Today in Family History

On today’s date (September 2nd) in family history, the following events happened on my maternal side:

Anna Heizen Kirsch

In 1862, my immigrant second great grandmother Anne (Anna) Marie Aloisia Heinzen was born in Lingwurm, a tiny hamlet of houses near Brig, Canton Valais, Switzerland. She was the daughter of Joseph Anton Heinzen and Italian-Swiss Regina Gentineta. Happy Birthday!

In 1881, my immigrant second great grand uncle Alexander Bold, who was born near Nuenschweiler, close to Alsace, France in Germany, two different Chicago newspapers published reports on his duties as a Chicago Police Officer. He raised an alarm when a four story brick plaining mill owned by Wintermeyer & Dempsey caught fire. It was a total loss for the company. He also struggled with a gun a perpetrator and shot him. Officer Alexander Bold had been on the scene because the perpetrator had shot five people.

In 1928, the Chicago Tribune ran an advertisement for my immigrant great grandfather Carmen Ferraro’s opera school at the Lyon-Healy building, in which he offered “part scholarships to few promising voices.”

In 1971, the Montreal Gazette featured a story on a American detective agency run by a woman, which was rare in those days. The article mentioned that she and her former boss, my first cousin two times removed Albert R. Valerioti, attended the World Detective Conference happening in Montreal. It also states, that he was called the “Prince of Detectives” because decades before he was responsible for transporting Hiroshima’s atomic bomb fragments from New York to Washington. Albert was the son of Angela Maria Ferraro, my great grandfather Carmen Ferraro’s sister.

On my paternal side, the following happened:

Penne Marriage Processetti

In 1791, my 5th great grandmother Rosalinda Maddalena Mincarelli was born in Penne, Abruzzo to Domenico and Anna Maria Giulia Di Federico. She was a lace maker and was the spouse of Massimo Antonio Nicola Uriano. If you are keeping tracek, she was an ancestor of Luigia Massei.

Are we related, or do you have an addition or correction? Please email me, because for some reason WordPress does not send you my reply if you simply comment on this post. My email is-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #23 Part II: Namesake ~ Massimo and the Massimos in my Uriani Line ~

This blog post is part II of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompt #23 Namesake.

Massimo. I have many Massimos in my paternal lines. Uncles, grandfathers, cousins, you name it. But in one line there were four versions of Massimo in successive generations in one of my Penne, Pescara branches. My Uriani that lived in Penne seemed to use Massimo more than any others. The Uriani are direct ancestors of my great grandmother Maria Luigia Massei.

The Cathedral of Penne is the Church of San Massimo, named after the town’s patron saint. The present-day structure was built on top of an old crypt. That crypt was built on top of a Vestini temple dedicated to the Roman Goddess of family Vesta, whose festival was celebrated June 7-14 and they were so-named for that fact. The Vestini were the independent war-like inhabitants of the area surrounding the Gran Sasso in Italy before they allied themselves with Rome. San Massimo’s feast day falls in the middle of the week previously dedicated to Vesta – June 10.

1. The first Massimo of the Uriani line I found was my 5th great grandfather, born in 1783 in Penne. His full name was Massimo Antonio Nicola Uriani. He was the father of Antonia Uriani. Antonia was the wife of Sabatino Cacciatore of the Cacciatore – Desiati line in Penne. Massimo Antonio Nicola Uriani was a contadino and was the husband of Rosalina Maddalena Mincarelli. This Massimo was the great great grandfather of Maria Luigia Massei.
2. Second, the first Massimo had a daughter named Massimina. She was born in 1825 in Penne.
3. Then I found the first Massimo’s marriage documents that showed he had been baptized in San Massimo and his father was Massimo Nicola Uriani, who was my 6th great grandfather and husband of Vittoria Di Norscia. Vittoria’s father was named Giuseppe Lorenzo Massimo Di Norscia. Massimo Nicola Uriani had a daughter named Maria Anna Massimina (sister of the first Massimo). Massimo Nicola Uriani is a special ancestor. He was born in 1734 and died in 1832 in Penne, making him the oldest direct ancestor in my paternal and maternal lines. His birthplace is unknown. According to his death record, he was 98 when he died. I have a cousin in my paternal lines that lived to at least 100 years in Farindola and the town gave him a birthday party to celebrate that occasion and the fact that he was a veteran of the First Italian War for Independence. Right now, it bears mention, that my great aunt, also on my paternal side, is 99 years old and counting.
4. Last, I found the baptismal record of Massimo Antonio Nicola Uriani’s sister Maria Anna Massimina, stating that their grandfather, my seventh great grandfather, was named Massimo Oriano (That is how the surname appeared in the church extracts from San Massimo in Penne in the late 1700s.) This Massimo was born around 1700 and his birthplace unknown. His wife was Maria Angela, with an unknown surname. Perhaps the name Massimo means he was actually born in Penne…

   

   What other surname do you see in this baptismal record that is in our tree?

