Today’s birthday is Angela Maria di Massimo, born in 1871 at 10 a.m. in Macchie, Farindola, Pescara. She was the mother of my great grandmother Maria Luigia Massei.
-Number 58-
-Angela Maria di Massimo-
The year 1871, day 7 of the month of June at hour 12, at the town hall, announced to me Massimo Ferri, Secretary of this Comune di Farindola, Penne Circuit, Province of Teramo, delegated, the Civil State Official, with the act of the Mayor dated the 20th of July last year, from the Procuratore of the King, appeared Donato di Massimo, of the living Serafino and the deceased Angela Maria Colangeli (Angela Maria Cecilia Colangeli), of 26 years, occupation contadino, living as a resident in Farindola, who presents a baby of the feminine gender, that he says was born on the 7th of the current month at the 10th hour to his wife Anna Domenica Cacciatore, daughter of the living Sabatino and the deceased Antonia Uriani (Oriani/Auriano), of 25 years, with whom he resides in their house in this Comune di Farindola at contrada Macchie, to this daughter he says he has given the name Angela Maria.
The above was declared and was also presented to me by Vincenzo Colangeli of the living Mattia of 37 years of the profession contadino and living as a resident in Farindola and of Costantino Massei (my third great grandfather and future father-in-law of Angela Maria di Massimo), of the living Sabatino of 39 years of the profession of contadino also living as a resident in Farindola.
The rest of the document says something to the effect of “the above act is presented and read to all of those present because they are illiterate.”
Signed: Civil State Officer Delegate
Massimo Ferri
Source: Antenati/Archivio di Stato di Pescara: Stato Civile Italiano, Farindola, Nati 1871 Numero 58
We know from other documents retrievable at Antenati that Angela Maria’s mother Anna Domenica Cacciatore was born in Penne. Her father Donato di Massimo was born at a place in Farindola area called the Colle della Castagna. I would love to figure out where that spot is on a map of Farindola. Donato’s mother Angela Maria Cecilia Colangeli, for whom my second great grandmother was named, was born in Montebello di Bertona, a neighboring village.
My great grandparents Cesidio Marcella and Serafina Merlenghi were married in Farindola. Their marriage was recorded at 3:40 in the afternoon at the Farindola town hall.
Because Cesidio’s father Filippo was deceased, his mother Elisabetta Rossi gave consent to the marriage. Serafina’s parents Cesidio Merlenghi and Maria Michela Cirone were both still living. Witnesses to the marriage were Antonio Carusi and Cesidio Colella. You can see down at the very bottom that my great grandfather signed his name.
The first signature is Marcella Cesidio
And the paragraph I mentioned in yesterday’s post referencing Maria is enlarged below:
The legitimization of a baby born to genitori ignoti (unknown parents)?
My translation is “the parents present with testimony also declare that from their natural union a daughter was born to unknown parents, …….the Uffizio de Stato Civile, the day 29 October 1916 with the name Maria and the surname of Battistisimi, presently recognize the same as a daughter effected to legitimacy. Please step in here native Italian speakers…
So now I ask again, how did my great grandmother get pregnant if my great grandfather was at war? He was on leave.
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.
Italian American Heritage Month is October. German American Heritage Month is September 15-October 15. These months were created to celebrate the many achievements made by the successes of Italian Americans and German Americans. Coincidentally these months overlap each other on the anniversaries of several of the dates that my Italian and German ancestors became Naturalized Citizens of the United States.
-2nd Great Grandfather Johann Leies, naturalized in Ohio on October 4, 1867.
-Great Grandfather Cesidio Marcella, naturalized in Queens County, New York on October 4, 1929.
-2nd Great Grandfather Fritz Eckebrecht, naturalized in Chicago on October 5, 1888.
-Great Grandfather Carmine Ferraro, naturalized in Chicago on October 27, 1911.
What is it about October and Naturalizations?
Because we only have Johann Leies’s naturalization date and not his record, the oldest Naturalization Record we have is from 1888 and it is. It belonged to Fritz Eckebrecht and came from Frank Eckebrecht who researched his family with Uncle John for decades.
A Little Bit about German Americans and Italian Americans
Germans brought the Christmas tree to America while the Italians brought their food and family-centered culture to America. Our country is named after an Italian. German Americans are the largest ancestry group in America today and the largest number of German Americans live in Pennsylvania today.
Most of the Germans in Pennsylvania are descendants of the Germans from the Palatinate (or Pennsylvania Dutch). Not until I started genealogy did I know that the German language of the Palatinate is that of the Pennsylvania Dutch. My 100% German American grandmother had 50% Palatinate ancestry. She never lived in Pennsylvania. She was born in Chicago at a time when Germans made up the largest ethnic group there.
