The next record in the Farindola records mentioning midwife Maria Giuseppa Marcella was the birth of my great grandfather Cesidio Marcella who was born on February 11, 1995 in Case Bruciate in Farindola.
Translation –
Number 20 of the Book of Births of the Commune of Farindola (1895):
The year 1895, day 13, of February at the 11th hour, in the municipal house.
In front of me Paolo Colaiezzi Assessiore, Civil State Official of the Comune of Farindola, there appears Maria Giuseppa Marcella, of 48 years, midwife, living in Farindola, that admits to me that on the 15th hour, in the 15th minute, of the 11th day of the current month, in house address Casa Bruciate, number (blank), to Elisabetta Russi (Rossi) wife of Filippo Marcella, with whom she resides.
There was born a baby of the masculine sex that she presents to me and who has been named Cesidio.
To the above in this document were present the witnesses Angelo Ferromossa, of 38 years, tailor, and Quirico Cirone, of 52 years, contadino, both residents of this commune.
The registrant announced that the birth above is provided by the aforementioned, explained in the action that the husband of Russi (Rossi) is ill.
The act has been read to all that are present, because the attendees are illiterate, under signed by:
(P Colaiezzi)
In the Margin: Addition to record – day 7/1/1980, died in Chester USA, act no. 1, (atto di morte Farindola 1981) Pescara, 7/12/1983, signed the Cancelliere of Farindola.
I translated this record in 2016. An image of his birth record can be found in my previous post below:
Maria Giuseppa Marcella is the next midwife in this direct line in my Farindola ancestry. She was the sister of my second great grandfather Filippo Marcella and obviously the aunt of my great grandfather Cesidio Marcella. She was born in 1846 to Maria Carolina Colangeli and Massimo Nicola Marcella.
Maria Giuseppa married Giovanni Costantini in 1870. She descends from all of the aforementioned midwives.
This next transcription is special for two reasons. If you are related to me and reading this, see if you can figure them out!
Act 70, Book of Births, Farindola, 1894
The year 1894, day 5, June at the 8th hour and the 8th minute in town hall, I, Paolo Colaiezzi, Assessore, official of the Civil State, for the commune of Farindola, appearing in front of me–
Maria Giuseppa Marcella, 47 years, midwife, living in Farindola, who says in the 17th hour and the 5th minute on the 5th day of the current month, in a house located in Contrada Casabruciate, no number, that Maria Basilavecchia, wife of Domenico Marcella, with whom she resides, that a baby was born of the feminine gender, she presents to me and she was given the name Maria Giuseppa.
The above-mentioned testimony is given in the presence of Pietro di Zillio, 70, contadino, and Vincenzo Marrone, 66, contadino.
I declare that the preceding act of birth testimony supersedes the place of the husband of Basilavecchia because he is indisposed of health.
This is read to those present because they are illiterate.
Today I share the photo of my bisnonno Paolo Di Francesco in his Italian military uniform from World War I. He was in the 87th Infantry, Friuli Brigade and took part in the Twelve Battles of the Isonzo in the territory of present day Slovenia. My great grandfather was very handsome. His military record said he had chestnut hair and eyes and his skin coloring was rosy. From this photo I see resemblances of him in his male descendants. He was called to arms in July of 1915 so I believe he was 18 in this photo.
Farindola – On today’s date in 1840, my third great grandparents Massimo Nicola Marcella and Maria Carolina Colangeli were married in San Nicola di Bari, Farindola. They were the grandparents of my immigrant great grandfather Cesidio Marcella.
Maria Carolina Colangeli was born in Farindola in 1817 to Berardino Colangelo/i and Anna Giuseppa Antonacci. They were contadini. During this time period, her surname fluctuated between Colangeli and Colangelo in the Farindola records. Her mother Anna Giuseppa Antonacci was born in nearby Montebello di Bertona, Pescara in 1791.
The records of Pescara on Antenati suggest that the Colangelis were from nearby Penne, Pescara, although at the time of Maria Carolina’s birth, a branch of them were living in Farindola, for Maria Carolina’s father was born in Farindola, but his midwife mother was born in Penne. Also, the other Colangelis in my Abruzzese tree in a separate branch were from Penne and owned property there.
Maria Carolina’s tree was heavy with midwives, and though she was listed as a spinner on several civil records on Antenati, I suspect she too was a midwife. Her aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, and her own daughter Maria Giuseppa were all midwives. Maria Giuseppa was there for the delivery of Cesidio.
