Maria Mozzi was born to Primino Mozzi and Giuseppa Chisea, but was raised by her grandmother. She told stories of having to eat sparrows during the war and having her red scarf confiscated by military police because the color was associated with communism. She survived appendicitis at age 13, colon cancer and a bowel obstructions in her 80s, and a traumatic brain injury in her 90s. She only completed school up to 8th grade in Italy, but was very smart, intelligent, and clever. Maria immigrated from Italy to America in 1950 to be with her husband, Riccardo Conedera, coming through New York to settle in Clairton, PA. She had two sons- Robert and Mark Conedera. She had wanted more children but had at least one miscarriage and and an adoption of a little girl from Italy that fell through. She was an avid seamstress, a loving mother, and a legendary cook. She was witty and funny and kind. She passed away from COVID-19 in November 2020.
Portrait photographs and paintings of our loved ones and ancestors.
Before photos we had paintings of family members - most usually these were reserved for the well off. The era of modern photography began with the daguerreotype, in 1839. Since the advent of photogr...
I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Support ). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come.
I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in San Jose (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our previous Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director My family began AncientFaces because we believe that unique photos and stories that show who people are/were should be shared with the world.