Grandma said she remembered anti-German sentiment after World War I. Some Germans Americanized their surnames and were forced to purchase war bonds to prove American support. Another fact that I didn’t know until I started doing genealogy was that German Americans were detained and placed in internment camps during World War I and World War II. Italian Americans were placed in internments camps during World War II. I am not sure if either group ever received a formal apology from the government. I am happy to report that this did not happen to any of my ancestors. Even so, it is a struggle to obtain government records on an Italian in my tree between the World Wars where I believe someone was a victim of anti-Italian sentiment. You can read more about German Americans and their heritage through Wikipedia here.
Italian Americans are the fourth largest ethnic population in America. Besides their food and family-centered culture, they brought opera, bocce, and Montessori schools to America. Philadelphia has the second largest Italian American community in the country. You can read more about Italian Americans and their heritage here.
I think I will pack an Italian hoagie for lunch. Later I will make some stick to your ribs Pennsylvania Dutch chicken corn soup for dinner. Next: Brick Wall Wednesday
ELLIS ISLAND – On this day in 1923, my Great Grandfather Cesidio Marcella arrived at Ellis Island. It was his first trip to America. He made the passage on the ship “Giulio Cesare” which left Naples on September 8. He stated that he was a laborer, that he was able to write, that his wife Serafina was in Farindola, Italy, and that he was going to meet relatives in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Grandpop was going to stay with his Serafina’s brother Vincenzo Merlenghi to earn money to send to his family.
A couple of years later he moved to the largely Italian-American community of Ozone Park, Queens County, NY and worked in construction in New York City. It was with his blood and sweat, and that of thousands of other immigrants working for menial wages, the beautiful skyscrapers of New York City were built. Sometimes he would skimp eating his meals to be able to send more money home to Italy.
It was advantageous that he first came to America in 1923. The next year the Immigrant Act of 1924 was passed and it limited the number of Italians allowed into the country. Grandpop became a citizen in 1929 and returned home an American citizen for the Christmas season like many other Italians. The following spring he returned to Pennsylvania to again live with the Merlenghis and to send money home to his family working in construction. He eventually started his own plaster business.
On this day in 1896, at 4:30 in the morning, Great Grandmother Serafina Merlenghi was born in Macchie, Farindola…
Today, is the birthdate of the sweet lady that is the reason I put red pepper in my red sauce. I present to you the birth record of great grandmother Serafina Merlenghi from the Archivio di Stato di Pescara:
#78 Nati, 1896; Merlenghi Serafina (Click to make larger)
Translating –
Number 78 Merlenghi Serafina:
The year 1896, first day of June at the hour 8, 40th minute, in the municipal house.
In front of me, Clemente de Berardinis, Secretary Delegate of the Mayor here since July 17, Civil State Official of the Commune of Farindola, is appearing Cesidio Merlenghi, of 40 years, farmer, living in Farindola, that admits to me that on the 4th hour, in the 30th minute, of the first day of the current month, in house address Macchie number (blank), to Maria Michela Cirone, his wife, with whom he is residing.
A baby of the feminine sex was born that he presents to me and who has been named Serafina.
To the above in this document were present the witnesses Quirico Cirone, of 46 years, farmer, and Cesidio Cirone, of 50 years, contadino, both residents of this commune.
The act that I have written has been read to the present attendees because they are illiterate. Signed –
Merlenghi Cesidio
De Berardinis
Great great grandfather Cesidio Merlenghi was literate and signed his own name.
Quirico Cirone was also a witness of the birth of great grandfather Cesidio. Even though his last name is Cirone, he is not an uncle or cousin to Granmom.
Serafina Merlenghi’s Family and Genealogy
Granmom married Cesidio after his return from WWI. Obviously they had four children. Two daughters stayed in Farindola and raised families. One is still alive. Two sons were soldiers. The oldest son was lost in WWII in Russia. The youngest was in the United States Army. After Grandpop passed, she went home to Italy, collected social security, and passed away there.
Granmom had at least four siblings. The online birth records stop before I can check to see how many were born after her. Her oldest brother Antonio Merlenghi (1887-1918) was a Corporal in the Italian Army in WWI. Some details of the battle, where he fought and lost his life, and war medal have been related HERE-CLICK ME-. He married in 1910 to an Antonia Lombardi. Shortly before World War I, a man with his name came to the United States from Farindola. He was not allowed to stay and was deported. I cannot find another Antonio Merlenghi born in Farindola about the same time as Granmom’s brother. I wonder if they are the same man.
Her next oldest brother Vincenzo (1890-1968) married Maria Pompili. They had a daughter in Farindola before they came to Pennsylvania and had four more children. They sometimes went by the surname Morengo in the United States but, I assure you that according to their headstones, Vincenzo and at least one of his sons were still Merlenghi. (Placing the “o” at the end of their name may not have been an accident, as I found later.) Her next oldest brother was Paolo Merlenghi, born in 1893. The last sibling I can find is her younger sister Giovina born in 1899.
