Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, served as a crossroads for ancient civilizations. Whereas its common notion to believe that a man (in my case, my Papa), to be head of the household; it is also true that behind every great man is a great woman. Copy. first son Ryan (!!!) Thank you. You did not give any birth dates, which are essential for proper research. . Is the export business and the shooting a family story, or is there documentation? Angelo F. Coniglio I remember when my girlfriend of three years (who was Native American), first heard the way I would talk with my Nana (which, to untrained ears, sounds like bickering), she slapped me and told me I shouldnt talk to my grandmother that way. If you look for information in Castelvetrano, plan on spending more than a couple of hours doing so. maternal grandfather; and. Both are buried in Villalba,Sicily in the province of Caltanissetta, altho both had lived for a time in the USA. Sicilian grandfather. That aside, this Sicilian slang word means 'unbelievable' or 'great'. E-mail me at AFConiglio@aol.com. San Cataldo civil records of birth, marriage, and death are available free online at the Italian Antenati site, at http://bit.ly/SanCataldoRecordsOnLine Michele Grifasi and Michela Grifasi were married in San Cataldo on 8 January 1898. I will be in Sicily the first time for business meetings in Catania in a couple of weeks and I plan to drive to Riesi to see the town and wanted to stop by the local cemetery to see if there are any Zuffanti (and DiTavi and Butera) family individuals buried there and put a photo of their tombstone in our listing, but I can find no listing of cemeteries in Riesi and there is no information on the Riesi municipal site and I see no cemeteries on Google Earth. At the time the civil records were made, a clerk wrote out two virtually identical copies. Blond hair, blue eyes. His. Using Ancestry.com (free at libraries and Mormon FamilySearch Centers), find your grandparents on U.S. Censuses of the 1920s and 1930s and note when they immigrated, and whether they were naturalized citizens of the U.S. or still aliens at the time of the census. "Great Grandmother" in English - Sicilian dictionary Catananna Noun Feminine The mother of one's grandmother of grandfather Roberto Cantaro Show algorithmically generated translations Automatic translations of " Great Grandmother " into Sicilian Glosbe Translate Translations with alternative spelling great grandmother noun grammar Nanny. after my mother's sister Angela, who passed away before I was born. I cant say definitively, surnames evolve over the years and may lose any similarity to their original form or meaning. Marriage banns written on 14 December 1882 and posted on 17, 24, and 28 December 1882 state that the betrothed were 1) Castrenze Provenzano, a bachelor, age 26, a peasant sharecropper, son of the late Ignazio Provenzano and of the living Giovanna Nasca, a peasant sharecropper; and 2) Angela Catalano, a maiden, age 16, daughter of the late Cruciano Catalano and of the living Marianna Frisicaro. on July 22 1926 . After mid-1907, they gave town of last residence AND town of birth. My grandma Mary was born in Louisiana and grew up in an almost exclusively Sicilian farming community called Highbank, Texas. 10 of 21. Any help would be most appreciated. A study of the origin of Italian surnames is an interesting topic and one that I have been interested in for quite some time. These figures are my mother (if you have an Italian mother, you better believe youll be raised Italian), and my grandparents. doing new searches, I do not find any churches that may be online, but perhaps you know of some? I have grandparents that were from Italy but having a hard time posterity. Records from 1820 1861 are available on microfilm that can be rented for viewing at a Mormon FamilySearch Center. A man's first The territory known as the Mezzogiorno, to the south of Naples plus the island of Sicily, formed The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was subject to Spain. He reigned until 1815, and during that time, he ruled, or had his relatives or minions rule Spain and parts of Prussia, Germany and Poland. Immigration hardliner Ron DeSantis' great-great-grandmother was nearly barred from America A Florida-based genealogist traced DeSantis' family tree from Italy to America. Riposto/Giarre are probably covered by newspapers from nearby Catania. Im wondering how the child could produce a passport with his correct name if the birth information was never amended. My grandmother, Maria Concetta DiGaetano was their daughter. Came to America 1906 on ship Indiana Like Anthony DiLaura, I believe the subject of Italian surnames is incredibly interesting. We are searching for birth, death and burial records for my husbands grandfather. I dont know of any, but a death record would give the decedents occupation. In defense of the record-keepers, it does take resources to answer our questions. This is picture of my great grandmother in Sicily, Italy. My great grandmother was (Guiseppa Josephine Ferrante DOB est. I am looking for his father or mother. My knowledge of Caccamo is vicarious, Ive never been there. Ive been researching my grandparents as well. It did not include Florence or Rome, nor any part of the southern Italian peninsula. Very sorry. You seem to be familiar with the town of Caccamo We visited the comune where my husbands grandfather (who migrated in 1885) was born. - (if applicable) your Italian great-grandparent's naturalization . by most Sicilian and Southern Italian families up until the early I want to know who my correct ancestors were, but I cant afford to hire a genealogist. Anyway, I thought maybe you could help us figure out what we should do next