By turning my attention from things like Ancestry/Family Search and looking at actual records, I hoped to uncover not only more details that aren’t often put in the public indexes but also to get a better sense of how/where the Pantolianos lived.

I started with reviewing the records in the NYC Municipal Archives.  I spent nearly 8 hours zipping through various rolls of microfillm.  And the result was great — confirming hunches I had made about kids who died young.

New Jersey doesn’t consider their records vital information, so I had to pay for them.  The first order came in yesterday and I couldn’t have asked for better results.

In only 9 records, I was able to

1. Confirm/learn the birth & death dates of Giovanni Pantoliano, and Angelina, Giuseppe, and Anna Branda.

2. Learn the addresses of the parents during those years.

3. Identify one of the “lost” children of Peter Pantoliano. Her name is Maria and she died as an infant in 1896.

4. Solve the mystery of the first Mamie Pantoliano.  She died at age 9 and her actual name was Maria Carmella – I suspect she was called Mamie because she had older sisters Mariarosa and Carmella.  She’s buried in Holy Name under the name Maria C Pondohario.

5. Learn that Rose Branda’s birth name is Maria Rosa.

6. Erase any doubt that the Mariantonia Pantoliano I located in NY is in fact Anna Branda as on each of her children’s records and her marriage certificate she goes by Antonia.

7. Giuseppe’s birthday is 1846 on his death cert. That does not jive with the 1834 from the census.  More digging needed.

8. Oh, and learn the names of the parents of Giuseppe Pantoliano (who I have so far been using as the “Patriarch” of all of this) and in so doing confirm my theory that Pasquale was the first born.  Although I was wrong about the mother’s name.  Giuseppe’s parents were Pasquale Pantoliano and Nicoletta M(illegible).

I have at least another 40-50 on the way/to order.  Who knows what else we’ll get.