Granmom is my other great grandmother from Farindola with interesting individuals in her ancestry similar to those in the ancestry of Luigia Massei. Take a short look at Serafina’s ancestry (which is too huge to fit on one Ancestry screen):
5 generations of her tree. The extant is too large to be pictured here. (Click to make larger)
The Surname Cirone
Oh my gosh! Look at that! Serafina’s father was the son of a Cirone lady and he married a Cirone. They are not related though. Cirone is probably the most common surname in Farindola period. It shows up numerous times in her father’s and mother’s ancestry. In fact, there is a small street in Farindola in the village itself called Vicolo Cirone (Cirone Alley). Mayors, landowners and town officials bore the surname. Tradesmen too. I was elated to see Berardino Cirone, the Mayor, on civil documents. But we are not related to that Cirone.
According to Cognomi Italiani, the name Cirone is derived from the Latin for the Persian Saint Cyrus…. Saint Ciro. Cirone is Abruzzese. Not Cirini, nor Cerone. It is CIRONE. Anyone with a surname not spelled the way it is spelled in Farindola is from another part of Italy and is not related.* Also, according to Cognomix, the largest contingent of Cirone in the Italian phonebook is in Farindola with 23 entries.
Because Cirone appears in numerous places in Serafina’s ancestry, I researched to 3 degrees and some to 4 degrees of consanguinity. None of the Cirones in her tree end up intermarrying kin. Perhaps, further back in records not yet accessible, a relationship could be established. Quite interestingly, she is the only Farindola great grandparent that I have that seems to carry the most Farindolesi blood back to the 1700s and she still does not show intermarrying of bloodlines. However, I cannot say positively that is true, because of two her ancestors, Anna Paola Lucerini and Donata Colangeli make small holes in Serafina’s tree. Until I locate the parents of Donata Colangeli could this absolutely be confirmed. Anna Paola Lucerini’s father will remain a mystery though as you will see.
Coincidentally, I was recently contacted on Ancestry regarding my Cirone people. I helped someone read his ancestor’s Cirone birth record. He then wanted to know if we were related. Back to at least 8 generations in Farindola, I could find no Cirone relation with this individual. We tried to determine if any of the Antonio Cirones in my tree were his ancestor beforehand. None of them were.
To the best of my knowledge, those with the surname Cirone in Serafina’s tree, as far back as I am able to go with the online records, were village dwellers, whereas my Marcella ancestors were cultivators, shepherds, spinners, woolworkers, and midwives in the country outside the village in the frazioni of the commune. The Marcellas married other farmers, shepherds, and wool workers, and it repeated…generation after generation.
Cesidio Merlenghi’s Ancestry (Serafina’s Father)
I am breaking down Serafina’s direct ancestry by father and mother. First, Cesidio Merlenghi’s ancestry went further back than the “lovely” pedigree view on Ancestry.com would allow me to capture here to show you.
Cesidio Merlenghi’s Ancestry; the circled names are mentioned below. (Click to make larger)
The Merlenghis themselves were easy to research and followed the tradition of naming their oldest children after grandparents and went directly back to the early 1700s easily where the oldest Merlenghi ancestor I could find, up to this point, would have been born. The oldest RECORD I could find, up to this point, with Serafina’s surname was dated 1789 in Farindola. It was attached to the marriage documents in an 1821 marriage to the nephew of Serafina’s ancestor Antonio Nicodemo Merlenghi. His nephew was named Erminegildo Frattarola. In that document, which is Erminegildo’s baptismal record from 1789, Antonio Merlenghi’s sister’s name was transcribed down by Archpriest Antonio Salvitti (who is a relation and part of our tree) as Domenica (daughter of Nicodemo) MERLENGO. See for yourself….
Baptismal extract of Erminegildo Frattarola, nephew to Merlenghi; red underline showing Merlengo
BUT! In 1793, our ancestor, Domenica’s brother, Antonio Nicodemo Merlenghi, was baptized as MERLENGHI. The Merlenghi are traced back, for now, to my 6 x great grandfather Nicodemo Merlenghi, likely born in the 1720s or 1730s, as I previously mentioned. I think he was from Farindola because I haven’t found the surname in any neighboring towns. Those with the surname Merlenghi going directly back, for as far back as I can currently trace, were all farmers.
Poor Anna Paola Lucerini
Previously mentioned Antonio Merlenghi married Anna Paola Lucerini in 1821. She was illegitimate. Her mother was Maria Domenica Romaolda Lucerini. Her father was never named anywhere on records. He is simply IGNOTA/Unknown. She was baptized by Archpriest Antonio Salvitti at San Nicola di Bari. Her godmother was Lucia, widow of Filippo Frattarola, and the midwife there at her birth was Anna Rosa, widow of Domenico Di Francesco. Her mother passed when she was 16 years old. This is not the end of the line for Anna Paola’s ancestry because her grandparents on her mother’s side are known! This branch of the Lucerini lived inside the village too.
