The STEVENS Family from Louisiana

I could be wrong but maybe it is the St Louis Cathedrals AAU club from New Orleans Louisiana in the local newspaper called the Times-Picayune. Even though many of these young men I assumed belonged to St Mary's Italian Parish Church down the street. This Photo appeared in the Times-Picayune some 30 or more years ago. Most of the players are Italian so my headline might be a little misleading. The photo was taken from an article that was frayed so I did not get all the names listed.

Some of the names Cardo, Borrello, Schambra, Scaffide (might be 2 Scaffides listed), Spirolo (is the coach on the right), Moosa, Di Nicola (2 Di Nicolas listed ... that is only the names I can make out.

This would not be a blog about family research unless I spent time discussion Ancestry.com.  Ancestry.com is the world’s largest online resource for family history, with more than 1.8 million paying subscribers around the world as of March 2012. Since starting as a publishing company in 1983, we have been a leader in the family history market for over 20 years and have helped pioneer the market for online family history research. 

They believe that most people have a fundamental desire to understand who they are and from where they came, and that anyone interested in discovering, preserving and sharing their family history is a potential user of Ancestry.com. They strive to make their service valuable to individuals ranging from the most committed family historians to those taking their first steps towards satisfying their curiosity about their family stories.

And I have to say they have and continue to hit the mark relative to providing tools to the genealogy researchers.  I have personally been a user of Family Tree Maker since the first release and with the new on-line sharing model the ability to find and cross reference key information is the best on the market. 

As a research professional the ability to find hard proof from census, birth, death or other key records is critical to ensuring our facts.  It has never been easier and especially with the hints (or what they call the shaky leaf).  The system does all the hard work and then you just have to validate that you have the correct association with that person.

And another feature I use extensively is the ability to compare your tree with others, and then leverage their research and move that data (if permissions allow) to your research.  I have found more lost relatives from this method.

I am now on Twitter and trying this format as another means to spead my family research.  Come follow me as I discuss my research, trips and more at...

I have created and will continue to update a Facebook group for my research.  You can access this site at...

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/groups/stevensfamilygenealogy/

Sciambra - Victor J. Sciambra, A Retired Salesman And Driver For Dixie Brewing Co., Died Saturday Of Heart Disease At Ferncrest Manor Nursing Home. He Was 85. Mr. Sciambra Was Born In New Orleans And Lived In Jefferson For More Than 50 Years. He Graduated From Warren Easton High School, Where He Was A Star Baseball Pitcher. After Graduation He Was Offered A Contract With The St. Louis Cardinals But Went To Work Instead. He Worked For Dixie For 41 Years And In A Shipyard During World War II. He Was A Parishioner Of St. Agnes Catholic Church And A Member Of Its Usher Society. Survivors Include A Sister, Clara Laura Sciambra. A Mass Will Be Said Tuesday At 2 P.M. At All Faiths Funeral Home, 5200 Canal Blvd. Visitation will begin At 9 A.M. burial will be In Greenwood Cemetery. Times Picayune 01-11-1999

Sciambra - Mena Massa Sciambra On Thursday, August 5, 2004. Beloved Wife Of Joseph A. Sciambra , Jr. Sister Of Frank B. Massa, Jr. And The Late Jack R. Massa. Aunt Of Frank B. Massa Iii. Daughter Of The Late Frank And Emma Orlesh Massa, Sr. She Is Survived By Many Loving Cousins And Friends. Relatives And Friends Are Invited To Attend The Funeral Mass On Saturday, August 7, 2004 At 1:00 Pm From The Chapel Of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. 'In Metairie Cemtery'. Interment Will Follow In Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum. Visitation Will Begin At 9:00 Am. Please View And Sign The Family Guest Book At www.Lakelawnmetairie.Com. Times Picayune 08-6-2004

