Navigational Hints & Tips

Last update 19.Jan.1998 01:30 ET


I. General
Information
Home | Navigational Hints & Tips | Guest Book
Notes | Italian Genealogy | Salaparuta | Salaparuta Families
II. Generation 1 to 6 Family A
Generation 6 to 11 Family B Family C Family D Family E Family F Family G Family H Family I


These Navigational Hints and Tips are designed to help you to find your way around the web site, to help you find particular individuals and families in the Family Charts, to explain how the charts are organized and what the various symbols mean that appear on the charts.

The web site is separated into two distinct sections:

General Information contains an introduction to our family and to the towns in western Sicily where the family came from - primarily Salaparuta.

The Graffagnino Family Descendant Charts consist of a rather long list of all individuals who have descended from a single ancestor, Don Alerio Graffagnino, born in 1655.  To avoid having to list too many individuals in any one chart, the family has been divided into separate "Families" consisting of six generations each.  This effectively produces a two-tiered arrangement, such that Family A contains Don Alerio at the top, followed by six generations of his descendants, while the second tier contains the descendants of as many individuals in Generation Six as we can document.

To date we have identified and contacted present day family members living all over the United States, as well as one family in France - and of course a few, like Father Baldassare Graffagnino, who still live in Salaparuta.

To each Graffagnino family which we have identified, I have arbitrarily assigned a letter name, simply for ease of reference.  (And it also makes life easier for us computer-people!)  So far eight distinct families have been identified - Family B through Family I.  Each of these families has at its head, one member of Generation Six in Family A, and at least one descendant alive today who has provided us with information about the current whereabouts of the various members of that family.

If you are not lost or confused yet, you may proceed, but I warn you it only gets worse!

Each family chart is organized and displayed the same way, containing the name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, and for spouses only, date and place of marriage.  Each chart shows the oldest member of the family at the top, followed immediately by his or her spouse(s), then any children in birth date order.  Look at this example from Family A:

Nav Name date and place of birth date and place of death
or residence
all "Papa" Graffagnino children [Family A] (see Note 6) 1620 Salaparuta, Sicily  
allparent 1Don Alerio Graffagnino children 1655 Salaparuta, Sicily  
1mGiovanna Rinado c.1655  
allparent 2Magistrò Pietro Graffagnino children 1685 Salaparuta, Sicily 17.May.1740
2mLaura Cavallaro c.1685  
allparent 3Alerio Graffagnino c.1710 Salaparuta, Sicily  
allparent 3Giovanna Graffagnino 12.Mar.1712 Salaparuta, Sicily   

The Head of Family is shown in blue on the first line of each chart.  If this person's spouse is known, it is usually shown on a slightly darker background shade of yellow than the remaining indiviudals in the chart.

Preceding each individual name is a red numeral indicating the number of generations between that individual and the paternal family source, here shown only as "Papa" Graffagnino.  Don Alerio, his son, is in generation 1, Alerio's son, Pietro, is generation 2, etc.

Each succeeding generation is indented according to the number of generations separating the individual from the top of the chart.  Spouses, indicated by the symbolm are also indented one space to the right of his or her partner, aligning the spouse with any children of the marriage.

If there are multiple marriages, all spouses are shown immediately following the direct family descendant and prior to any children of either marriage.  In order to determine of which marriage each child is a product, you must compare the spouse's marriage date to the birth date of the child.

Approximate birth dates are shown for all individuals, whether or not such information is documented.  These approximated dates are shown preceded by "c.", a shortened form of the Latin circa, meaning "approximately", for example, "c.1712" indicates an individual born "approximately 1712".

If the birth date of a spouse is not known, it will be displayed as circa the birth date of the partner.  If the birth date of a first child is not known, it is assumed to be 21 years after the birth of the mother, or one year after the marriage date of the parents, whichever seems more reasonable. Subsequent children are assumed to have been born in consecutive years following the first child if more precise information is not known.

The first column of the Family Chart, labeled "Nav", contains two graphic "Navigational" symbols, all, the "ALL" button, and parent, the "PARENT" button. In addition, next to every individual with children, the "CHILD" button child will appear.

The action performed by each of these "buttons" is explained in the chart below:
The following NAVIGATIONAL SYMBOLS can be used to
expand and/or to limit the number of individuals and
generations displayed in the chart below, as well as to
reposition the family members in the display window.
all Expands the chart to include all individuals, and positions the
clicked individual at the top of the display window.
parent Limits the display to the generation containing the individual clicked,
and places the individual's parent at the top of the window.
children Limits the display to include the clicked individual's children, and
positions the clicked individual at the top of the display window.
photo Links directly to a page containing a photograph
of the individual

Because each individual in a family chart is immediately followed by his or her spouse(s), and the children of their marriage, plus the spouses and children of their children, etc., there may be several individuals separating two siblings in any family.  There may in fact be as many as 4 or 5 generations of descendants of any single individual separating that individual from his or her next sibling.

In order to "condense" a family unit into a more compact and comprehensible format, use the "PARENT" button.  When clicked, a new version of the chart will be displayed containing only enough generations to include the individual clicked.  In addition the display will be positioned such that the individual's parent is at the top of the display window.

Clicking the "PARENT" button for the Head of Family, i.e. the individual in Generation 6 at the top of the chart, will redisplay Family A at a position showing the parents of that family head, in Generation 5, at the top of the display window.

To be continued...


I. General
Information
Top | Home | Navigational Hints & Tips | Guest Book
Notes | Italian Genealogy | Salaparuta | Salaparuta Families
II. Generation 1 to 6 Family A
Generation 6 to 11 Family B Family C Family D Family E Family F Family G Family H Family I