Massimo Nicola Marcella was born in 1814 in Farindola to Giuseppe Antonio Marcella* and Maria Domenica Sciarra. They too were contadini. Maria Domenica’s parents were born in Fara San Martino, Chieti and the occupations of her father and brothers were written as lanari (wool workers/merchants) in the civil records on Antenati.
Massimo Nicola’s paternal ancestors had been living in Farindola at least as far back as a man named Donato Marcella and a lady possibly named Domenica Cervo both alive in the early 1700s in the Farindola area. This is the farthest back I have been able to trace his surname using church death records in the marriage processetti on Antenati. Oh to have the church records in the Diocese of Penne available to research!
My third great grandparents had 10 children, 4 of which were two sets of female twins. They were:
Twins Maria Domenica and Maria Giustina (twins), born in 1841. Maria Giustina lived less than a month. Maria Domenica lived ten years. They were born 9 months after their parents married.
Maria Giustina, born in 1843 in Contrada da Valloni – died in 1912 in Contrada Casebruciate, married foundling Panfilo Zenone
Filippo, born in 1844 in Contrada Trosciano – died in 1916 at #137 in Contrada Trosciano, married Maria Antonia Lacchetta and Elisabetta Rossi (my ancestress)
Maria Giuseppa (midwife in Contrada Casebruciate), born in 1846 in Contrada Trosciano – died in 1918 in Contrada Casebruciate, married Giovanni Costantini
Antonio, born in Contrada Trosciano in 1847 and died in 1851
Domenico, born in 1849 in Contrada Trosciano – died in 1908 in Casebruciate, married Maria Carmina Basilavecchia
Nicolantonio, born in 1851 in Contrada Casebruciate, married Maria Giuseppa Della Valle. They had no children. However, a man with his name appears to have had a child in 1901 to an un-named woman who was not his wife. The child was named Vittoria Marcella.
Massimo Nicola Marcella died in 1884 in Contrada Casebruciate. His widow Maria Carolina Colangeli died a few months shy of the birth of her grandson Cesidio in October 1894, at #65 Contrada Casebruciate, Farindola.
*I do not know how or if Giuseppe Antonio was related to the briganti with the same surname that were active in the countryside near Farindola during the Napoleonic occupation of Italy. One of the main leaders was named Massimo. He was jailed before the civil records start on Antenati. (See Storia di Farindola, dalli origini ai giorni nostri by Antonio Procacci via http://www.gelsumino.it)
Women’s History Month: Rispetto per I molti italiano levatrici nella mia genealogia. There are many midwives in the Italian parts of my tree. They were farmers’ wives, tailors’ wives, shepherds’ wives, innkeepers’ mothers, blacksmiths’ daughters, and landowners’ daughters. One was even an unwed mother who was the Ricevitrice di Proietti (receiver at the foundling wheel). She was a landowner’s daughter.
The first one I found was Maria Giuseppa Marcella. She was there when my great grandfather was born. She was named in civil birth records because the fathers weren’t able to report the birth. She would have to go to the municipal hall to do this. I was also lucky to find many baptismal records where a mammana or ostetrice is mentioned.
My great grandfather’s father was sick, so his sister, Maria Giuseppa went to town hall. She delivered several of Filippo‘s children and the children of many others in Case Bruciate.
A levatrice not only assisted in birthings but provided medical help to women for all female ailments. She also provided different kinds of help when there was unwanted pregnancies, as it was her responsibility to leave the baby at the foundling wheel. If the baby’s health was in danger at birth, she would perform a baptism. She also was known to assist women in their desire to maintain their youth, etc.
When I found one of these levatrice in Pescara, I could usually trace who in their close relationships was also a levatrice. In Caserta and Napoli, I have not been able to do that yet. I am positive I will find more in Campania and Abruzzo.
A couple years ago I was informed by a cousin that my great grandmother was likely familiar with midwifery because she was familiar with traditional folk remedies.
In honor of Women’s History Month this week, the following are the italiano levatrici nella mia genealogia:
Farindola:
Serafina Merlenghi, my great grandmother
Maria Giuseppa Marcella and
her mother Maria Carolina Colangeli (direct ancestress) and
her mother Maria Carmina Crocetta (direct ancestress) and
her mother-in-law Maria Carmina Marcucci Collalto (direct ancestress)
Immigrant Cesidio Marcella, my great grandfather, was born in 1895 in Case Bruciate, Farindola, Pescara, Italy. He came through Ellis Island in 1923 when he was 28 to earn money to send home to his family.