Nicolantonio Cirone
My 6 x great grandfather was a fabricatore (builder) as were his brothers and at least one of his sons was referred to as Mastro (Master) Fabricatore on Farindola civil records. They too lived in the village. Master Builder. Sounds familiar in one of Nicolantonio Cirone’s descendants doesn’t it?
Maria Donata di Costanzo and her parents
Maria Donata di Costanzo bears a special mention for two reasons. 1. She and her parents are the only people I could find in Cesidio Merlenghi’s ancestry that weren’t from Farindola. They were from Penne. Maria Donata was born there; and 2. Maria Donata di Costanzo was a midwife. Not only did she deliver her grandchildren, she appears in many Latin records as the obtestrix (levatrice/ostetrice/midwife) delivering babies in Farindola.
Giuseppe Marzola and His Wife Rosina Pompili
Giuseppe Marzola and Rosina Pompili are the parents of the wife of the Cancelliere of Farindola, Nicola Carusi. Her name is Giovanna Marzola. (Giovanna Marzola and Nicola Carusi are important parts of Luigia Massei’s ancestry.) She would be sister to Domenico Marzola in Cesidio Merlenghi’s tree. Surely these parents and family were well-to-do citizens of Farindola.
Maria Michela Cirone’s Ancestry (Serafina’s Mother)
Maria Michela Cirone’s ancestry also goes back further than the “pedigree view” on Ancestry allows me to capture for you. Everyone in her tree, with the exception of one of Maria Michela’s great great great grandfathers, was born in Farindola.
Maria Michela Cirone’s Ancestry; names circled in orange mentioned below. (Click to make larger)
Felice Cirone
Serafina’s great great great grandfather Felice Cirone was a carpenter.
Donato Fragassi and son Domenico Fragassi
This father and son duo in her ancestry were archery bow makers/arcari. No doubt this would be a specialized profession in a place the size of Farindola.
The Salvittis
The Salvittis are a regular Farindola surname now. But, they originally came from Fara San Martino, Chieti. Serafina’s great great great grandfather Domenico Lorenzo Salvitti was born there in the town famous for its pasta company in the neighboring province of Chieti. He married another Cirone – Cecilia Saveria. Domenico Lorenzo Salvitti’s nephew was mayor of Farindola for a while. His uncle was priest at San Nicola di Bari.
From what I can tell, at this point, the first Salvitti to have been born in Farindola after Domenico Lorenzo brought the surname there was Saverio Salvitti in 1789. He was the oldest son of Domenico Lorenzo and brother to Serafina’s ancestor.
Deomanda Frattarola
Deomanda’s name as written in one record
Deomanda, wife of Donato Fragassi. What a first name she has! Pretty isn’t it? She is mentioned because of her unique first name.
Now who taught my great grandmother to put the red pepper in the red sauce? Maybe Maria Michela Cirone…
*It is a real shame that Ancestry.com encourages customers to copy other trees that are on their site. I sincerely hope that I stop seeing my Cirone ancestry used as a source in trees of people from the farthest reaches of Italy that think my Cirone are possibly their ancestors while their surname isn’t even spelled the same as Cirone! The tree is there to help others.
On this day in 1897, Paolo Di Francesco was born in Trosciano, Farindola.
I present to you the birth record of great grandfather Paolo Di Francesco from the Archivio di Stato di Pescara:
#61 Di Francesco, Paolo; 1897 Farindola Nati
Translating –Number 61:
The year 1897, day 15, of May at the 10th hour, in the municipal house.
In front of me, Clemente de Berardinis, Secretary Delegate of the Mayor here since July 17, 1895, Civil State Official of the Commune of Farindola, there appears Biagio di Francesco, of 30 years, farmer, living in Farindola, that admits to me that on the (blank), in the 19th minute, of the 14th day of the current month, in house address Trosciano, number (blank), to Marianna di Pendima (Pentima), his wife, with whom he resides.
There was born a baby of the masculine sex that he presents to me and who has been given the name Paolo.
To the above in this document were present the witnesses Giovanni Donadio, of 50 years, farmer, and Donato Ferri, of 76 years, farmer, both residents of this commune.
The act that I have written has been read to the present attendees because they are illiterate.
Signed –
De Berardinis
Notation in the Margin:
Written against, this day of 17-10-1974 deceased in Penne act number 56
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. 1Marcella, 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.
Gran Sasso D’Italia, overlook near Farindola
Today’s birthday is Angela Maria di Massimo, born in 1871 at 10 a.m. in Macchie, Farindola, Pescara. She was the mother of my great grandmother Maria Luigia Massei.
Cinziarosa's Descendants (c) 