Joesam9647@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi Martin,
>
> My father came from Rocca Siggillina a small village outside of Pontremoli. He
> was born in 1882. He left Pontremoli in 1902 for the United States. He died in
> 1956. I remember him telling me he had relatives in South America. They were
> in the Paraguay Navy. He met them in Boston, Massachusetts in the early
> 1900’s.
> Let me hear from you.
> Ciao,
> Joe Martinelli
Hi Martin,
It was nice to hear from you.

If I understand you correctly, your great grandfather was Pablo Salvanelli
his mother was a Martinelli.
Born in Pontremoli. Pablo Salvanell is in my grandfathers generation
Pietro Lorenzo Martinelli Born in 1852-Died ?? Pablo’s mother Martinelli
would be in my Great Grandfathers generation Batista Martinelli Born in
1819 and died 1909.

My nephew (my sister’s son) was in Pontremoli last July. He was stayed with
cousins there for one week.
My niece (my brother’s daughter) was in Italy last November and visited
with realitives in Pontremoi for day.

My father went to Argentina with his family as a young boy. but , They did
not stay there. They returned to Italy and later came to the to the United
States. The following three paragraphs are from my brother’s tree. He lived
in Italy from 1925 to 1928. But, He died in 1996.

The Martinelli's were native Italian's, perhaps as far back as the
Tuscan's. Living in the state of Tuscany, Province of Massa Carrara, the
area where the Pleasance took place among the fourteen and sixteenth
centwy. The most noted Martinelli to bear the name no relation was Giovanni
Maitinelli the noted operatic tenor who was to succeed Caruso, but never
quite made it.

Late in the nineteenth century Pietro Martinelli took his young family to
Argentina in South America where others from Rocca Sigilinia their native
home in Italy have already settled. His wives sisters family were already
there. They filed a Claim for one hundred twenty acres and after a certain
period and qualifications were met the property would be legally theirs.

The area was a frontier like the prairie in the North America’s west called
the pampas and the cowboys were called gouaches. The largest industry was
the raising of beef for export and farming. The whole continent was
colonized by Spanish people with the exception of Brazil which was
Portuguese. Italy, Spain and Portugal all being Latin nations, their
customs and language being very much alike it was very simple to very soon
become accepted. With a very small portion of their land being cultivated,
they had a very large portion which they rented as pastured land. Their
income from pasture leasing was paid in percentage of cow and horse
yearlings. Maria Martinelli soon became an expert horsewomen and mid wife,
loved and respected far and wide for her services to her fellow man, for
her fee was a sincere and grateful thank you. The country be a wide
frontier with no roads, or inns and a few settlers it was customary to show
hospitality to travelers with having a place to make an open fire for
cooking and a pot of their local tea called Yerba which you drank with a
straw and a side of beef Which always hanged in the barn where they also
kept hay to feed your horse and for you to sleep for the night.

I am sorry I am not able to download the photos. I get a bunch of trash. I
have a PC not a MAC.
Try sending them again. But use this address >seabee@ici.net<. I have
Natscape Browser that might do it.
I am not sure if it is Uruguay or Paraguay .
I like your home page. Sorry, I do not have one.
Waiting to hear from you again.
Regards, Joe