Delmar Albert Delaney was born on 21 August 1917, in Peru, Illinois, to John and Edith (Meyer) Delaney. When Delmar was born his parents had been married for five years and had two older children: John and Lucille. Delmar had Irish ancestry through his paternal great grandparents John and Mary Cusick Delaney who immigrated to America from Ireland in the 1800s. However, he also had a strong German background through his other set of paternal great grandparents Philip Fouth and Philipena Walter Fouth who had arrived in America from Germany in the early 1800s and settled in Bureau county. Delmar…
Author: familyhistorian
TEC5 Clement L. Gillio, Service No. 36323575
TEC5 Clement Louis Gillio was born to Italian immigrant parents, August and Angelina (Benedino) Gillio, in Oglesby, Illinois, on 12 October 1916. Clement’s father, August Gillio, had come to the United States at age 21 to join his older brother Antonio. It’s unclear where August first settled upon arriving. However, in Pontiac, Illinois, in 1906, August Gillio married Angelina Benedino, a young lady from his hometown of Cascinette, Italy, By 1910, August and his wife were living in Oglesby, Illinois, and August was supporting his family by working in the coal mine. In 1920 when Clement was three, the Gillio…
PFC Batista J. Gillio, Service No. 36482154
PFC Batista John Gillio’s story is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by many young Americans during World War II. He was born to Italian immigrant parents, Louis and Enrichetta Gillio, in Oglesby, Illinois, on 21 July 1921. Batista’s father, Louis Gillio, had come to the United States as a teenager joining his older brothers Antonio and August. He settled near them in the LaSalle/Peru/Oglesby area of LaSalle County, Illinois, and eventually met and married Enrichetta. Together, they had in addition to Batista, two older sons Charles and Louis Jr and two daughters Rose and Mary. Life was challenging…
CPL Bernard John Zawila, Service No. 425509
Early Years Bernard John Zawila was born on 24 August 1921, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Sophia (Swobodzinski) Zawila. At the time of his birth, Bernard’s mother was a widow having lost her husband, Paul Zawila, six months earlier. When Bernard’s father died, the family was living in Chicago where his father had been working for the McCormick Reaper Works as a laborer. In late February 1921 when Sophia was pregnant with Bernard, Bernard’s father became sick with pneumonia. Within two days he died from the illness. After her husband’s death, Sophia must have moved the family which included two sons…
STAFF SGT Anthony Thomas Piraino, Service No. 36433970
Anthony PIraino was born on 15 January 1921, in Lost Springs, Wyoming, to Gaetano and Rose Falica Piraino. He was the couple’s sixth child. Anthony’s father, Gaetano, grew up in Alcara, Italy, and left in 1903 for the United States when he was in his early 20s. Anthony’s mother, Rose arrived in the United States in the late 1890s. Gaetano and Rose met in Peru, Illinois, in the early 1900s and were married on 14 April 1907. At the time of Anthony’s birth, his family was living and farming in Lost Springs in Wyoming on property they owned. Anthony had…
SGT Joseph Piraino, Service No. 36981801
Joseph PIraino was born on 15 December 1918, in Lost Springs, Wyoming, to Gaetano and Rose (Falica) Piraino. He was the couple’s fifth child. Joseph’s father, Gaetano, grew up in Alcara, Italy, and left in 1903 for the United States when he was in his early 20s. Joseph’s mother, Rose arrived in the United States in the late 1890s. Gaetano and Rose met in Peru, Illinois, in the early 1900s and were married on 14 April 1907. At the time of Joseph’s birth, his family was living and farming in Lost Springs in Wyoming on property they owned. Joseph had…
Seaman 2c Joseph James Geraci, Service No. 8515544
Joseph James Geraci was born on 15 May 1924, to Dominic and Mary Theresa (Gerace) Geraci, in Illinois. Joseph’s father, Dominic, was about 29 years old when Joseph was born and was working in the local coal mine. He and Joseph’s mother had married almost nine years before on 25 July 1920 in LaSalle. They had only one other known child, John, who was born four years after Joseph on 18 July 1928. Joseph’s father, Dominic, was born in Caccamo, Sicily. He had left Italy to travel to America in 1911 when he was 16 years old. Eight years after…
Making a Family History Book Using Canva vs MS Word
Up to now I have always used Microsoft (MS) Word to put together family history books. I really like and am comfortable with MS Word, and the books have always looked great when published. To get my work into print, I have mainly used a publishing service like Lulu. If I create a book for people who do not want it printed, I share the document in digital format as an Adobe Acrobat PDF. More recently I have been thinking of creating a less intense publication meaning I want to highlight main events in a family history and include more…
Shadows of Liberty: The Legacy of the Massock Mausoleum
I grew up in north central Illinois in an area referred to by locals as the Illinois Valley. Like many areas, it has its own legends and ghost stories. One in particular I first heard about as a teenager in the 1970s involved a “hatchet man” who wanders an isolated cemetery near the Massock mausoleum in Spring Valley, Ill. More recently I noticed a discussion on social media among some people who grew up in the same area. One person mentioned they would like to know more about the men buried in the mausoleum. This made me realize I would…
“Programming” ChatGPT to Write a Story
Here’s an update on my continuing efforts to explore using ChatGPT and other AI tools to create stories for the Stories Behind the Stars project. After my last attempt, I was thinking that perhaps this could work if someone could program it to write the type of story I am looking for. But then I saw a Tweet by @thatroblennon which made me realize AI tools like ChatGPT can be programmed just by talking to them. This was somewhat of a revelation to me. So I decided to try my experiment again by first “programming” what I wanted. After several…