We've
made a lot of progress. Fortunately, we've been able to bring David
Agostini on board, and he has been a pivot point in that progress. I corresponded with David by email in 2013, after he had earlier sent me a copy of his book, The Ancestors. That correspondence unfortunately came to a halt largely,
not wholly, because of work and other related "life pressures" on my
part. When Patrick Vella and I established contact in 2015, my
enthusiasm was renewed, and Patrick was the driving force in
accomplishing more in Govia family history and genealogy in a few months
than I had over a lifetime. Literally. Patrick's IT knowledge and eye
for detail far surpassed anything I'd previously done, and I was frankly
astounded and delighted. The reactions in Govia family circles was no
less than mine. It was like a cyclone coming through and changing the
landscape. My late brother Mike, who departed this world on May 12 this
year, provided Patrick with the answers he'd been looking for, and that
proved to be a major breakthrough for Patrick. It just goes to show that
while technology is great, it can only go so far. The "old timers" like
Mike (and David) are key sources to making any progress, and without
them it would not be possible, or progress would be very slow, if at
all.
We reached a point where Patrick and I felt there was little more we could do, and since doing family history is an unpaid hobby, we both had other priority "real world" responsibilities. Patrick established, however, that he had connections to the Agostinis as well, and that generated his interest in Agostini family history (See below). So once again using his IT knowledge, Patrick generated a huge Agostini genealogy database, which also very much impressed David.
That database has so far only been shared within a small circle, but hopefully will eventually be available to everyone. We are still working on extending it, and that's where your help is needed if you can provide information about your family history.
David proved to be a major breakthrough for us, and very kindly provided us copies of documents he obtained during his visits to Corsica, and that included information which wasn't shared in his book The Ancestors. The basics of what we know so far is that there were two Gasparos in Simon's line:
Gasparo Agostini, father of Poletto. Poletto Agostini, father of Gasparo. Gasparo Agostini, father of Simon. So it's Gasparo-Poletto-Gasparo-Simon.
The Agostini family database created by Patrick, which is the primary source of this project, is quite large and contains much more detailed information about Simon's descendants, and will include you if you're related to Simon.
Inquiries, corrections or submissions:
Patrick Vella: patvella@gmail.com
Ray Agostini: rayagostini3@gmail.com
Patrick Vella:
My first contact with the Agostini family was a year ago when I made contact with Ray, while researching my Govia ancestors. We exchanged a number of emails over the course of a few months before he passed me on to Mike his older brother who provided key information related to my grandmother.
Although my primary focus was, and still is, the Govia family genealogy, the Agostini family provided me with a window into my Govia roots due to intermarriage between the two families.
Ena Govia, the mother of Ray and Mike was the initial link that connected the two families. One family was part of the Madeiran exodus to the West Indies fleeing religious persecution and attracted by socio-economic factors, the other a family from Corsica fleeing for political reasons as well as economic ones. Both families also had ties in Venezuela. The two families also show up again in the Philip family with their two daughters Irma and Ena, Irma marrying Edward Govia, the brother of my grandmother and Ena marrying Goldney Agostini, first cousin, once removed of Ray.
Whilst I sometimes feel I am prying into the Agostini family and invading their privacy by researching the Agostini genealogy, I know that my efforts are at least being recognised and appreciated by the few who remain interested in the history of the Family. Simply put, the documentation of the genealogy into one single document which is easily searchable, and relatively quickly generated, is simply not being done, except for the excellent work by David Agostini, Father Anthony de Verteuil, and the online tree by Wayne Agostini.
As Ray rightly points out, information technology can only go so far. Digital genealogical data can only be retrieved if it has been stored, hopefully online, in the first place. Key primary sources remain the older generation of the family who continue to provide priceless genealogical information, memories and stories that were handed down to them.
This feeble attempt at documenting the Agostini family is in a way a small thanks to the family that has provided me with answers and a gateway into my own maternal grandmother’s ancestors.
- Patrick Vella, 6 November 2016
Patrick Vella:
My first contact with the Agostini family was a year ago when I made contact with Ray, while researching my Govia ancestors. We exchanged a number of emails over the course of a few months before he passed me on to Mike his older brother who provided key information related to my grandmother.
Although my primary focus was, and still is, the Govia family genealogy, the Agostini family provided me with a window into my Govia roots due to intermarriage between the two families.
Ena Govia, the mother of Ray and Mike was the initial link that connected the two families. One family was part of the Madeiran exodus to the West Indies fleeing religious persecution and attracted by socio-economic factors, the other a family from Corsica fleeing for political reasons as well as economic ones. Both families also had ties in Venezuela. The two families also show up again in the Philip family with their two daughters Irma and Ena, Irma marrying Edward Govia, the brother of my grandmother and Ena marrying Goldney Agostini, first cousin, once removed of Ray.
Whilst I sometimes feel I am prying into the Agostini family and invading their privacy by researching the Agostini genealogy, I know that my efforts are at least being recognised and appreciated by the few who remain interested in the history of the Family. Simply put, the documentation of the genealogy into one single document which is easily searchable, and relatively quickly generated, is simply not being done, except for the excellent work by David Agostini, Father Anthony de Verteuil, and the online tree by Wayne Agostini.
As Ray rightly points out, information technology can only go so far. Digital genealogical data can only be retrieved if it has been stored, hopefully online, in the first place. Key primary sources remain the older generation of the family who continue to provide priceless genealogical information, memories and stories that were handed down to them.
This feeble attempt at documenting the Agostini family is in a way a small thanks to the family that has provided me with answers and a gateway into my own maternal grandmother’s ancestors.
- Patrick Vella, 6 November 2016