Sciambra - Jacob H. Sciambra, A Lawyer And Former Jefferson Parish Judge And Council Member, Died Tuesday Of Congestive Heart Failure At Chateau Living Center. He Was 84. He Was The East Bank Councilman-At-Large For Jefferson Parish From 1964 To 1972 And Later Was Interim Judge Of 1st Parish Court In Jefferson. Mr. Sciambra Was Born In 1910 In The Family's Home Above A Bar And Grocery Store His Father Ran At Marigny And Dauphine Streets In New Orleans. He Lived In The New Orleans Area All His Life. He Graduated From Warren Easton High School, Loyola University And Loyola Law School. He Was In The Coast Guard During World War Ii. In A 1982 Interview, Mr. Sciambra Said His Parents, Giacomina And Henry Sciambra, Decided When He Was 9 That He Would Play The Piano. But When He Was 14, An Uncle Asked Him If He'd Be Interested In The Clarinet. 'And I Was Hooked, ' He Said. 'As Much As I Hated Practicing The Piano And Violin, That's How Much I Loved Practicing The Clarinet - 12 To 14 Hours A Day.' He Played In The Contessa Entellina And Roma Bands, The Major Marching Bands Of The Large Italian Immigrant Community That Lived In And Near The French Quarter Early In The Century. 'I Knew I Could Make A Living Playing Music, ' He Said, But He Chose Instead To Enter Loyola Law School After Leaving The Service At The End Of World War Ii. After Law School, He Entered Practice With Gretna Lawyer Jacob Amato And Specialized In Real Estate Law. As A Critic Of Uncontrolled Development In Jefferson's Burgeoning Suburbs, Mr. Sciambra Attracted The Attention Of Political Reformers And Won His Council Seat On The Donelon-Cronvich-Mollere Ticket, Named After Its Candidates For Parish President, Sheriff And Council Chairman, Respectively. After Two Terms, He Was Defeated For Re- lection In 1972 And Lost A Run For Parish President In 1976. After That, He Said, 'I Dropped Out Of Politics. I Had Done My Service.' Mr. Sciambra Was A Past President Of The Jefferson Bar Association, A Former Board Member And Officer Of East Jefferson General Hospital, And A Paul Harris Fellow And Member Of The Rotary Club Of Metairie. He Was A Member Of The Knights Of Columbus Council No. 3923, American Legion Post 267, The New Orleans Jazz Club, Musicians Union Local 174-496, And The Carnival Krewes Of Bacchus, Carrollton Mid-City. Survivors Include A Son, Jacob H. Sciambra Ii; A Daughter, Carol Ann Edwards; A Brother, John Sciambra; Three Sisters, Carolyn, Nettsie And Victoria; And Two Grandchildren. A Mass Will Be Said Friday At 2 P.M. At Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation Will Begin At Noon. Burial Will Be Private. 07-06-1995 Times Picayune

Sciambra - Antonia 'Denae' Catalano Sciambra, Age 100 Years, Died On Friday, March 11, 2005. Wife Of The Late 'Martin' Sciambra. Aunt Of Ruth Marshall And The Late George And Captain Chris Rieder. Godmother Of Beverly Koehl. Daughter Of The Late John And Virginia Catalano. Sister Of The Late Josephine Rieder, Mary Gausepohl, Lily Nuccio, Lena Maihles And Peter Catalano. Mrs. Sciambra Is Also Survived By One Stepson, One Stepdaughter, 13 Step Grandchildren And A Host Of Nieces And Nephews And Great Nieces And Nephews. She Was Employeed By The Former Solari's For 30 Years And The Former Gus Mayer For 12 Years. A Native Of New Orleans, La, Mrs Sciambra Was A Resident Of Lacombe Nursing Centre For The Past Ten Years, Where She Was Loved And Nurtured By The Entire Staff. Graveside Services Will Be Held At Metairie Cemetery, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd, New Orleans, La On Wednesday, March 16, 2005 At 1:30 Pm. St. Bernard Memorial Funeral Home In Charge Of Arrangements.Times Picayune 03-15-2005

Sciambra - Althea Kellogg Sciambra On Sunday, March 27, 2005 In Hammond, La. Age 90 Years. Born August 28, 1915. Wife Of The Late Harold Kellogg And Joseph Sciambra. Mother Of Ralph, Ronald And Robert Kellogg. Grandmother Of 5 And 4 Great-Grandchildren. Notice Of Death For All Interested Parties.Times Picayune 03-29-2005

The Stevens family has a very strong connection to the Sciambra family in Louisiana till this day.  The connection of the two families are very important for this connection provided the Italian blood into our English and Cajun (by marriage) connections.

I am in the process of working on the Sciambra line and found that they migrated over the late 1890 time frame from Palermo Italy to New Orleans. I would like to share one of these stories of Gioachino Sciambra and Victoria Vitrano who came to America on board the SS Maurice & Reunion arriving on 03 May 1897 with the entire family.

On the passenger list was...

(Log #, Name, Sex, Age, Location From) 13, SCIAMBRA GIOACCHINO, M, 38, Contessa Entellina 14, VETRANO VITTORIA, F, 38, Contessa Entellina 15, SCIAMBRA ANDREA, M, 16, Contessa Entellina 16, SCIAMBRA CALOGERA, F, 13, Contessa Entellina 17, SCIAMBRA ANTONINO, M, 11, Contessa Entellina 18, SCIAMBRA ANTONINA, F, 8, Contessa Entellina 19, SCIAMBRA MARIA, F, 7, Contessa Entellina 20, SCIAMBRA CONCETTA, F, 6, Contessa Entellina 21, SCIAMBRA ANNA, F, 3, Contessa Entellina 22, SCIAMBRA GIOVANNA, F, 1, Contessa Entellina

Also listed at the end of the log is...

96, SCIAMBRA MAURICE GIOACCHINO, Contessa Entellina

This Sciambra family was a foundation for the influx of this family line and what was going to be more on the way. The original passenger list...

The complete list of passengers who arrived in New Orleans can be found at http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/orleans/history/ships/00000039.txt.