Genealogy has been a part of my life since I was about 7 years old and asked my Dad how our Italian born ancestors came to settle in America. When he told me that "they came on their very own ship" I was immediately interested to know more -- especially since in school we were studying Christopher Columbus. What I learned from my Dad was that his mother's parents had a family shipping and marble company in Palermo, Sicily. Marble would be quarried from all over Italy, then sent to their marble shop in Palermo, carved by my Great Grandfather, Baldassare Magri, and then shipped all over the Mediterranean and to New York City. Soon their business grew so much that the family decided that they needed a permanent marble shop in the NYC area. So my great grandparents came to the USA on their own ship laden with marble and their worldly goods. They established their new marble supply and carving business in Astoria, Queens, and soon had a thriving enterprise. One of the uncles stayed behind in Sicily to become the captain of their ship. What they didn't expect was that during one voyage from Sicily during WW1, their ship was attacked by a German bomber and everyone (including the uncle) and everything on the ship perished. Quite a story for a little 7 yr old girl to digest but ever since that day I have been hooked on genealogy!

The contributions that the wonderful Find A Grave volunteers have so kindly made have been a Godsend to all the Genealogy community! I cannot tell you the gratitude and respect I have for all the Find A Grave volunteers. Their great generosity is overwhelming!

♥¸.•*""*•.¸☆ Bless all of you! ☆¸.•*""*•.¸♥

Note: 4 April 2016 ~ While I have only a small collection of my ancestors' memorials here on Find A Grave, I take them very seriously and personally. I welcome any bonafide suggestions for edits, etc. Until this week I never realized that I would need to post this but ~~~ any demeaning or rude messages will not be tolerated. Find A Grave is a wonderful site that not only helps us locate our ancestors' final resting places but also brings long lost family members together. Let's all be kind and courteous. Thank you.

Genealogy has been a part of my life since I was about 7 years old and asked my Dad how our Italian born ancestors came to settle in America. When he told me that "they came on their very own ship" I was immediately interested to know more -- especially since in school we were studying Christopher Columbus. What I learned from my Dad was that his mother's parents had a family shipping and marble company in Palermo, Sicily. Marble would be quarried from all over Italy, then sent to their marble shop in Palermo, carved by my Great Grandfather, Baldassare Magri, and then shipped all over the Mediterranean and to New York City. Soon their business grew so much that the family decided that they needed a permanent marble shop in the NYC area. So my great grandparents came to the USA on their own ship laden with marble and their worldly goods. They established their new marble supply and carving business in Astoria, Queens, and soon had a thriving enterprise. One of the uncles stayed behind in Sicily to become the captain of their ship. What they didn't expect was that during one voyage from Sicily during WW1, their ship was attacked by a German bomber and everyone (including the uncle) and everything on the ship perished. Quite a story for a little 7 yr old girl to digest but ever since that day I have been hooked on genealogy!

The contributions that the wonderful Find A Grave volunteers have so kindly made have been a Godsend to all the Genealogy community! I cannot tell you the gratitude and respect I have for all the Find A Grave volunteers. Their great generosity is overwhelming!

♥¸.•*""*•.¸☆ Bless all of you! ☆¸.•*""*•.¸♥

Note: 4 April 2016 ~ While I have only a small collection of my ancestors' memorials here on Find A Grave, I take them very seriously and personally. I welcome any bonafide suggestions for edits, etc. Until this week I never realized that I would need to post this but ~~~ any demeaning or rude messages will not be tolerated. Find A Grave is a wonderful site that not only helps us locate our ancestors' final resting places but also brings long lost family members together. Let's all be kind and courteous. Thank you.