When Stories Simmer: How One Family's Dinner Table Tales Led to Global Genealogical Adventures
Have you ever wondered what hidden stories might be simmering in your family's old recipes, whispered conversations, or well-worn traditions? For Suzanne Russo Adams, those stories bubbled up around her Italian grandparents' dinner table in California, where tales of sea monsters, witches, and prohibition-era adventures mixed with the aromas of traditional Sicilian cooking.
The Power of Listening
"La Cugina d'Americana" – the cousin from America. That's what they called Suzanne when she first visited her ancestral village of Trappeto, Sicily. But long before she made that journey, she was just a young girl soaking in her grandfather's colorful stories while other cousins ran off to play. Those moments around the family table planted seeds that would bloom into a lifelong passion for family history.
In this week's episode of Stories That Live In Us, Suzanne shares how her grandfather's tales of immigrant resilience, mafia connections, and old-world superstitions sparked a journey that would take her from a tiny Sicilian fishing village to more than 100 archives worldwide. Now, as Director of Brigham Young University's Center for Family History and Genealogy, she's helping a new generation understand the power of family stories.
The Whole Story
Listen in to my conversation with Suzanne:
Prefer audio only? Click here to listen on your favorite podcast app.
🎧 Listen to the full episode to discover:
- The fascinating tale of how a witch's curse, a sea monster, and true love intertwined in her great-grandparents' story
- Why her grandfather needed a strategy to avoid joining the St. Louis mafia
- How a serendipitous moment with a microfilm reader in Salt Lake City connected her to her ancestral parish
- The way food traditions have become her primary tool for passing family history to her children
- What it means to straddle two cultures and create a unique family identity
The Power of One Story
Suzanne's journey reminds us that family history isn't just about names and dates—it's about understanding who we are through the stories of those who came before us. Her grandfather's tales weren't just entertaining anecdotes; they were threads connecting her to a rich cultural heritage and helping her understand her place in a larger family tapestry.
"I miss them so much every day," Suzanne shared about her grandparents, "and so I think part of me learning about them means that I have a piece of them in me always." This poignant reflection reveals how family history research can become a way of keeping our loved ones close, even after they're gone.
Your Story
Think about the stories that simmer beneath the surface in your family. Maybe they're wrapped in the steam of grandmother's Sunday sauce or hidden in the way your father tells jokes. What if those seemingly simple family moments hold keys to understanding your larger family story?
Story Seeds 🌱
Plant these conversation starters and watch your family stories grow.
- For Grandparents: "What stories did your parents or grandparents tell around the dinner table? Were there any tales that seemed unbelievable but turned out to be true?"
- For Parents: "What family traditions or recipes make you feel most connected to your heritage? How did you learn them?"
- For Aunts/Uncles: "What do you remember about our family gatherings when you were young? Were there certain relatives who always told the best stories?"
- For Siblings/Cousins: "Which family stories did you hear growing up that made the biggest impression on you? How do you share those stories with your own children now?"
Story Sparks 🔑
Unlock your family's hidden stories with these research techniques.
- Use MyTreeTags in your Ancestry tree to create a custom tag called "Family Storyteller." Tag people in your tree who’ve shared oral histories and traditions. Use the gallery on their profile page to upload audio files of them telling their stories. Or, type up the stories you’ve heard from them. Be sure to include information about when and where they shared the story as well as the story itself.
- Use the album feature in your Ancestry family tree to build a collaborative family cookbook. Scan and attach recipe cards and food-related photos to ancestor profiles. Include notes about who made each dish and for what occasions.
- Use city directories on Ancestry to track where your family lived and worked. These can help verify family stories about businesses, neighborhoods, and community connections.
- Search Newspapers.com for your immigrant ancestors' neighborhoods during the time they lived there. Local papers often covered community events and social happenings that can provide context for family stories.
Whether your ancestors left carefully documented paper trails or only whispered stories around the dinner table, their experiences shaped your family's unique narrative. As Suzanne's story shows us, sometimes the most meaningful genealogical discoveries begin with simply paying attention to the stories that have been simmering in your family all along.
Ready to discover more stories that can strengthen your family bonds? Subscribe to Stories That Live In Us wherever you get your podcasts. And if this episode touched your heart, please leave us a rating and review - it helps other family story seekers find us.
© 2025 Crista Cowan. All rights reserved.
