According to this, I am 25% Italian, 37.5% German, 18.75% English, 12.5% Scottish, and 6.25% Irish.
MY FATHER: Robert Michael Tamasi (b. 1948 Salem, OR, USA)
BOB'S FATHER: Michael Tamasi, Jr. (b. 1911 Des Moines, IA, USA)
His father was Michele Tamasi, born July 11, 1883 in Carpinone  , Italy; his mother was Maria Valente, born March 20, 1881, also from Carpinone. They were married in 1901, and had their first son, Nicklaus Tamasi, in 1902. He was born at home on Via Aquilonia, the main street in Carpinone.
As my aunt Gina (the source of this history) understands it, in 1903 Michele left Italy with a cousin and some friends for the "New World". He did not pass through Ellis Island in the United States, like so many other Italian immigrants, but traveled to Canada first. Eventually Michele (my great-grandfather) settled in Des Moines, Iowa, and sent for (my great-grandmother) Maria and little Nick to join him.
Both my Michele and Maria were only children. When they married in 1901, Michele's parents were both already dead. Maria's parents went to live with Michele and Maria in Iowa before dying. My great-grandparents' house burnt to the ground when my grandfather, Mike Tamasi, Jr., was growing up, so we don't have a lot of old pictures, letters, or info from the "Old Country".
Carpinone is full of Tamasis because in the 1600's many farmers from Hungary immigrated to Italy and settled in the Abruzzo Province (now Molise). They left Hungary because there was drought and famine. If you look at a map you'll see that it's a straight shoot from Hungary to the region of Abruzzo in Italy.
BOB'S MOTHER: Clara Elizabeth Cairns (Bette Tamasi) (b. 1926 Edmondton, Alberta, Canada)
Bette's father was Charles V. Cairns, a Scotsman and a furniture factory rep; her mother was Irene Thorley, an English woman
MY MOTHER: Sally Jane Sutter (Sally Tamasi) (b. 1947 Kansas City, MO)
SALLY'S FATHER: Edward Herman Sutter (b. 1907 Kingfisher, OK, USA)
Under Construction!
SALLY'S MOTHER: Genevieve Maria Gardner (Genevieve Sutter) (b. 1907 Leavenworth, KS, USA)
Her father: John Edward Gardner, born c. 1890, in Kansas; his father Robert Gardner was English, his mother Agnes (maiden name unknown) was Irish.
Her mother: Mathilda Marie Hilpert, was German and born in Germany, c. 1890; her father's name was Gregory Hilpert.
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