Welcome to My Family

How are we related?  

One day I asked my cousin Frank this very question back in 1994.  His father, Rosario Camuglia, and my father, Rosario Camuglia were both from Castiglione di Sicilia.  They were cousins but my father called the senior Rosario "Zio" or uncle because he was much older.  They had a special relationship, you could tell from photos, letters, family trips back and forth in upstate New York.  They shared postcards from trips back to the homeland.   
      Frank and I knew we were related but we didn't know how.  Frank knew my grandparents as his uncle and aunt.  Uncle Sam and Aunt Grace were known to everyone in central New York.  There real names were Salvatore and Grazia.  So, our quest to find out how we were related, what happened in Sicily to make everyone leave a place they still talk about, and to put together a family genealogy that we felt our children and grandchildren should have was started. 
      And Frank and I began a special relationship.  I would call and talk to him on the phone.  He would send me artifacts, letters, and "the family book" which was a directory of all the Camuglia families in the world, about 500 families listed mostly in New York, Sicily, and various parts of Australia.  Frank and I were both from New York, our parents settling there after arriving in NYC, then meeting up with other relatives in Oneida, Rochester, Buffalo,Staten Island, and Marlboro. 
      Frank was almost 30 years older than I.  He never met his grandparents and worse than that, he could not remember their names.  He had four brothers.  His father had three brothers.  There were relatives in Australia, some first cousins, but he never met them.  There were Austalian and Italian relatives who visited our families throughout the years.  Families from northern Australia, Sydney and Castiglione.   There was a story of a doctor, some war stories, relatives who wanted to be a part of the American army and live the American dream. Relatives had similar illnesses and problems  There were stories concerning an olive grove.  Relatives also dreamed of one day returning to Sicily, the beloved Castiglione di Sicilia.  And both Rosario visited there and returned to the USA and the senior Zio eventually returned to be buried there.
      My first step was to contact all of Frank's brothers.  The family book was not very helpful.  It was about 20 years old.  People moved away, remarried, died, and last names changed.  It was going to be some work, but with a last name like "Camuglia", I did not think it would be too hard.  It is not like Smith or Jones!
      So my journey began.   Where is my family?  Why are they all over the world?  Why did families separate?  What are they doing now?  There was something in me that had too many questions and a burning desire to find out the answers.