL

Jean

[Maurizio]

Jean,
I’m happy your search got such an acceleration lately. If you have any questions on your ancestors’ area, I’ll try and answer you.
Maurizio

Grazie Maurizio!
per me è un piacere e un divertimento...
Mio nonno è stato emigrante per 13 anni quindi lo faccio anche per "onorare" quelli che, come lui, hanno lavorato duramente per offrire un futuro migliore alle loro famiglie...
Laura

Laura,
anche mio nonno ci provò, ma dopo tre settimane di detenzione a Ellis Island fu reimbarcato per l’Italia (meglio per me, se no chissà se sarei qui).
Io non ho il tempo e soprattutto la competenza per fare molto altro che dare qualche informazione a quelli i cui antenati provenivano dalla mia zona, ma ammiro davvero ciò che tu e tanti altri riuscite a fare qui.
Ciao,
Maurizio

[PeterTimber]

Maurizio bello se era qui in America sarebbe piu ricco ma meno gentile perche ci sono gente com'io pronto a rompere degli.....=Peter=

[Maurizio]

Maurizio bello se era qui in America sarebbe piu ricco ma meno gentile perche ci sono gente com'io pronto a rompere degli.....=Peter=

Peter,
ti assicuro che di quella gente ce n'è anche qui da noi...
Stai bene!
Maurizio

[pink67]

Hi Jean!

just to add some details, in case you don't have them... could it be Romeo, Josephine's brother?

From http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/ ... search.asp

Husband
Romeo ALARIA

Birth: 08 JUN 1899
Christening:
Marriage: 29 DEC 1926 , Lagrange, Indiana
Death: 10 SEP 1963

Wife
Margaret Jane DYER

Birth: 02 FEB 1906 Reed City, Osceola, Michigan
Christening:
Marriage: 29 DEC 1926 , Lagrange, Indiana
Death: 17 AUG 1976
Father: Joseph DYER Family
Mother: Elizabeth Margaret TRACY

from Ancestry.com:

1930 United States Federal Census
about Romer Alaria
Name: Romer Alaria
Home in 1930: Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan
Age: 30
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1900
Birthplace: Illinois
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Margaret
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace: View Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Romer Alaria 30 head, born in ILL
Margaret Alaria 24 wife, born in MI
Donald Alaria 1 son, born in MI

[img=http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/728/ ... me8.th.jpg]

Laura

[JeanR]

Thank you Laura!

Rome Alaria is, indeed, my great-uncle, sibling to my grandmother Josephine Riva. I even remember him from when I was a kid. It's interesting that he was married in Indiana. I didn't know from oral history that any one in the family had ever lived in that state. This is also the first proof I've seen that pinpoints when someone in the family was actually in Michigan where I live and where most of that generation of Riva's and Alaria's died.

I was going over some notes I made 10 years ago from a conversation with my dad and I was reminded that my Alaria great-grandparents were separated for many years which explains some puzzling stuff on a couple of the other census records you (or another member here) found for me.

Thanks, again, to you and everyone on this site. Genealogy is like putting a giant puzzle together, isn't it.

Jean

http://riva-alaria.blogspot.com/