He was 1 of 15 children. His aunt, Maria Marcella, was the midwife that was present at his birth. He was the oldest child of his mother, Elisabetta Rossi. She was the second wife of his father, Filippo. Filippo had 9 children with his first wife, Maria Antonia Lacchetta, of which, the following, that I know of, survived to adulthood: Raffaele (father of Gabriele Marcella), Pasqua, Filomena, and Serafina. All of Filippo’s children to Elisabetta survived to adulthood. In order of birth, they were: Cesidio, Maria Domenica, Antonia Vincenza, and Andrea Antonio. Andrea greatly resembled his brother Cesidio.
At age 20, my great grandfather was made to perform military service during World War I in the 3rd Regiment Artillery.
Portion of his Military Draft Record
The above photo is the physical description written down by the commander when he reported for his mandatory military service. His hair was straight and chestnut colored, his eyes were chestnut (we knew them as hazel) and his nose is described as greco for Greek. His hair would redden in the sun. At leggere/scrivere it says “si”, so he knew how to read and write. His profession is contadino.
I would like someone again to tell me the name of the place in the North of Italy where he had boot camp. After having served on the front line in the trenches in Austria, he was admitted to the military hospital in June 1916. In October 1916, he was released to go home on permanent leave. While he was away in the Army, his father had passed away in April of 1916.. I have the rest of his military record but some of the dates are so light I can’t make other things out. Is anyone willing to try?
A few weeks ago, I found the marriage record of my great grandparents at the LDS. Because of Italian privacy and contractual laws, this record is not available online for all to view, because it happened in 1919. At that time, my great grandfather was still a farmer. I will explore their marriage record later, on their anniversary. But for the purposes of this post, a written paragraph at the bottom stated the marriage legitimized the birth of a child born to a natural union, she was named Maria Battistisimi, and was born in 1916. Yes, it said 1916. Maria, according to the marriage record, was born October 29, 1916. When I first saw her birth date on my great grandfather’s petition for naturalization in the United States, I thought he misremembered the actual date. I will post the paragraph later and you can decide if I did indeed read her birthdate correctly. So how could she have been conceived while my great grandfather was in the trenches in Austria? He must’ve been on leave, right???? I COULD EASILY get her birth record from Farindola…you tell me what you think after you read about the marriage on their anniversary.
My great grandparents had four children: Zia Maria, Zia L. (who is still alive), my grandfather Biagio Filippo (who perished in World War II in the Alpini), and Zio Alberino (who died in the United States). Zia Maria married Iezzi. Zia L. married Fiore Generosi, son of Giuseppe Generosi (a foundling from Teramo) and Maria Di Gregorio. Alberino married another Farindolese who he brought to America, Gabriella Perilli, daughter of Angelo Perilli and Regina Colangelo.
After the birth of my grandfather, my great grandfather came to America. The previous post about his travel to America, Naturalization and time here can be found at this previous post: On this day in 1923….
I believe my great grandfather looked like this when he became a citizen of the United States:
I don’t care what anybody says but when I do a quick double-take, my brother resembles this photo, sans mustache. When his passport from 1929 becomes public record in a few years, we should have another young photo of him.
Cesidio’s Ancestry
When I started genealogy, someone in my family said to me, “The Marcellas have been in Farindola for centuries.” It is simply true. I have traced back directly to Donato Marcella (my 6th great grandfather), born around 1700 in my paternal line who was likely born in Farindola because I still have not found Marcellas born in any neighboring Pescara towns.
Donato may be the son of Domenico based on the number of Domenico Marcellas that were alive at the same time as my 5th great grandfather Domenico. I think the wife of Donato Marcella may have been Domenica Cervo. Unfortunately, I have only found one record that says the mother of Donato Marcella’s daughter was named Domenica Cervo, and that is on the death record of one Giustina Marcella, #110 Morti 1816, the widow of Mattia Macrini. This is the link to her death at Antenati.
