My Italian ancestors have left some confusing and conflicting information that I have been trying to make sense of. It all started some years back when my mother's cousin asked me if I had any information on Eva DeNicola. Eva is a daughter of Louisa and Arnaldo DeNicola who died at a young age. Eva would have been my grandfather Remo's sister. My grandfather had never mentioned that he had a sister that died as a child' but he was also the youngest and may not have even known. I had asked the reference librarian from Quincy if she could find a birth date and death date for Eva DeNicola since the records online only go up to 1915. She did find Eva was born in 1919 to Arnaldo and Louisa T.; and that Eva's death was recorded in Quincy in 1923.
I did not find much more information on Eva until many months later a match came up on ancestry.com from findagrave. Someone had posted Eva's gravestone from Mt. Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy, MA. I had not found Eva in the Quincy cemetery index, so I was surprised to see her gravestone from Quincy. Another surprise was the engraving on the stone, which stated Eva was also buried with her grandmother, Francesca Pettinelli. The Pettinelli name was one I had heard before in relation to Luisa Terragnoli, but no-one seemed to know the connection.
We knew that Louisa's maiden name was Terragnoli from her children Luigi, Gilda, Amelia, Romulos, Adolph, and Olga's birth records. Also on Arnaldo and Louisa's passenger record from Italy to Boston, they state their friend in the United States is Louisa's brother, Cosmo Terragnoli. If the Francesca that was buried with Eva was Loiusa's mother; I would expect her last name to be Terragnoli, not Pettinelli.
I did another search for Terragnolis in Quincy and found a Damiano Terragnoli who married in Quincy. He lists his parents as Guiseppe Terragnoli and Francesca Lucente. Francesca matches the name on Eva's gravestone, but does not explain where the Pettinelli name came from. Oddly, Damiano uses the Pettinelli name in all future records, rather than Terragnoli. I would guess this makes it more likely that Louisa and Damiano are siblings, as Damiano is linked to both the Terragnoli and Pettinelli name, as is Louisa. I am thinking the most likely scenario is that their mother, Francesca Lucente Terragnoli, remarries a Pettinelli, and Damiano changes his name after his mother remarries.
My next step was to order the death records of Francesca Pettinelli and Louisa DeNicola to see how it lists their maiden names and to confirm Francesca Pettinelli is Louisa's mother. The death records were not exactly as I expected.
Let's start with Louisa's death record first. Louisa's mother is listed as Francesca Lucente. This is the same name listed on Damiano Terragnoli's marriage record; linking them once more - probably as brother and sister. However, Luisa's father is listed as Luigi Pettinelli, not Guiseppe Terragnoli as I had expected. I am guessing that Louisa's father was listed incorrectly by her son A. DeNicola, who probably only knew Luigi Pettinelli as Francesca's husband and mistakenly recorded this name. Finding Louisa's birth record and marriage record to Arnaldo would be helpful to see if Guiseppe Terragnoli or Luigi Pettinelli is listed as her father. Unfortunately, the records available on the L'Aquila state archives and on familysearch only go up to 1865 for Prezza, Italy.
My next step was to look at Francesca Pettinelli's death record to confirm she was Louisa's mother. Indeed, Francesca's father is listed as Nichelle Lucente, matching the maiden name of Louisa's and Damiano's mother as Francesca Lucente. This record also states that Francesca was widowed from Luigi Pettinelli; so Pettinelli is definitely a married name. Finding this marriage record would be helpful to see if maybe Louisa's first marriage to Guiseppe Terragnoli is mentioned; confirming my suspicions that this is her second marriage. I have been unable to find any passenger records or marriage records in the US for Louisa or Luigi. I am not sure if they married in Italy or here in the US. I have written Italy a couple of times for more informtion on this family, but I have not heard back. I guess I will have to next write to the parish priest of Prezza.