to find our ancestors and information once we get to Sicily. My great-great grandfathers name was Giuseppe Leone. A woman's got twenty, a guy's got seventeen. That experience is another story. I am trying to find more information on my great-grandparents from Bagheria, Sicily. Would you agree? A list of the microfilms is at http://bit.ly/CiminnaCivilRecords To find a FamilySearch Center near you, go to http://bit.ly/LocateFSCs Records for 1867 through 1902 are available free on line at http://bit.ly/CiminnaCivilRecordsOnLIne. That record will give his fathers age, enabling you to search for his marriage record and birth record, and you can continue working backward from there. Contrary to some belief, the twentieth century, for selecting the given names of children. subsequent child was not "named after the dead child", but it was You seem to be very knowledgeable on Sicily, so I hope you can give me some advice. The church, in its desire to cultivate and save souls, became responsible for recording baptisms, confirmations, marriages and deaths, not only of the high and mighty, but of the families of the peasants, laborers and miners who formed the core of the Sicilian people. Growing up I was not allowed to speak sicilian since in America we speak english so all the kids had to speak english only, I picked up the ability to understand the spoken language but not to read or speak it. 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 ). Connie:Do not use information from undocumented trees on genealogical websites. Ciminna is less than 20 miles from Caccamo, but even today, its a 40 minute drive. We believe his fathers first name may have been Calogero, as this was the name Alfonso gave to his son. For some towns, church records are still extant from the late 1500s and early 1600s. The person called by the nickname Giambarresi may have had nothing to do with Bari, but he may have had a unique accent or speech pattern that led him to be called Giovanni from Bari. But the remarkable aspect of this story is the emotion of the relatives left by the immigrants. His mother was still living in Agrigento at that time, so we believe that is the area he returned to. It would give his age at death, birthplace, parents names, and wifes name. I am so very proud of my hometown. Would like to know how to contact the church there to find any remaining family.Thank You, Laura. Here's how you say it. convention to be broken. She said it made her and her sister lament that no one ever looked for us. child had been named for, assuring that the name would continue in If you have further questions, email me at genealogytips @aol.com. instead of Calogero, after your If you cant find passenger manifests, but one or both were naturalized, go to the County Clerk in the place where they settled, and search for their naturalization papers: the Petition for Naturalization and Declaration of Intent. (Church records of their Baptism and/or marriage would be amazing! From that information, search for the passenger manifests of their immigration. I am an American with Sicilian grandparents. Ok iv e been building my family tree for over two years and I need a little help if possible u see bith sides of my family came from sicily from alia Palermo. I had a list I wanted to confirm, she ocasionally confused my M for marriage with morte, but we sorted that out. These are called Napoleonic civil records, and except for the language, they had the same format throughout his domain. The original records for Sicilian towns (comuni) can be found in various locales. Nobility and the wealthy kept private records of their families, but ordinary folk were generally not a concern to them. It had been unfolding like a Christmas calendar that, instead of chocolate, gave me a new leaf along with a new shade of green [], By Daria Radler I am walking along a gravel road that zigzags through the woods. Contact me at genealogytips@aol.com and Ill send you images of the records. Minchia (mink-key-ah) is one expression that you'll hear all around Sicily from Catania to Siracusa. I am unclear as to what info. On the other hand, many years ago, my cousin moved from Sicily to Rome and, having no surname, he was simply called Siciliano. Some are indexed, that is they are also searchable by name on line (see ). Family is definitely the largest part of any self-respecting Italians life. Five of them married and had sons. It was not a legally binding custom, but was so strong that it was thought to be so by many. Ingredients 1 28 ounces can of San Marzano tomatoes or other high-quality brand tomatoes or use 2 pounds of sun-ripened rosa plum tomatoes Note: These are the most important ingredients always good quality tomatoes 4 1/2 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil There are many other themes, I guess it depends on where you are from, and how traditional your family is. You may be interpreting the ci in Geraci as ll. Im not specifically familiar with Riesi, but most Sicilian towns have at least one public cemetery outside the town limits. Also, you should recognize that cemetery plots generally were not purchased, they were rented. They named her. Ciao Angelo, thank you very much for taking the time to reply with such a fascinating explanation of the possibilities. My father's name was Gaetano Coniglio, so this should have led to My four grandparents (all deceased) each came to America in the early 1900s from pretty much the same area in Catania. Stephen Rugguri (spelling a question)gggrandfather was born in (or near) Palermo, Sicily 7 September 1843. When you are addressing your grandmother, in Italian the word is not abbreviated or made into a nickname as it often is in Englishgrandma or granny or nana. Images of civil records