How Did We "Reunite"?

By Ray Paglieri. 

Over the years,  be it school, or employment, I have lived in different parts of the country. Oftentimes, different people would point out to me that there were people that likely were relatives of mine living in other parts of their communities. Pagliara, Pagliero, Pagliaci, but never a Paglieri. I was convinced that the only relatives that I had in America were those of my Dad's immediate family.

My brother Rob and his wife Evelyn, both of whom will be at the reunione are supporters of a charitable organization named Covenant  House. Some of you are aware that Wayne Paglieri has been very involved with this same organization for many years.  In the course of his work, my sister-in-law Evelyn Paglieri's name crossed paths with Wayne.  Shortly thereafter, Wayne reached out to Evelyn expressing the thought that they may be related. They exchanged emails with the thought of exploring this further.  After some time passed, I took it upon myself to email Wayne.  After all of these years, it was the first time that a Paglieri became known to me.

Wayne set up a zoom meeting so that we could talk. The connection was far closer than I could possibly have imagined.  My Dad, Raffael (Ralph) Paglieri emigrated to America at the age of 3 months in 1909.  He was one of 9 children.  His oldest brother was named Giuseppe. As it turns out, that same Giuseppe was my Uncle. His son Charles, Wayne's Dad, was my cousin.  As a matter of fact, at the age of 2 years, I attended Charles' wedding. That would have been some 73 years ago.  With great pleasure, Wayne and I, along with my younger brother Rob collaborated on this ancestry project. Also assisting us in our research have been my cousins Luigina & Nicoletta, who cannot attend on March 30th, but will connect remotely from their home outside of Rome. 

So this is how we started the family reunion on March 30th and the outreach to previously unconnected family members here in the US and Italy.