Back of photo scrawl

[warriorrabbit]

What I can see is “kisses,” “Aunt Grazia Velardi,” and “in Germany” but I’m not sure about the rest. My great grandfather’s mother was Anna Velardi and she died in Milan in 1944. Unsure who the aunt is as currently I don’t have a Grazia, but maybe I missed something.

[AngelaGrace56]

This may need altering as I'm not sure I have deciphered the script correctly:

"In exchange for your photograph, I offer you this (meaning her photo) with affection. Affectionate kisses.
(With) Affection, Aunt Grazia Velardi in German(y)

I too, after 48 years, took this photograph... what... do you think?
Milano, 8 December 1949"

BTW Anna means grace.

Angela

[warriorrabbit]

Thanks!

[warriorrabbit]

I’m wondering now if in Tedesco could be like… married to Tedesco. I can’t remember what town I was researching, but all their records said, like, Maiden in Married instead of sua moglie etc and I was confused for a bit before the penny dropped.
Because here’s a dead Tedesco child of a Grazia Velardi dying in Milan but born in Messina, making Velardi in Tedesco make more sense… especially when the photo stamp is Milan, not Germany.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... n&groupId=

[AngelaGrace56]

Yes, absolutely, that makes complete sense to me i.e. that she was Grazia Velardi married to someone Tedesco. Hopefully someone else might verify.

Angela

[mmogno]

@AngelaGrace56
Ciao Angela

This may need altering as I'm not sure I have deciphered the script correctly:

"In exchange for your photograph, I offer you this (meaning her photo) with affection. Affectionate kisses.
(With) Affection, Aunt Grazia Velardi in German(y)

Aff.ma = Affezionatissima
Zia Grazia Velardi in Tedesco = Zia Grazia Velardi, il cui marito ha Tedesco come cognome.

I too, after 48 years, took this photograph... what... do you think?
Milano, 8 December 1949"

BTW Anna means grace. Grazia means grace.

Angela

[AngelaGrace56]

Hello G

It's been a while. I hope all is well.

@AngelaGrace56
Ciao Angela

Aff.ma = Affezionatissima
Thank you. I can see now that the word was abbreviated. It wasn't that obvious to me at the time. (There certainly was a lot of affection linked to this photo.) So was she saying "With deep affection."? or maybe "Yours fondly"?

Zia Grazia Velardi in Tedesco = Zia Grazia Velardi, il cui marito ha Tedesco come cognome. Great. Thank you for confirming.

I too, after 48 years, took this photograph... what... do you think?
Milano, 8 December 1949"

BTW Anna means grace. Grazia means grace. Yes, indeed, Grazia does mean grace, but as I understand it, so does Anna. Anna is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Hannah which means grace or gracious.

Angela

Angela (A A)

[warriorrabbit]

Ok, so I have basically confirmed she is a sister to my great great grandfather’s mom, although… it raises some questions

Anna Velardi was born in 1856 to a woman (Teresa Gemelli) who says she’s 20, so born around 1836.
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 76/wW2J7A2

Actually based on other records (marriage) I had put it around 1831.
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 03/wQrAyWJ

Grazia’s marriage record to Mr Tedesco reveals the same parents, great, but unless I’m reading it wrong, Grazia says she’s 20 in 1900, so born around 1880.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 59&lang=en

I haven’t yet found her birth record (have basically looked 1878-1882), but that would put her mother at almost 50 when she had her. Seems unlikely?

[AngelaGrace56]

Ok, so I have basically confirmed she is a sister to my great great grandfather’s mom, although… it raises some questions

Anna Velardi was born in 1856 to a woman (Teresa Gemelli) who says she’s 20, so born around 1836.
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 76/wW2J7A2

Actually based on other records (marriage) I had put it around 1831.
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 03/wQrAyWJ

Grazia’s marriage record to Mr Tedesco reveals the same parents, great, but unless I’m reading it wrong, Grazia says she’s 20 in 1900, so born around 1880.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 59&lang=en

I haven’t yet found her birth record (have basically looked 1878-1882), but that would put her mother at almost 50 when she had her. Seems unlikely?

1879 Birth No 951 – Grazia Velardi
Parents were Giuseppe Velardi, 30 yo and Teresa Gemelli, age not given, as per the marriage record you found.
The names given to her were Grazia, Anna, Carmela
She was born on 24 October 1879.
There is an annotation re her 1900 October marriage that you posted, to Antonio Tedesco in the margin.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=1967753

Just remember that she may have used any of those three names.

I'll leave it to you to soldier on.

Angela

[warriorrabbit]

Thanks! Not sure how I missed that.

Hmm. But Giuseppe's ages... My grandma always lied about her age, maybe it's a familial trait.

[warriorrabbit]

At least I realized that the comment about "after 48 years" on the photo dated 1949 referred to the last time they're saw each other. My great grandfather (who was only two years older than her btw) left Italy in 1901. (At first I thought she was trying to say something about how old she was, which didn't math.)

[AngelaGrace56]

Thanks! Not sure how I missed that.

Hmm. But Giuseppe's ages... My grandma always lied about her age, maybe it's a familial trait.

No, not necessarily. It's very common to see variation in ages in Southern Italian Records. (The men often get younger.) I believe that Giuseppe was illiterate and possibly your grandma was too. (Giuseppe hasn't signed any of the relevant documents we have looked at, they were signed for him, and some say that he was illiterate. He possibly never had the opportunity to go to school so was unable to write and probably never had the opportunity to learn his numbers either, so possibly didn't exactly know his age. Did you realise that Giuseppe was widowed before he married Teresa?)

Giuseppe and Teresa's 1855 marriage record stating Giuseppe's age to be 34 (c.1821) and Teresa's age to be 24 (c.1831) would be your best guides to the year they were born, because they would've had to present their respective birth records, in order for the marriage to take place.

Angela

[warriorrabbit]

I mean he remained in his 30s over two decades! But good point about his schooling. I didn’t notice that he didn’t sign anything.

Yes, I did see he was a widow when he married Teresa. Wife #1 is unknown (so far).

I was joking about the age thing. My grandmother wasn’t illiterate, just a little vain in that 35-for-ten-years-straight sort of way. Even in her 90s, she was always subtracting 2. It was comical.

I figured their ages at marriage were closest to true due to paperwork, but that’s what I was saying a while ago — she was close to 50 for Grazia’s birth! Wow.