A quick multi-cache.
A me bedda bisnonna ❤️
(Sicilian meaning “my beautiful great grandmother.”).
No one said a prayer or hello to her at her grave for over 100 years. She was lost for all that time.
Alfia D’Agostino was from Linguaglossa, Catania, Sicily. She stood 4’ 9” and had dark chestnut hair. She was the mother of six girls and one boy. She and her husband Antonio Leonardi and their older children were among the many immigrants from Italy that came to the United States around the turn of the 20th century in pursuit of a better life.
They worked hard as produce farmers plowing the fields with horses and tending the crops by hand. Alfia sewed the family's clothing, including the beautiful clothing worn in the photo included on this cache page. (Click "photo" to see the family portrait.) They did well in their new country.
Sadly, Alfia died in October, 1918, a victim of the “Spanish Flu” pandemic. Nearly 200,000 Americans died from the flu in October, 1918 making it the deadliest month in American history. In total approximately 50 million people worldwide perished. 675,000 in the United States alone.
Family lore said that she was “taken away and buried in a mass grave” somewhere in Rome, New York. My grandmother, her brother and five sisters always wanted to visit their mother’s grave but were never able to find it. My uncle tried for years to find the gravesite but also came up empty.
One day I made promise to him and my grandmother’s last remaining sister that I would find it. I searched on and off again for years to no avail. No one knew where this “mass grave” was located.
Then a pandemic happened again! It revived my interest and my determination to keep my promise even though my uncle and my great aunt had since both passed away.
I turned to Facebook and a group for the City of Rome, specifically. Many people had ideas and speculation but one woman knew someone that worked for cemeteries in the area. Maybe he would know something… He came through for me!
There was no “mass grave” after all! She was buried in an unmarked grave in the family plot belonging to the Real family. We learned that families that had purchased large family plots were asked to donate some to the many pandemic victims in the city when they ran out of space otherwise.
In 2023 my cousins and I had this monument made for her as a lasting memorial to her memory. She was lost but never forgotten and now is found.
If you go to the south east corner of this cemetery you’ll find many graves of people who also parished in the pandemic (1918-1920). This was as close to a “mass grave” as I could find. I believe there are many more in the cemetery that are also unmarked as my bisnonna was for over 100 years.
To find the coordinates to this cache answer this question: How old was Alfia when she died? (Click the Certitude button below.)
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.
Thank you for taking the time to visit a me bedda bisnonna, keeping her memory alive.
Please obey all cemetery rules, and of course, be respectful to those who may be visiting loved ones here.
CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 DSLATER529 FOR BEING FIRST TO FIND! 🎉