To know from where and of whom we come
This site is dedicated to my mother, a great knowledge fighter of those who were before her, to them, to those who are still here and the ones to come. This is an open book full of knowledge to know from where and of whom we come, who we are and so that our family history based on a hundred years printed pictures don’t get lost or destroyed, for this and much more, I hope that everyone and each of you enjoy it.
Roots, memory, horizons
We know where we come from, where we are standing, and with them we will know where we want to go, even if it is up to the stars or farther away.
Roots
To know from where and of whom we come, who we are. How important are our roots!
Memory
So that our family history based on a hundred years printed pictures don’t get lost or destroyed.
Horizons
To them, to those who are still here and the ones to come.
A beautiful story
- Altopascio, Lucca
Many years ago John Giovanni Franceschini was born in the town of Altopascio, in the province of Lucca, a beautiful region of Toscana…
He met Selvira Toschi in his youth, a young girl that enchanted him. What was it? Were her green eyes? Her black hair? Who knows, they fell in love and got married.
Giovanni decided to immigrate to America, to Argentina, looking for a new beginning or running away from the family, it seems his family wasn’t very happy with the chosen one.
- Barrio San Vicente, Córdoba
What is known is that this young couple was established in Argentina, in the province of Córdoba, in Barrio San Vicente. Giovanni began working in the trade business and Selvira dedicated herself to take care of her husband and children as they were born.
They had fourteen children! Of their offspring two died as children and two more when they were older.
The names of 8 of their children were: John Dante, John, Romualdo, Américo, María, Emilia, Teresita and Armando. Some of their kids got married and settled in Córdoba, others moved to Buenos Aires.
- Italy · France
One of them, John Dante, my grandfather, was sent to Italy. But as an adventurous and rebel young man he went to France, but this is another story.
- Alta Gracia, Córdoba
My father Ronald Dante (Ronnie), Giovanni’s grandson, was born in England and came to Buenos Aires as a young boy. He lived in Buenos Aires and in Alta Gracia, Córdoba, at the Sierras Hotel.
- San Carlos de Bariloche
As a grown man, along with the family he created with Ana María, his eternal girlfriend, he searched for new horizons in San Carlos de Bariloche.
- United States · Buenos Aires
Another of Giovanni and Selvira’s grandsons, Arnold Rómulo, emigrated to the United States along with his wife and children.
There was another sweet and kind grandson, John Remo, who lived in Buenos Aires.
Grandmother Selvira, the one of green eyes, “I wished I had my mother’s green eyes” said Teresita, was named in the land that lived and loved Giovanni by mistake Elvira.
And the leaves of the tree created by Giovanni and Selvira multiplied, each one of them will have their own story.
This is a short story and I wished I could add more precise information, anecdotes and pictures.
I feel great emotion in writing this story, I’m working in unveiling relationships, memories, itineraries, etc. How important are our roots!
Would you like to join this story? To this genealogical tree?
To the memory of Giovanni and Selvira.
Photographs and documents
Click or tap an image to enlarge it.
Los Originales
Juan D. Franceschini, eldest son of Giovanni and Selvira
Geraldine Greasley de Franceschini, daughter-in-law of Giovanni
Juan D. Franceschini in Córdoba
Juan D. Franceschini in Córdoba with friends
Juan D. in Alta Gracia
Juan D. Franceschini at the Sierras Hotel (right)
Juan D. Franceschini in…
Dante (Ronnie) Franceschini at the Sierras Hotel
Geraldine Franceschini (right) in Córdoba with friends
Granny, her mother and her sister
Geraldine Franceschini, wife of Juan Dante, and her children
Margaret Gaughie, mother-in-law of Juan Franceschini, and Auntie
Geraldine Franceschini, widow of Juan Dante
Remo, Arnold and Dante Franceschini
Ronnie and Remo Franceschini in Córdoba
Remo Franceschini, Genius!
View of Alta Gracia from the Sierras Hotel
Remo Franceschini and Nélida, his wife
Ronnie Franceschini at his baptism
Bibí González Sueyro Franceschini, Doodie Franceschini and Maité, Bibí’s sister
Atilio Bozala, Ronnie F., Pirin Miller, Ana Miller, cousins, Nora F. and baby Romina
Ronnie, grandson of Giovanni and Selvira, with his wife Ana María
Teresita, daughter of Giovanni and Selvira, with her granddaughters
Ronnie and Ana Franceschini in Llao Llao
Ronnie, grandson of Giovanni and Selvira, at his 80th birthday
Documents
Altopascio: location
Argentine census of 1895: Franceschini Giovanni
Baptism certificate of Ronnie Franceschini
Birth certificate of Ronnie Franceschini
Research and bibliography
- Family Search on the internetwww.familysearch.org (opens in a new tab)
- MicrofilmThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsAda M. Elflein y E. Frey - Bariloche - R.N. Argentina
- www.cemla.com (opens in a new tab)
- www.geneanet.org (opens in a new tab)
- www.genargentina.com (opens in a new tab)
- Civil Registry of the Province of Buenos Aireswww.registrocivil.gov.ar · site no longer available
- www.paginebianche.it (opens in a new tab)
- www.comune.altopascio.lu.it (opens in a new tab)
- www.comune.montecarlo.lu.it (opens in a new tab)
- www.theitalianheritage.it (opens in a new tab)
- www.apellidositalianos.com.ar (opens in a new tab)
- Argentina 1895 census online(family search)
- www.genealogy.com (opens in a new tab)
- www.gedlink.com (opens in a new tab)
- www.statistics.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
- www.italianancestry.com · site no longer available
- www.dmassolo.com.ar · site no longer available
Roots, leaves and flowers
The tree is under construction.
Would you like to join this story? To this genealogical tree?
Write to usAcknowledgments
- To my son Gastón, for his kind and constant participation and collaboration, without his knowledge this web wouldn’t exist.
- To Tano, for his advice and the first translation.
- To Bibí González Sueyro Franceschini, for her letters and her sensitive information.
- To Estela Franceschini, from Córdoba, who always listened to me and shared her memories.
- To Armandito Franceschini, for his information and his kind help for helping me put the family puzzle together.
- To the Altopascio and Montecarlo communities for their quick responses.
- To Family Search, where I spent uncountable hours looking for information, where Flor and Carmen always welcomed me with a smile.
- To Carmencita and Florencia of the Family History Center, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who always welcomed me warmly and with a smile.
- To Daniela Massolo because I enjoyed reading her web and learned a lot from her.