of birth, marriage, marriage banns and death for Racalmuto for the years 1821 through 1910 exist on microfilms that can be ordered on line at familysearch.org for viewing at a Mormon FamilySearch Center. When you do go to a town, visit the municipio (Town Hall) and got to the Anagrafe (Registry Office) and review as much of your tree as possible, and tell them youre looking for descendants/relatives of the people in your tree. If youre looking for early graves, you may find that they may no longer exist. My daughter and I will be on a cruise and arriving at the port in Messina on Friday, June 16th and would like to visit Geraci Siculo (& Bivona if at all possible). So my question to you is if you would have any suggestion on how I can find cemetery(s) in Rieis short of driving around in circles looking for one? Italian Translation bisnonna More Italian words for great grandmother la bisnonna noun great grandmother Find more words! I just happen to see this post and realize that Lauras family is connected to my side of the family. Civil records of birth, marriage and death were kept for everyone, even poor people. Leni, on the Aeolian isalnd of Salina, Province of Messina. Most towns with compound names are shortened in the vernacular. Hi, I recently stumbled by your page & I am very interested in knowing if you could be of some help. Youll be presented with a search box labelled Place, in which you can type the name of the town of interest. I suggest you contact those newspapers and ask them about back issues. Shortly after, I received an unexpected email in Italian about a woman at the Anagrafe who thought she might be related to me. in regards to the name on my grandmothers tomb. But did not know where he came from. His mothers name was Concetta Sciabica(spelling may be incorrect). My experience shows that this exercise of looking for relatives can have very positive results. Records from 1820 1865 are available on microfilm that may be rented for viewing at a Mormon FamilySEarch Center. My sons paternal lineage is based in Santa Flavia CRISCI married a SANFILLIPO and again, had some luck in procuring records to get us back a few generations for each side, including siblings and their spouses. A list of towns will come up (maybe only one). My uncle soon re-married, a woman named In actuality, I'm completely Sicilian and not Italian at all (that I know of). My father is stumped. But yes, my Nana is an extremely powerful figure in my family. Whereas my Papa is mild-mannered and non-confrontational, my Nana will just as soon cook you veal cutlets as she will break a wooden spoon over your head. not customary for parents to name their children after themselves, Baldassares father Calogero Licata was born I believe March 14, 1844 to Angelo Licata and Angela Mangione in Licata, Girgenti, Italy. If Rosa was born or married before 1865, check for her birth or marriage records at http://bit.ly/LipariCivilRecordsOnLine or at http://bit.ly/GioiosaMareaCivilRecordsOnLine. Literally translated, it refers to erm, a part of the male anatomy. There are no Sampognaros in Ciminna today but there are MANY in Caccamo. The name may have originally been Faletta, but one cousin had the nickname Caravasso (which may have some local meaning, or may be simply a nonsense phrase). girl. I have been focusing my research (without success) on finding records in Ciminna . It is possible that he went to the UK. I guess some surnames relate to the original occupation of the head of family, like Martelli, Campanelli, Pozzi, Carboni, Carozzi, Cuccia? Go to http://bit.ly/LocateFSCs to find a local Center. Civil records of birth, marriage and death are available for Giuliana on microfilm for the years 1820 1884. Sicilian descent you may have wondered why you have several cousins Its possible that Rosa Virgona was from a nearby island like Lipari, or from Gioiosa Marea on the mainland. The reign attracted Spanish-born subjects that settled in some parts of Sicily. A man's first son was named after the man's father, that is, the boy's paternal grandfather; Other situations could allow the Their names are Gervasi and Di Raimondo (Raymond). A search on line for the word demonym ( Italian ) gives a set of rules that explain the matter in detail. In fact, Ive already begun. This classic local breakfast is made up of a bowl of icy-cool granita and fresh-from-the-oven warm brioche. Go to the town hall early on, and ask about the cemeterys hours of operation. [..]. my own family, my father's brother Antonio Coniglio, my uncle, I have documentation that my grandparents are from Camporeale, PA: Maria Liotta born Nov 9 1888, died 1944 and Baldassare Licata, born June 5 1877, died 1955. who eventually would have his or her own grandchildren, who would in For mine, I find that there are key figures that play pivotal roles. children after a strict code, is it any wonder that our Sicilian Its almost like they went to some other town in Sicily where they did not keep records. My ancestral village is Serradifalco, also in Caltanissetta province, and I too had Butera ancestors. These are your relatives who may have remained in Sicily. Advertisement My Nana: "Cento per Cento" Siciliana Grandmother. It's also one of the most frequently used Sicilian words and phrases. Where do you suggest I start looking. Could there be any records pertaining to their business? I believe his father (my great great grandfathers) name was also Bartolo Parrivecchio and his mother (my great great grandmothers) name was POSSIBLY Maria A. Lumia (or Limicaro)??? Currently we have no translations for great grandmother in the dictionary, maybe you can add one? All I know . Retiring? Bedda Sicilia ~ My great grandfather Michele Grifasi(1873-1951) came from Sicily about 1906.