Chicago genealogists, when was the last time you took out your old family photos? Have you looked at them recently? If not, pull them out! Next, take a fresh look at them along with your genealogy notes on that person and family.
I recently scanned in some old photos my mother in-law passed to me. One of the people was Tomaso (Thomas) Fratto who was born in Italy and immigrated to the U.S. and lived the rest of his life in Chicago. The other person was his wife Teresa Ursetta, also born in Italy who immigrated to the U.S. and lived the rest of her life in Chicago.
Looking at these photos I decided to blog about them while looking at my genealogy database. What I noticed was something I don't think I had noticed before. Teresa died three weeks after giving birth to twins. Her death was due to complications with childbirth. This I had known. What I don't think I fully realized is that Teresa died leaving her husband with three week old twins and seven children under the age of 14!
This made me wonder who helped Tomaso with his children. I also wonder how he handled the loss of his wife with all these children. Tomaso died about 14 years later leaving his then 14 year old twins under the care of someone. That is yet to be determined.
I have been to the Clerk of the Circuit Court Archives in Chicago to search for a will and probate files for both Teresa and Tomaso. I came up with nothing. Now I wonder if I should search again for guardianship records for the twins. Perhaps there will be nothing and perhaps a sibling took them in until they reached the age of majority. Regardless, the facts uncovered by looking at two pictures lead to new mysteries and research.
Pull out your old photos and see what clues they provide. Then visit one of the wonderful Chicago repositories to uncover more details about your family. Through this research you will be able to make your family come alive.
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