Angela, 97, wanted to know more about her grandfather's house. Hingham opened the door.

WEYMOUTH − Angela DeLuca Corbo was on a quest. At age 97, she still has vivid memories of going to her grandfather's house in Hingham when she was growing up. As she closes in on the century mark, she decided it was time to pay a visit.

"I remember everything about that house," Angela said.

It has been 80 years since she was there every Sunday, yet certain details still stand out in her mind.

Her grandparents, both immigrants from Italy, lived on the first floor and took in boarders upstairs to make money and support their family.

"My father grew up there," Angela said. "My grandfather bought the house and then he also bought land and four house lots in Weymouth. When my father and mother married, they lived in East Weymouth.

"Every Sunday, we would drive to Hingham and pick them up and drive them back to our house for dinner. My parents did everything for them."

Her grandfather spoke only Italian. She describes him as a gruff man who lived a spartan life and was extremely tight with his money.

Angela DeLuca grew up in Weymouth

Angela DeLuca grew up in Weymouth and graduated in 1944 from Weymouth High School. She married Joseph Corbo Sr., whom she knew from the neighborhood; they also lived in Weymouth and raised three children. Joseph Corbo died in 2012.

One day earlier this year, Angela was out doing errands in Hingham with her caregivers when they drove past her grandfather's former house. She noticed a historical sign on the outside of the house.

"I saw that and it made me curious," Angela said. "I thought, 'I have to look into this further. I have to go in there and tell them who I am.'" She felt she knew some of history of the house.

A few days later, Sarah Doggett was sitting at her desk at the Hingham Historical Society on a quiet Saturday morning when the phone rang and she heard Angela's eager voice asking about a house on Hersey Street. Angela said her grandfather had lived there in the 1930s and 1940s.

They talked and Sarah, the assistant director, said she would pass along Angela's request for more information about the house to the historical society staff − Max Nosbisch, the education manager, and Bob Malme, the archivist. Someone would get back to her.

Angela kept thinking about the house and images of her gruff grandfather, who had come to America from Calabria, a region in Southern Italy, and settled in Hingham. She recalled that he was not a particularly pleasant man. He slowly acquired property, including four house lots in Weymouth.

One day she told two of her caregivers that she would like to visit her grandfather's house. They agreed to take her and when they arrived, she decided to knock on the door.

Homeowner welcomed strangers into her house

The woman who lives there now, who wants to remain private, is 91. She invited Angela and her two caregivers in. She told them she has been in that house since 1965. They all had a good time talking about the house, the neighbors − some of whom Angela had known − and the town.

Angela was pleased to see how well the house had been kept up. It had been somewhat rundown when she was there as a child.

"The inside is all different now," she said. "It is really nice, all fixed up."

The kitchen is still in the same place and there is still a bedroom on the right as you come in the front door.

Hingham Historical Society is on the job

After her visit, Angela heard back from the Hingham Historical Society. Nosbisch, the education manager, dropped by her home in Weymouth and brought her a report on the history of the house prepared by Malme, the historical society's archivist.

Malme had learned that her grandfather was one of the first Italian Americans to settle on Hersey Street, which is one of the oldest streets in Hingham and had a number of woodworking factories. Other Italian American families also settled there.

Her grandfather's house was built by Peter Hersey Jr., Malme said.

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Malme used a variety of historical archives, including town records and old street maps with deed information, to put together his report. It lists many owners of the house, their occupations, a listing of other residents on Hersey Street, census data going back to the 1800s, and how many people lived in some of the other houses and their occupations. He relied on a large volume of information gathered by former town historian Julian Loring.

Nosbisch, who is 27, was intrigued to meet someone of Angela's age, old enough to be his great-grandmother.

"People in my parents' generation knew the Greatest Generation," he said.

Angela is thrilled with the results of her simple inquiry and knock on a door.

"I'm so happy I did it," she said.

And her caregivers notice a change.

"I catch her smiling in her sleep," Karen Spring said.

Malme said he is available on Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. at the historical society for inquiries people have about their ancestors or properties in Hingham.

Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Weymouth woman, 97, travels back in time to grandfather's Hingham home