This Uriani/D’Auriano/Oriano surname is rare in Penne. Coincidentally, Massimo Antonio Nicola Uriani’s granddaughter Anna Domenica Cacciatore married my 3rd great grandfather who was named Donato Di Massimo! He was from Farindola.

-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

My Pescara, Teramo, and Chieti Surnames and Places Lists

Gran Sasso D’Italia, overlook near Farindola

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italia

• Farindola: Marcella, Di Francesco, Merlenghi/Merlengo, Massei, Rossi, Cirone, Di Pend/tima, Di Massimo, Colangeli, Iannascoli, Lucerini, Giansante, Pompili/Pompilio, Cacciatore, Damiani/Damiano, Lizza, Puccella, Ferri, Marzola, Cervo, Chiarella, Colella, Carusi, Frattarola/Frattaroli, Rosa, De Nino, Lepore, Paolucci, Lacchetta, Ciarma, Dell’Orso, D’Angelo, Bucci, Di Simone, Tinacci, Del Priore, Salvitti, Sciarra, Di Risio/D’Orizio, Iannascoli, Di Luca, Fragassi/Fracasso, Di Costanzo, Di Julio, De Angelis, Cottelluci, D’Agostino, Fusaro, Trizii/Trizio, Costantini, Ricci, Di Vico, Marcelli, Collalto, Sciambellone, Marcucci  
• Major Farindola Collateral lines:  Zenone, Belgrado, Generosi, Iezzi, Romagna
• Penne: Colangeli, Crocetta, Rossi, Barbacone, Cotraccia, Labricciosa/Della Bricciosa, Marrone, Gambacorta, Ricci, Delle Monache, Di Costanzo, Di Falone, Andreoli, Di Donato, Triozzi, D’Angelo, D’Angelo alias Zagliocco, D’Angelo alias “Il Nibbio”, Giansante/Di Giansante, Trignani, Di Belisario, Facciolini, Massei, Imbastaro, Scaramuzzo, Cacciatore, Desiati/Desiati alias Cacciatore, Sacchetti, Sacchetti Sopranome Muffitti, Oriani/Auriano/Di Auriano, Di Norscia, Mincarelli, Di Federico, Ferramosca, Di Carlo, Chiarella
• Loreto Aprutino: Carusi, Balsamo
• Carpineto della Nora: Di Giansante, Di Giardini
• Pianella: D’Agostino, Di Pentima, Di Leonardo
• Montebello di Bertona: Antonacci, Di Silvestre, Di Vico

Teramo, Abruzzo, Italia

• Arsita/Baccucco: Rossi
• Castelli: Sacchetti Sopranome Muffitti/Sacchetti, Menei
• Castaglione Messer Raimondo: Ricci

Chieti, Abruzzo, Italia

• Fara San Martino: Salvitti, Sciarra, D’Ippolito

 

Links:

For research in Farindola, Elio Fragassi’s website has been invaluable: External Link.

For Penne and Farindola research, Gelsumino.it has been a goldmine!  The link to it’s resources is here: Link.

Pescara and Chieti records are all available on Antenati.

My Abruzzese tree: Ancestry

 

Thank you for visiting.

-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

 

Today’s Anniversary: Bartolomeo Massimo Antonio Desiati “Cacciatore” and Angela Emmanuela Sacchetti Muffitti

Penne, Pescara ~ On this day in 1821 my 5th great grandparents Bartolomeo Massimo Antonio Desiati “Cacciatore” from Penne, Pescara and Angela Emmanuela Sacchetti Muffitti from Castelli, Teramo, were married in Penne.  As far as records go, it was a strange marriage.  Look at all of those last names confusing the situation.  He was 59 and she was 32.

