Recently I told you about my grandfather's journey to America. First he had to get from Southern Italy to Northern France. There, not in Napoli, he boarded a ship bound for New York. That huge overland distance has puzzled me ever since I found his 1920 ship manifest.
There were about 300 other Southern Italians on the ship with him. That leads me to believe the Red Star Line gave them an incentive, like a deep discount, to come to France to sail. Now I've decided to use my favorite AI search engine, Microsoft Copilot, to help map out his journey.
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| Using a conversational search engine that cites its sources, you can discover the answers to your burning genealogy questions. |
Unlike AI search engines that seem to hallucinate, Copilot cites its sources. That lets you use that source and search further. (Choose the Think Deeper option rather than Quick response.)
Crafting Your Query
Here's what I typed into Copilot:
I'm curious about the types of transportation used in rural Southern Italian towns in 1920. My grandfather traveled a long way to the north of France to sail to America that year. How would he have done that?
The answer confirmed what I thought. The most common methods of travel were walking, riding a horse or mule, or riding in a cart pulled by a horse or mule. Then he would take trains to his port of departure.
Copilot suggested I provide more information for a more specific answer. What was my grandfather's hometown and from which port did he sail? I typed:
My grandfather lived in Colle Sannita, in the Benevento Province. He sailed from Cherbourg, France.
The answers were more specific now. Grandpa would have to walk, ride an animal, or ride in an animal-drawn cart to get to the Benevento train station. He may have ridden the train first to Napoli, then way up north to Genoa or Torino, then to Paris and on to Cherbourg. Wow, does that sound like an ordeal.
The entire trip, before setting sail, may have taken Grandpa about a week. One of the sources Copilot cited is one I used before to form my theory about this trip.
Mapping it Out
I used Google Maps to further imagine Grandpa's journey. To get to the nearest train station in the city of Benevento in 1920, he could walk for almost 8 hours. Or he could walk half that distance to the town of Reino. It's possible that in Reino, he could hire someone to take him in a cart to the Benevento train station. Or, and this is a long shot, he could hire a car or take a bus. On today's roads, that only a half hour drive from Reino to Benevento.
I've been to the Benevento train station, which dates back to 1868. It's large, and from there, Grandpa could have taken a train, or a series of trains, all the way to Cherbourg.
More examples of using Copilot for genealogy:
Was This Event So Unique?
I wondered if anyone else in my family tree had sailed from Cherbourg. In my Family Tree Maker file, I went to the Places tab and clicked France. Then I chose the Basse-Normandie region, then the Manche department, and then Cherbourg. What a surprise! There were 8 people, including Grandpa, who made a similar journey. Six of them came from Grandpa's town, one came from a bit further north, and one came from Sicily. Even more surprising is that all 8 traveled in 1920.
These 8 people are the tiniest fraction of my family tree. But I'll bet there was one hell of a promotion going on in 1920 to attract them. I'll have to look at some Italian newspapers for that year. How great would it be to find a Red Star Line advertisement to solve this mystery once and for all?
When you think about your own family tree, what questions do you have that no one in the family can answer? Are there facts that strike you as odd? Is there anything you wish you could talk to someone about? Talk to my friend, Microsoft Copilot. I've seen it give reliable answers to many of my questions—even medical ones.
Keep it in mind when your next mystery comes up.
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