In this column La Gazzetta will profile notable members of our local Italian American community. We will get to hear from men and women whose ancestors’ contributions resulted in today’s outstanding, productive citizens. 

La Gazetta ha avuto un'intervista con Constance (Connie) Tarr. La signora Tarr ha vinto cinque volte un importante premio per il suo lavoro nel settore immobiliare in Ohio. Vive a Hubbard nella periferia di Youngstown dove la sua famiglia vive da diverse generazioni. L'intervista riguarda il suo bisnonno che emigrò nel 1874 e lavorò nelle miniere di carbone. Con l'aiuto di DNA e Ancestry, è stata in grado di trovare la famiglia biologica di suo padre. Sta anche facendo un albero genealogico della sua famiglia e ha già più di 4.000 nomi.

Constance (Connie) Tarr is a well-known Italian American businesswoman from Hubbard, OH, a city near Youngstown. Connie is a five-time recipient of the "Award of Achievement" given by Ohio Association of Realtors to top agents in the industry. Moreover, the area’s rich Italian American roots find an echo in her personal history: She is a descendant of the earliest Italians to settle in the Mahoning Valley. Connie is also an active member of her community and a subscriber to La Gazzetta Italiana. Let’s get to know Connie Tarr a little better. 

La Gazzetta (LG): We appreciate this opportunity to chat with you. To begin, can you let our readers know about your hometown? 

Connie Tarr (CT): Hubbard is a small town of about 7,000. It is a close-knit community with excellent schools and top shelf municipal services, such as fire and police. And housing is very affordable. What’s more, the community has a way of banding together during times of need.

LG:  Have you always been in real estate?

CT: Before my present job, I was a loan officer at a bank where I specialized in serving first time buyers. I handled VA and FHA mortgages. When the bank closed, I moved to a career in selling real estate. That was in 2011.

LG: When most people talk about Italian immigration, they think of the 1880s or even later. Please speak about your impressive Italian roots? 

CT: My second great-grandfather, Angelo Rossi, came to Hubbard in 1874 to work the coal mines at Coalburg, Hubbard Township. He was born in 1840, in Castiglione, in the Italian region of present day Molise. His 1921 obituary describes him as one of the earliest Italians to settle in the Mahoning Valley. In 1879, his wife, Filomena, and daughter Carmela joined him here. Angelo and other coal miners who labored at Coalburg formed the first group of pioneering Italians in the Greater Youngstown area. 

LG: It is rare to find Italians here in the 1870s. Most people do not know that the earliest immigrants from Italy worked in the mines. Have you used genealogy to recover your family’s history?

CT: I have used genealogy to discover many unknowns on both sides of my family. The research I am most proud of is finding my father’s biological family. In 1954, when he signed up for the military, it was discovered his birth certificate had been altered to change his surname. Dad searched endlessly to try and find his biological Italian father for 40 years. He used phone books and sent letters to everyone he could find with the last name “Plescia.” Through the magic of DNA and Ancestry®, I was able to find a match to his family. His roots are in Brooklyn, NY. Last year he met his sister for the first time. It was the greatest gift I could have given my father on his 83rd birthday and it made all my efforts worth it. And it turned out he was 50 percent Italian, just as he thought. 

LG: What an amazing story. What more would you like to know about your family’s origins? 

CT: Well, already I have over 4,000 names in my family tree database. Some of the records I have found originate as far back as the early 1700s. What I really desire is the chance to visit Castiglione and walk the very streets that my ancestors did. That would please me very much. 

LG: Thanks so much for sharing your story with our readers. Although Hubbard is a small town, it has an amazing place in Italian American history, and you have played an important part in preserving this legacy for future generations.