The Problem of Family Connections in a Small Community

 

As the previous post (October 31, 2020) discussed, Mark’s and my cousin Dennis Pavlock reluctantly informed me about a conversation that he had had at a party in Florida with a firefighter who was on the scene of my brother’s truck fire, but would not tell me the name of that firefighter.  I later learned that it was Wayne Frank.  The party that Dennis attended, which was hosted by his friend Don DeGain, included Wayne Frank and, as I was told, Dominic Rapacioli (uncle of Pete Rapacioli, who had been involved in a charity football pool with my brother and was reportedly on the phone with Mark’s wife for half an hour before the truck fire).

It was surprising to me to learn that the firefighter (Wayne Frank) had asked my cousin Dennis not to tell me what he had revealed about the truck fire.  A year or so later, I happened to speak with Wayne myself, when I ran into him by chance at a high school reunion event, and learned that he was not only a firefighter but also had been on the scene of Mark’s truck fire.  It was also surprising to me that initially Wayne didn’t want to tell me anything about the scene of the truck fire, but he did change his mind.  As mentioned in the previous post, Wayne had significant information about a wound on Mark’s forehead.

Some time ago, as I continued to make inquiries about the truck fire but encountered reluctance from people who might have relevant information, one individual commented that everyone you know in the Salamanca area is a cousin of someone else you know.   Recently, I learned that Don DeGain, Wayne Frank, and Pete Rapacioli were all related to each other.

The following chart is a partial genealogy showing their interlocking family relations.

                        A. Louis Rapacioli + Dominica Sperone                              

                             |                                                     |          

    Peter F. Rapacioli + Catherine Radomska    Dominic Rapacioli + Patricia DeGain

                                    |

                        Pete Rapacioli

 

B. George F. DeGain + Grace Carpenter          C. Wayne Frank, Sr. + Louise Schrimcher

                                    |                                             |                |

George F. DeGain, Jr. + Eliz. Heyward    Wayne Frank  Ronald Frank + Grace DeGain

                         |                      |

                  Don DeGain   Grace DeGain