This tree is public on Ancestry.com
Through what is available on Antenati in Pescara, the earliest baptismal record I could find of any related Marcella in our tree was from Anna Saveria Marcella, sister of my 4th great grandfather Giuseppe Antonio Marcella, and is from her 1818 marriage to Vito Antonio Di Vico. Her baptismal extract is from 1773 and can be viewed at this link on Antenati. You can see her grandparents are listed as Donato (Marcella) and Giacinto (Ferri).
The earliest record I could find of a Marcella being born in frazione Case Bruciate was the brother of my 3rd great grandfather, Massimo Nicola Marcella, named Vincenzo, who was born there on April 2, 1812. Vincenzo’s birth record can be viewed here from Antenati on the right and continues to the next page. Massimo Nicola married Maria Carolina Colangeli and they moved to frazione Trosciano and then back to frazione Case Bruciate. It surprised me they lived in Trosciano, so perhaps any Marcellas there are relations of the Marcellas in Case Bruciate.
The Marcellas were farmers while their wives were filatrici (spinners) and levatrici (midwives). There was a branch of Marcellas in Farindola in the late 1700s and first half of the 1800s that were falegnami (carpenters). I have not been able to establish a connection between the contadini (farmers) and falegnami, even though they appeared in the same civil records as witnesses to each other’s life events.
Cesidio’s mother’s ancestry
Penne, Pescara
While Elisabetta Rossi was born in Baccuco (Arsita, Teramo), her father Giuseppe Antonio Rossi was born in Penne, and her mother, Anna Antonia Ricci, was born in Castiglione Messer Raimondo, Teramo. However, all of Elisabetta Rossi’s grandparents were born in Penne and as you can see in Cesidio’s pedigree chart posted above, the tree is filled out to at least 6th great grandparents in most lines, and goes back further than can be pictured in one little snipping tool insert. Elisabetta also descended from filatrici from Penne and most of the males I found in her lines were literate. Penne, if I may compliment them, kept impeccable records and I am glad all of these records are available on Antenati.
A note about the Sciarras
Can you see Baldassare Sciarra in the pedigree posted above? He is the 2nd great grandfather of Cesidio, He was born in Fara San Martino, Chieti. He was a lanaro, which meant he worked with wool, and/or was a merchant of wool. Because Baldassare brought the surname Sciarra to Farindola, I am almost positive all of the Sciarra from Farindola today descend from him. He married a Farindolese, Angela Gabriele Dell’Orso. She was the daughter of Cinziarosa.
Sources:
United States Naturalizations
United States Social Security Deaths
Find-A-Grave
Arhives of Teramo (for military documents)
Archives of Pescara (Antenati.San.Beneculturali.com)
Comune di Farindola Anagrafe (our Colangeli cousin)
Zia C. in Canada
P. D’Angelo in Penne that assists with the Penne ancestry
Coming: The anniversary of the marriage of Cesidio Marcella and Serafina Merlenghi
Send me a message if you need an invitation to the tree on Ancestry.
On this day in 1895, in Case Bruciate, at 3:15 in the afternoon….
Great Grandfather Cesidio Marcella was born.
I present to you the birth record of Cesidio Marcella from the Archivio di Stato di Pescara:
Numero Venti, 1895 Nati Farindola, Teramo (Pescara); Marcella, Cesidio p. 1
Marcella, Cesidio p. 2
Translating –
Number 20:
The year 1895, day 13, of February at the 11th hour, in the municipal house.
In front of me Paolo Colaiezzi Assessiore Augiano, Civil State Official of the Comune of Farindola, there appears Maria Giuseppa Marcella, of 48 years, midwife, living in Farindola, that admits to me that on the 15th hour, in the 15th minute, of the 11th day of the current month, in house address Casa Bruciate, number (blank), to Elisabetta Russi (Rossi) wife of Filippo Marcella, with whom she resides.
There was born a baby of the masculine sex that she presents to me and who has been named Cesidio.
To the above in this document were present the witnesses Angelo Ferromossa, of 38 years, tailor, and Quirico Cirone, of 52 years, contadino, both residents of this commune.
The registrant announced that the birth above is provided by the aforementioned, explained in the action that the husband of Russi (Rossi) is ill.
The act has been read to all that are present, because the attendees are illiterate, under signed by:
(P Colaiezzi)
In the Margin: Addition to record – day 7/1/1980, died in Chester USA, act no. 1, (atto di morte Farindola 1981) Pescara, 7/12/1983, signed the Cancelliere of Farindola.
Cinziarosa's Descendants (c) 
