Constantly overwhelmed by questions about her ancestors and “everything they were forced to sacrifice and endure during their time on this earth”, she embarked on a journey of discovery.
Born in Melbourne to Italian parents from the province of Foggia – Michele Tartaglione from San Severo and Pasqualina Zeoli from Castelnuovo della Daunia who married by proxy –, Josephine had already traced her family tree back to the late 1700s.
But she now proudly boasts a confirmed genealogical lineage as far back as the 1600s on her father’s side.
Driven by a deep need to reconnect in some way with her parents (her father passed away at 56 in 1981 when she was just 17, and her mother 15 years later in 1997), Josephine recently decided to return to Italy to conduct more research.
Starting with some information about her grandparents and their hometowns, she first made use of two specific websites: FamilySearch, a nonprofit organisation with thousands of volunteers worldwide run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Italian site Antenati. She also visited the Family History Centre in Wantirna.
During this laboursome period, she met Pasquale Antonino, a distant relative living in Bologna. The two share the same great-great-grandfather, Leonardo Tartaglione. Antonino became an essential support in collecting information remotely.
Last September, while in Italy for a cousin’s wedding, she decided to give her research another go, this time by focusing especially on her maternal lineage.
With the help of a genealogist from Benevento and the availability of the local parish priest, Don Domenico, she was able to access the archives of the church of Santa Croce del Sannio.
“It was fantastic because I managed to find several documents relating to my mother’s family,” she revealed, “I was able to trace back about a hundred years, and now I’m at the beginning of the 1800s.”
Despite various challenges like ancestors undergoing name changes, the evolution of the Italian language, Latin translations and the nearly indecipherable handwriting of some priests, Josephine never gave up.
Recently, she uncovered the story of a paternal ancestor, Nicola Niro, a Neapolitan revolutionary involved in the uprisings of San Severo in 1799 who escaped by fleeing.
Tartaglione now dreams of one day living in Italy for a few years and writing a small book to give to her relatives and her two daughters so that the past is never forgotten.
“The few times I’ve visited Italy, I felt a sense of belonging with my distant relatives and realised how much I had missed,” she shared.
“I was always ‘the Australian niece or cousin’ and, over time, I came to understand that I really wanted to discover my heritage, which has undoubtedly influenced me.”
Anyone interested in reconstructing their own family tree can reach out to Josephine Tartaglione for tips and advice via email.
