Trixie Calissie - Essay - Marshall County
Item
Title
Trixie Calissie - Essay - Marshall County
Description
My Italian Heritage
Abstract
In 1906 my great great grandpa, on my moms side, Giuseppe Albertini and his girlfriend
Naomi, came from Northern Italy to Ellis Island in New York and brought the beginning of my
family heritage to the United States. They came at the age of 16 without any parents but with
plenty of siblings and cousins. They mostly settled near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Giuseppe
and Naomi got married shortly after. Giuseppe and his family as well as Naomi’s brothers and
cousins came to America originally to find new work opportunities and all of them men started
working in minds and steel mills around the booming Pittsburgh area. A cousin of the family ran
an Italian grocery store in Pittsburgh and another opened an Italian restaurant.
Giuseppe and Naomi’s wedding photo
After several years Giuseppe and Naomi relocated to Hickory Pennsylvania where they
lived on a self-sustaining farm. They canned their own food and raised and butchered their own
livestock. They had 7 children: Art, Baptisto, Carl, Emil, Albert, Margaret and Esther. My great
grandfather was Albert and I learned about most of our family history through my grandmother,
his daughter, Alma. The men all grew up to work in mills and coal minds in Pennsylvania and
between the 7 Giuseppe and Naomi had 14 grandchildren. Margaret died tragically in a car
accident and never had kids and Emil adopted 3 Russian Siblings. One sibling is a boy and there
was only one other boy bom from the 7 siblings and he did not have any children. The adopted son is the only person left to carry the Albertini name. However, Giuseppe did have several
brothers that were still in Italy who could have had other kids but contact was lost with them. My
grandma remembers getting mail from family in Italy as a kid but that communication stopped as
the siblings got older and moved apart from each other.
The 7 kids were taught English as a first language because their parents wanted them to
fit in in America. Their parents and cousins however, spoke fluent Italian. With the 7 kids and
their 14 kids the language faded out of the family. One of the most important things for my great great grandparents as well as my great grandparents was to make sure their kids got a good
education. My grandma thinks most of the 7 got high school diplomas with the exception of
Esther, and my grandma along with 4 of her 5 sisters all got college degrees.
Giuseppe and Naomi and all their kids were members of the Italian-American Club in
Pittsburg and were members until my grandma was a teenager. She even remembered a
Christmas party they went to as a family there where everyone ate Italian food and danced the
polka to loud music. The kids received fruit and nuts as Christmas presents from the
organization. Most of the extended family continued to live in Pittsburgh and they all met there
for family reunions regularly until my grandma and her family moved to Moundsville, West
Virginia.
My grandma was very young when Giuseppe and Naomi died but she has some
memories of Naomi (her grandmother). She remembers that her house always smelled like fresh
spaghetti sauce and baked goods. She also remembers Naomi teaching my great grandma who
was not Italian her family recipes which my grandma still uses to this day. Italian food is
probably my favorite part of the culture. My grandma makes nut rolls, polenta rice, chicken with
rosoto, gnocchi, and ravioli from Naomi’s recipes and it is by far the best food I’ve ever had. My
grandma also remembers how big polka dancing was and how the whole family used to listen to
a victrola and dance. My grandma says: “They liked to drink their wine and party”. Naomi and
her daughters also were very talented in embroidery and sewing which was passed down to my
grandma and myself and is something I really enjoy. I don’t remember much of my great grandfather, who was a power plant super intendant
in Moundsville until he retired, but I did spend a decent amount of time with my great grandma
before she passed away a few years ago. Through her and my grandma I have really enjoyed
learning about my Italian heritage. My grandma and her sisters have located the town where her
grandparents were bom and they plan to take a trip there someday and possibly meet some of
their extended family.
Before my great grandfather passed away he gave me a world Atlas. On the page showing Northern Italy, where my great great grandparents were from, was the newspaper article
pictured above. I believe the town mentioned in the article is the town they were from and I think
my great grandfather thought this healing women was related to us. I can’t ask him about it now
and my Grandma has never seen it so I’m not sure where it came from or who that women is but
I think it is an incredibly interesting story I wish I could learn more about.
As far as my great grandmother, Margaret Daniels, family goes, we know her ancestors
were from Wales and Scotland but we don’t really know when they came to America or in what
capacity. On my dad’s side of the family, nobody really knows where we came from. My last name
“Calissie” was made up at some point in time and there isn’t really any trace of it. My aunt
thinks we are Italian which is possible but we can’t really know. That side of the family, in a
large contrast to the Italian side, has no college graduates. My dad had 4 siblings, one of which
died very young, and none of them, nor my grandparents ever got a college degree. This side of
the family makes me even more grateful for my other side with their culture and reunions and
interesting family history.
I never really noticed how much my heritage affects my everyday life until I got older but
1 really wish I had the chance to speak to my great grandpa and ask him all about his parents
immigration and his life in the early 1900’s. My family is great with fabulous food and there are
so many people involved which makes up a huge support system of really great people. Although
family reunions and Christmas parties get a little loud sometimes, my family is amazing and has
had a huge impact on my life. It’s just crazy to think about how two immigrants who moved to
America to start a new life have had such a ripple effect and created so much life and culture.
