Following this introduction you will see a list of Susan and Peter's children. The pictures are arranged via the order of birth of Grandmom's & Grandpop's children. Click on a relative to view their family. i.e. Grandmom's daughter Lillian will have Maryann and Nick Ciocca's Family, as well as Patty Monaco's. Grandmom's son, Sonny (Joe Sr.) would have Sharon and Joey Brancato jr. (as well as his in-laws).
Everyone is encouraged to e-mail pictures to us at family@hamcontact.com so that we can add them to this page. Old pictures of relatives as well as current are requested. Also, I have compiled an extensive family tree, so send in those birth, marriage and other important dates family stories, etc. To learn more about how to upload family information, click here
TO ALL WHO READ THIS: I consider my family one of the greatest blessings in my life. Everyone of them has been a tremendous gift. I wish I could go back in time so that I could re-visit those that have left us. Grandmom was a beautiful woman, both inside and out. She was the most loving grandmother in the world. One time when she was visting, Grandmom thought my dad shouldn't have yelled at me. After noticing that she was very quiet, my dad asked "Are you mad at me mom?" She replied "No, mister". We still laugh about that time. And could she cook! I'll never forget another time I was little. I think it was a Sunday and we had just eaten a big meal at my parents house, anyway we visited gradmom and she of course offered some chicken soup with pastina. (I never remember a time not eating at grandmom's, it would have been an insult not to eat.) I was already stuffed and declined but, being Italian, she didn't give up. Needless to say I had at least one, maybe two bowls of soup. After I ate, my grandmom smiled and said "See, I told you, you were hungry." What could I say? She spoke in broken english, and would sometimes sing at my request. She would sometimes use her cane to "hook" us. Her commode on 10th Street still has the vanity mirror about four and a half feet from the floor. (At about 4" 10", Height is not a trait of the Brancato women). Boy was she fun to be around.
How I miss Uncle Harry (Aunt Bea's husband) corny jokes "Cheap at half the price........Hold this while I call a cop...etc.", He was a real treasure, and those back rubs that he'd give...I don't know if I enjoyed them because he was strong, or because he stopped and it didn't hurt anymore. He was a very dominant paternal image in our family. He was always there when someone was needed.
I'll never forget Aunt Flo's eggrolls or her oriental furniture. When I was a little boy, I really thought Aunt Flo was part Chinese! When I visited Grandmom, I never realized that the woman on the other side of the telephone conversation named "Florence" was Aunt Flo!
Another treasure was Aunt Dorothy (Another awesome cook). I would always look forward to her visiting us with her family from California. She would love to dance, and yes, she told me she liked and would dance to "Jethro Tull" (I witnessed it). When she and Suzy Murtha (now Rogers) moved out here around 1972, they bought our house at 2652 S. Hobson St, in SW Philly. We then moved to 102 Chester Pike in Ridley Park.
Aunt Helen and her husband Uncle Nick Barbera lived in New Jersey, as did Uncle Anthony and Uncle Bobby. Uncle Bobby and Aunt Helen lived on Skeet Rd., and it was SAND! Aunt Helen and her husband Uncle Nick had a beautiful tri-colored collie called "Lady". I always wondered about Unlce Nick, somehow he had a lottery before Pennsylvania did, except it was called "The numbers" ;-)
Uncle Joe Palermo (Aunt Jenny's husband) also passed away while I was very young. I remember watching the "Batman" tv series at his house on Percy street. The introduction to the show was animated and as he walked in he said "Oh, it's a cartoon?". I remember him as a soft-spoken gentle man. Aunt Jenny loves him very much
Uncle Bobby was fun. He and his family had a barn and horses and lots of interesting stuff to see. Plus "Little Bobby" and "Petey" were there, and they were fun, because they were older. (Aunt Annie, "Little Annie" and Dorthea were there too, but they were girls).
Uncle Anthony and his wife Aunt Edith had a BEAUTIFUL home full of antiques. In fact, Uncle Anthony and Uncle Bobby dealt in antiques. I forget which one of Uncle Anthony's girls told me "You never knew when your bed would be sold from under you". He had beautiful grandfather clocks, but I really loved his
Dutch paintings. I could look at them for hours, they were so well painted. He fought in the CBI (China, Burma, India) theater during World War 2. Boy, some of the stories he told about flying over the Burmese hump in a C-47 were interesting.
Aunt Lil and her husband Uncle Joe Monaco. She was a real gentle lady. I look at my beautiful cousin MaryAnn Ciocca and see Aunt Lil. Uncle Joe was a kick. An Electrician by trade, he MADE a transmitter/receiver during the second world war so that he could find out what was going on in the world. Problem was IT WAS ILLEGAL to use a 2-way radio during the duration of the war! Needless to say he got a visit from our
government who promptly seized it
Chippy was the youngest of the children. Born in 1939, he was close to the same age as some of grandmom's first grandchildren (Can I mention your name here Rosalie?). He was always a gentleman. He played drums professionally most of his life. I loved going pistol and rifle shooting and hunting with him. He seemed to like little compact stuff, (short carbine rifles, compact binoculars, Toyota Pick-ups, etc,.) He drove a Cadillac most of his life (ok, a little
contradiction about the small stuff). I am God-father to one of his three beautiful daughters (Susan, his first-born). I love them all as if they were my own.
Uncle Adrian (Aunt Do's Husband) was another gentle person in our family. He would always smoke cigars. And
Please send pictures of your extended family, i.e. your in-laws, and of course your "children" that either have four legs or 2 wings. This will allow many of us that do not live near each other to get "See" each other. Please be sure to e-mail your comments after visiting this page. This will allow us to correct any mistakes and add you to the e-mail address list.
 | I Remember........ Fond memories that others have shared |
|
Group shots of the family |
 | This is our Family Tree |
 | Lillian |
 | Jenny |
 | Helen |
 | Florence |
 | Beatrice |
 | Dorothy |
 | Rita |
 | Placido (Robert) |
 | Anthony |
 | Delores |
 | Joe Sr. (Sonny) |
 | Peter (Chippy) |
| List of Family Member's E-mail Addresses |