JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — In Jefferson County, a new effort is helping families trace where they came from — and preserving the stories that helped build the Ohio Valley.
Through a partnership with the Carnegie Museum, the Jefferson County Historical Association is working to preserve the history of Italian immigrants who settled throughout the region. Organizers are collecting information from community members, starting with names and hometowns, and turning that into a visual record inside the museum.
“The way we want to show that information is upstairs in our Italian room we have a large map of Italy on the wall,” association treasurer Joan McGlone said. “And we are asking people who participate in the survey to place a pin on the map indicating where their ancestors came from.”
But the project goes beyond a map. It is also documenting the journeys and sacrifices families made to start over in a new country — stories that shaped generations in the Ohio Valley.
“It’s a heck of a thing to leave a country and come over like my great grandmother did with a two-year-old and a four-year old, walk across goat trails or whatever in the middle of Italy,” association volunteer Ed Palombizio said. “Try to find Naples, try to find a boat, and you only speak your dialect, and you get on the boat, you come over here with these two kids, and you’re living in a cargo hold or whatever, and why? Because you want to give your kids, your grandchildren, a better life.”
The museum’s celebration of Italian heritage also highlights one of the Ohio Valley’s most famous Italian American entertainers, Dean Martin. With newer items being added to the exhibit, experts said they continue to welcome donations connected to local families and the region’s Italian American history.
“It’s always fascinating when someone brings something in, especially when we know something about it to begin with and they bring in something in that we actually recognize,” association volunteer Keith Johnson said. “And that was the case with this photograph from the Camerolango family. And they were Dean’s friends. There’s four or five of them.”
Organizers are also looking for volunteers.