Genealogy

Info related to my family tree site or genealogy in general

09
Dec
2020

Gatti Family Yahoo! Group Shutting Down 15 December 2020

It’s been quite a while since anyone, myself included, has posted to our Gatti Family Yahoo! Group. So, the news that Yahoo! is planning to shut down the Yahoo! Groups service on December 15th probably won’t upset anyone too much. However, I thought I should make sure everyone is aware of it since it’s been available for everyone’s use for over 18 years now.

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who participated and shared volumes of invaluable family info and stories using the group over the years. It predated my family tree website and without it, we never would have had the massive reunion in 2002.

My family tree site (michaelgatti.com/familytree) is still available and hopefully I’ll finally get around to updating it someday soon. Despite the lack of updates there, I’ve still been doing a lot of genealogy research including a DNA test a few years ago and a lot of records searches recently. It’s amazing how much spare time you can find during a global pandemic!

Posted by Michael in Genealogy
19
Oct
2013

An Impressive Achievement

Back in April, I mentioned my cousin Kris was embarking on a hike of the entire Appalachian Trail. This week she finished her journey. Throughout the entire adventure she documented it with daily posts on her website. You can still relive her journey on her website, wayfarer.me. It makes for a fun and interesting read. Perhaps one day she’ll turn it into a book.

Congrats Kris!

Posted by Michael in Genealogy, Interesting Links
30
Jun
2013

Photos from an Historic Trip to Fort Miles

HECP TowerTwo years ago while in Lewes, DE visiting a family friend, we took a ride to Cape Henlopen State Park because there was an event going on at Fort Miles. I knew that my grandfather was stationed somewhere in the Lewes area during World War 2, but didn’t know much more than he was stationed on some sort of signal tower. During a tour of Battery 519, the guide was talking about how there had been a Navy unit stationed at the base and as he explained their function, monitoring and challenging ships coming into into the bay, it became apparent this was what my grandfather did. I commented on this fact when I posted the photos I took that day to my website. (You can view them here.)

Over a year later, I got an e-mail from someone from the Fort Miles Historical Society asking if I had any photos taken during my grandfather’s time there. As it turns out, my grandfather has an album that documents his entire time in the Navy. Some of the photos of the base in my grandfather’s album included some never before seen views. After sharing the photos and talking to several others including a historian, I helped my grandfather record some narrations and answer some questions. Before we knew it we were heading to Fort Miles so he could be interviewed.

A few weeks ago we went down there with my grandfather to meet the guys from Fort Miles, tour the base and discuss his memories of his time there. It was incredibly rewarding to be able to help preserve the history of the base, a history that my grandfather was a part of. It was just as rewarding to be able to walk around with him at a place that he hadn’t been back to for nearly 70 years and likely thought he’d never return to. I’m sure that the 22 year old Navy Signalman 2nd Class (SN2) who stood watch on that tower would never believe he’d someday return with his daughter and grandson, both adults, to be interviewed about his everyday activities of 70 years prior.

You can view the photos here.

Posted by Michael in Genealogy, Life, Photography, Site Updates
16
Jun
2013

A bright spot on Father’s Day

I work in the technology industry and am very aware of the global reach of anything I put on the internet. However, I’m still overwhelmed sometimes by the people who find my website and get in touch with me.

Today was one such day. Father’s Day is always a little rough, and I suppose it always will be. This year’s was brightened a bit by a random contact from one of my dad’s childhood friends via the site I created shortly after my dad died, emilgatti.com.

One reason I study genealogy and history is that I feel like you can connect to people who are gone by learning the details of their life. Being contacted by a random person who knew my father when he was 13 and having her share a few memories from that era makes me feel like I connected with my dad in some small way.

You can view what she wrote at emilgatti.com/memories. It’s the last entry at the bottom.

Posted by Michael in Genealogy
05
Apr
2013

My Adventurous Cousin

My cousin Kris is hiking the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. (For my fellow genealogy buffs out there, she’s technically my 3rd cousin on my maternal grandmother’s side of the family… the Paulls) A simple post can’t begin to describe the journey she has embarked on. Luckily, she’s documenting the entire thing on her site at wayfarer.me. It’s definitely worth a read. Just be warned that you’ll quickly be hooked on following her daily posts.

Posted by Michael in Genealogy, Interesting Links
01
Sep
2012

New notes from Family Tree site

It’s been forever since I’ve posted an update to the family tree website and I know that there have been many new additions to the Gatti family, especially in Ray and Kathy’s branches of the tree. I’ll get them added eventually. In the meantime, they’ve been kind enough to share all their happy news in the Gatti Family Yahoo! Group.

On the Paull side of the family, there’s also some exciting news. Theresa Tull (my first cousin twice removed, aka. my maternal grandmother’s first cousin) is now a published author. Her book, A Long Way from Runnemede – One Woman’s Foreign Service Journey chronicles her fascinating career as a US Ambassador during several presidential administrations. This space is not nearly long enough to list all of her adventures and accomplishments, but it’s really worth checking the book out on Amazon or learn more from my blog post about it.

Posted by Michael in Genealogy
21
Sep
2010

Lost the last of Gatti Generation D

Sadly, the last member of what is known in the Gatti Family Tree as Generation D  passed away yesterday. Marion Virginia (Toon) Gatti, better known as Ginny was the sole surviving member of her generation. She was married to Larry Gatti making her my great aunt. She was 96 years old. As you can read on the family tree, she leaves quite a legacy in her daughters Alicia, Rita & Kathy and her grandchildren/great-grandchildren.

Posted by Michael in Genealogy
14
Jan
2010

Genealogy Work Goes On

Despite the fact that I haven’t made any huge changes to my family tree site in a while, my genealogy research and work is not by any means dead. I’ve been working on updating my database and filling in many blanks in the Paull branches of my family tree, especially the Tulls. However, I haven’t had time to put any of that data in a web-friendly format yet. If you want info, please don’t hesitate to contact me and ask any questions you may have.

Posted by Michael in Genealogy