When we met cousin Tonino Girardi in Prata, he wanted us to meet his good friend Giuseppe Vitale, thinking he might be related. A couple of days later we went to Giuseppe’s home in Prata, where he and his wife welcomed us with coffee around the kitchen table. Giuseppe gave me the names of his parents and grandparents, and said his grandfather, Nicola Vitale, was born in 1882 in Prata.
The next day I went to the archives and searched for Nicola. I did not find a birth record for him in the early 1880s in Prata. Naturally, after we left the archives that day I realized that I should have looked for him in Pratola Serra. Fortunately I have access to the Pratola Serra records on microfilm back home, so I’ll check for him there. If all else fails, I know I can hire Joe DeSimone to help with the research back in Italy.
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