Naomi, came from Northern Italy to Ellis Island in New York and brought the beginning of my
family heritage to the United States. They came at the age of 16 without any parents but with
plenty of siblings and cousins. They mostly settled near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Giuseppe
and Naomi got married shortly after. Giuseppe and his family as well as Naomi’s brothers and
cousins came to America originally to find new work opportunities and all of them men started
working in minds and steel mills around the booming Pittsburgh area. A cousin of the family ran
an Italian grocery store in Pittsburgh and another opened an Italian restaurant.
Giuseppe and Naomi’s wedding photo
After several years Giuseppe and Naomi relocated to Hickory Pennsylvania where they
lived on a self-sustaining farm. They canned their own food and raised and butchered their own
livestock. They had 7 children: Art, Baptisto, Carl, Emil, Albert, Margaret and Esther. My great
grandfather was Albert and I learned about most of our family history through my grandmother,
his daughter, Alma. The men all grew up to work in mills and coal minds in Pennsylvania and
between the 7 Giuseppe and Naomi had 14 grandchildren. Margaret died tragically in a car
accident and never had kids and Emil adopted 3 Russian Siblings. One sibling is a boy and there
was only one other boy bom from the 7 siblings and he did not have any children. The adopted son is the only person left to carry the Albertini name. However, Giuseppe did have several
brothers that were still in Italy who could have had other kids but contact was lost with them. My
grandma remembers getting mail from family in Italy as a kid but that communication stopped as
the siblings got older and moved apart from each other.
The 7 kids were taught English as a first language because their parents wanted them to
fit in in America. Their parents and cousins however, spoke fluent Italian. With the 7 kids and
their 14 kids the language faded out of the family. One of the most important things for my great great grandparents as well as my great grandparents was to make sure their kids got a good
education. My grandma thinks most of the 7 got high school diplomas with the exception of
Esther, and my grandma along with 4 of her 5 sisters all got college degrees.
Giuseppe and Naomi and all their kids were members of the Italian-American Club in
Pittsburg and were members until my grandma was a teenager. She even remembered a
Christmas party they went to as a family there where everyone ate Italian food and danced the
polka to loud music. The kids received fruit and nuts as Christmas presents from the
organization. Most of the extended family continued to live in Pittsburgh and they all met there
for family reunions regularly until my grandma and her family moved to Moundsville, West
Virginia.
My grandma was very young when Giuseppe and Naomi died but she has some
memories of Naomi (her grandmother). She remembers that her house always smelled like fresh
spaghetti sauce and baked goods. She also remembers Naomi teaching my great grandma who
was not Italian her family recipes which my grandma still uses to this day. Italian food is
probably my favorite part of the culture. My grandma makes nut rolls, polenta rice, chicken with
rosoto, gnocchi, and ravioli from Naomi’s recipes and it is by far the best food I’ve ever had. My
grandma also remembers how big polka dancing was and how the whole family used to listen to
a victrola and dance. My grandma says: “They liked to drink their wine and party”. Naomi and
her daughters also were very talented in embroidery and sewing which was passed down to my
grandma and myself and is something I really enjoy. I don’t remember much of my great grandfather, who was a power plant super intendant
in Moundsville until he retired, but I did spend a decent amount of time with my great grandma
before she passed away a few years ago. Through her and my grandma I have really enjoyed
learning about my Italian heritage. My grandma and her sisters have located the town where her
grandparents were bom and they plan to take a trip there someday and possibly meet some of
their extended family.
Before my great grandfather passed away he gave me a world Atlas. On the page showing Northern Italy, where my great great grandparents were from, was the newspaper article
pictured above. I believe the town mentioned in the article is the town they were from and I think
my great grandfather thought this healing women was related to us. I can’t ask him about it now
and my Grandma has never seen it so I’m not sure where it came from or who that women is but
I think it is an incredibly interesting story I wish I could learn more about.
As far as my great grandmother, Margaret Daniels, family goes, we know her ancestors
were from Wales and Scotland but we don’t really know when they came to America or in what
capacity. On my dad’s side of the family, nobody really knows where we came from. My last name
“Calissie” was made up at some point in time and there isn’t really any trace of it. My aunt
thinks we are Italian which is possible but we can’t really know. That side of the family, in a
large contrast to the Italian side, has no college graduates. My dad had 4 siblings, one of which
died very young, and none of them, nor my grandparents ever got a college degree. This side of
the family makes me even more grateful for my other side with their culture and reunions and
interesting family history.
I never really noticed how much my heritage affects my everyday life until I got older but
1 really wish I had the chance to speak to my great grandpa and ask him all about his parents
immigration and his life in the early 1900’s. My family is great with fabulous food and there are
so many people involved which makes up a huge support system of really great people. Although
family reunions and Christmas parties get a little loud sometimes, my family is amazing and has
had a huge impact on my life. It’s just crazy to think about how two immigrants who moved to
America to start a new life have had such a ripple effect and created so much life and culture.
Youth(s) First Name and Initial of Last Name
Trixie Calissie
Age Division
18
Category
Essay
County
Marshall