I found that someone in Penne must’ve made an error on a previous record two years prior.  When my 5th great grandparents had my 4th great grandfather Sabatino in 1819 the civil records officer wrote that Emmanuela was: sua moglie legitima=his (Bartolomeo) legitimate wife.  Hmmmm….The alias Cacciatore Bartolomeo had inherited from his father and Angela Emmanuela’s Sopranome Muffitti also added to the confusion over this set of ancestors.  I couldn’t figure out if Bartolomeo was having children with two different Emmanuelas or what!

Desiati alias Cacciatore

My 5th great grandfather Bartolomeo Massimo Antonio Desiati Cacciatore was born in Penne in 1762.  When his father died in 1775, the priest referred to him in the church death book at San Giovanni Evangelista in Penne as “Luciano Desiati alias Cacciatore.”  His death record is here in the marriage processetti of Bartolomeo and Emmanuela on Antenati.  Cacciatore = Huntsman.  Either Luciano Desiati, or one of his ancestors, slay beasts with skill for food, or was given the alias for another reason we will probably never know.

Similarly, in 1831, after Bartolomeo had four more children with Emmanuela and died, the civil records officer wrote his name as “Bartolomeo Desiati Cacciatore” on his death record.   Morti #43 via Antenati.  Bartolomeo’s half-brother Berardino was also recorded on his death record as “Berardino Desiati Cacciatore.”

Sacchetti Sopranome Muffitti

The civil records in Penne told me that an Emmanuela Muffitti had a son with Bartolomeo Cacciatore in February 1821 shortly before he married a lady with another surname – my 5th great grandmother.  On July 18th of that year, Angela Emmanuela Sacchetti, born in Villa Bifiore, Castelli, Teramo in 1789, daughter of the deceased Altobrando Sacchetti and Domenica Petra Menei, married Bartolomeo Massimo Antonio Cacciatore civilly at town hall and in church at San Giovanni Evangelista in Penne!   I didn’t know if these Emmanuelas were the same yet.

The 1821 marriage record from Penne via Antenati.

I discovered after looking through more Penne records that Sacchetti and Muffitti weren’t common surnames in the town at all.   Following the finding of the rest of Bartolomeo’s and Emmanuela’s children, including the birth of the Bartolomeo’s last child when he was 64, and seeing Emmanuela’s surname switching back and forth between Muffitti and Sacchetti, I just figured Bartolomeo was ignorant of the fact that the civil records officer kept writing different things and she was likely the same woman.

Then, when I found my 4th great grandfather’s Sabatino’s marriage record to Antonia Oriani/Auriano, (daughter of Massimo Antonio Nicola Oriani/Auriano and Rosalinda Maddalena Mincarelli) in 1844, there was a notation regarding Emmanuela’s surname, since she was deceased.

Sabatino’s marriage to Antonia Oriani. #44 Matrimoni 1844 Penne. Please see page 2.

The marriage record stated on the second page that Muffitti wasn’t incorrect on previous records regarding Bartolomeo and Emmanuela, because “her surname was Sacchetti and Muffitti was the SOPRANOME.”  Apparently a Sopranome distinguishes between family branches in larger towns or can be a nickname.  I can find no perfect genealogical definition for a Sopranome.

One time I saw a Penne record say that Massei was a Sopranome.  Are my ancestors named Massei really using a Sopranome?  No clue and I can’t tell from the records available to me…  So for now this is the best I can do for a sopranome definition:

Thanks Google

 

Their Orphaned Children

Bartolomeo and Emmanuela died 10 months apart in 1831 and left their 5 children as orphans.  Sabatino was only 12.  Emmanuela was recorded as “Emmanuela Muffitti” on her death record.  I have been trying to track their children.  It is definitely a possibility they went to live with Desiati relatives in Penne.

I know for sure that Sabatino, my 4th great grandfather, their oldest, married my 5th great grandmother Antonia Oriani in Penne.  After she left him a widow in 1857, Sabatino moved his children to Farindola, and married a cousin of ours, a Sciarra.  Sabatino died in Farindola in 1899 and the records officer wrote his name as “Sabatino Cacciatore.”  His cousin Luigi died in Penne in 1912 as “Luigi Desiati Cacciatore.”

I cannot at this time establish a connection between the Desiati alias “Cacciatore” family and the Cacciatore families living in Penne at the same time as our Luciano, Bartolomeo, and Sabatino.  Maybe there is no connection at all…

I wonder how he earned the alias and what the Sopranome meant…

Pace. Alla prossima!

 

Castelli, Teramo

 

cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net