Why
are we doing this?
My husband and I have been doing research on our Bertagnolli Family for 10 years and have found many people in Rock Springs, Wyoming as well as Illinois and Utah. All of us are looking for our Bertagnolli family in Italy. In September 1998 we found records for Tret, Trento, Italy and Fondo, Trento, Italy parishes including records of births, marriages, and deaths. It was a goldmine of Bertagnolli and associated names. We thought we may as well collect all the names we found in those two villages and share the information with our world-wide Bertagnolli Cousins.
The records cover a time frame of 1540-1923. If your family was there, we most likely have them written down.
The Census Taker
It was the first
day of census, and all through the land
Each pollster was
ready ... a black book in hand.
He mounted his horse
for a long dusty ride,
His book and some
quills were tucked close by his side.
A long winding ride
down a road barely there,
Toward the smell
of fresh bread wafting, up through the air.
The woman was tired,
with lines on her face
And wisps of brown
hair she tucked back into place.
She gave him some
water as they sat at the table,
And she answered
his questions ... the best she was able.
He asked her of
children. Yes, she had quite a few --
The oldest was twenty,
the youngest not two.
She held up a toddler
with cheeks round and red;
His sister, she
whispered, was napping in bed.
She noted each person
who lived there with pride,
And she felt the
faint stirrings of the wee one inside.
He noted the sex,
the color, the age...
The marks from the
quill soon filled up the page.
At the number of
children, she nodded her head
And saw her lips
quiver for the three that were dead.
The places of birth
she "never forgot"---
Was it Kansas? or
Utah? or Oregon ... or not?
They came from Scotland,
of that she was clear,
But she wasn't quite
sure just how long they'd been here.
They spoke of employment,
of schooling and such,
They could read
some ... and write some ...
though really not
much.
When the questions
were answered, his job there was done
So he mounted his
horse and he rode toward the sun.
We can almost imagine
his voice loud and clear,
"May God bless you
all for another ten years."
Now picture a time
warp ... it's now you and me
As we search for
the people on our family tree.
We squint at the
census and scroll down so slow
As we search for
that entry from long, long ago.
Could they only
imagine on that long ago day
That the entries
they made would affect us this way?
If they knew, would
they wonder at the yearning we feel
And the searching
that makes them so increasingly real.
We can hear if we
listen the words they impart
Through their blood
in our veins
and their voices
in our hearts.
--------Author Unkown