by Josephine Hardy | Feb 15, 2022 | Genealogy Tips
In September 2020, my beloved Nonna, Giuseppa Mangani nèe Rapisarda, passed away. As the eldest grandchild I was tasked with giving a eulogy on behalf of all of her grandchildren. To prepare, I spent some time looking through my photos, diaries, and notes, trying to...
by Josephine Hardy | Feb 11, 2022 | Personal Stories
Giuseppa Rapisarda (Mangani) was born on 11 February, 1936 in Ramacca, Catania, Italy. Today she would have been celebrating her 86th birthday. But on 20 September, 2020 she died in her husband Lucio’s arms. Due to the lockdown restrictions enforced by the...
by Josephine Hardy | Feb 1, 2022 | Italian Genealogy Tips
Choosing a name for your baby is hard work. You need to consider that they will live with this name for the rest of their life: as a cute baby, through the trying years of being a teenager, and finally as an adult with a job. There are millions of names to choose from...
by Josephine Hardy | Sep 23, 2021 | Publications
‘The Sulfaro Family: How five generations of Sicilians survived through epidemics, wars, and immigration’ is now available for purchase on Amazon. The story of the Sulfaro family starts in the coastal area of the Province of Messina, Sicily where multiple...
by Josephine Hardy | Oct 2, 2019 | Those Places Thursday
Over the past year I have been writing a book about the Sulfaro family. A large section is dedicated to Paolo Sulfaro, my great-grandfather, who traveled back-and-forth between Sicily and West Virginia to work in the coal mines before his death in WW1. I have pieced...