My conclusions after obtaining the information from various sources is that Louisa, Damiano and Cosmo are all children of Francesca Lucente and Guiseppe Terragnoli. I suspect that Guisseppe died in Prezza, Italy after 1886, about the year Cosmo was born. Francesca remarries, either in the US or Italy, to Luigi Pettinelli. Damiano was probably young enough that he used the Pettinelli name, maybe he did not even know his father Guiseppe Terragnoli. I have not found much information in the US for either Francesca Pettinelli or the missing brother Cosmo, who was listed on Louisa's passenger record. Maybe Cosmo went back to Italy. I am not sure why I have not found much information on Francesca in the United States. Obtaining some records from Italy would be very helpful in sorting all this out.
death record transcriptions are from Mass Document Retrieval
Showing posts with label Pettinelli Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pettinelli Family. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
louisa terragnoli denicola (part 2 of 3)
immigration
Louisa Terragnoli was married by the time she immigrated to the United States in 1907. She arrived in Boston, MA with her husband, Arnaldo DeNicola, and daughter, Annunziata, on May 13, 1907. They left the port of Naples, Italy on the S.S. Canopic on May 1, 1907, sailing for 13 days. Louisa was 24 years old when she ventured on this trip to America. I found an image below of the ship, and another site which has a little history on the SS Canopic.
Louisa's last place of residence on her passenger record is listed as Prezza, Italy. It also lists her daughter, Annunziata, was born in Prezza in 1905. If Louisa had her first child quickly after being married, this would give Louisa and Arnaldo's marriage year to be around 1904-1905, maybe in Prezza. The 1910 Census states they had been married for 6 years, so that would also suggest around 1904. The Family History Center Library does not have the civil registrations for these years on microfilm, they only have 1809-1865. I did write to the commune of Prezza in August of 2010, over two years ago; asking for their extraction of marriage; unfortunately, I did not get a response.
This first census for Louisa in the United States (1910) shows that she and her growing family settled in Quincy, MA. They stayed in this city throughout their lives, even though they moved at least 8 times while in Quincy. I have written a little about their residences in another blog post about her husband Arnaldo. I have been unable to locate Louisa and Arnaldo in the 1920 census, even though I have found them in the 1920 Quincy directory on Washington Street. I browsed through this district of Quincy for the 1920 census, and still am unable to locate them.
View Arnaldo and Louisa DeNicola in a larger map
Arnaldo and Louisa lived on Canal Street in 1910. After looking at some historical maps, it seems the name of this road at some time was changed to the current Revere Road. By 1920, they moved to Washington Street; 1926 they are on Winter Street. The 1930 Census has Louisa living on Bracket Street with Arnaldo and 9 out of her 10 living children; their eldest, Nancy was married by 1930. By 1932 the family has moved to Edwards Street, then Massachusetts Ave by 1933 to at least 1938. In the 1940 Census, Louisa is a widow living with five of her children on Arnold Street. Louisa moves at least one more time by 1943 when she is found on Spear Street in that year's Quincy directory.
I believe Louisa's mother, Francesca Pettinelli, may have lived in Massachusetts also; as her name is etched on her daughter Eva's gravestone in Quincy, MA. Francesca dies in 1925, two years after her granddaughter Eva, who was only about 3 years old. These must have been some difficult years for Louisa.
Louisa may also had at least one brother, maybe two, living in Massachusetts; Cosmo and Damiano as mentioned above. I have not found Francesca or Cosmo in any census records, but Damiano is listed in the 1920-1940 censuses, living in Quincy, MA. Louisa probably saw Damiano since he was living so close.
The 1930 census gives us a little bit more information on Louisa and her husband. It does state that they were both naturalized by 1930, which I knew since I found Arnaldo's naturalization papers on ancestry.com. The census also notes that they are both able to speak English, and are able to read and write. They are renting their house, which is not surprising with all the moves from house to house they have done. They rent their house on Brackett street for $30 a month. (The only new information from the 1940 census is that Louisa's highest level of education is 4 years of High School. I am not sure of the school system in Italy when she was a child, but it seems she was well educated.)
Louisa's husband died in 1935, leaving her with her youngest child, Remo, still only 13 years old. Remo is my grandfather, and I do not remember him speaking much of his parents, or if his grandparents or any Aunts and Uncles came to the US along with Louisa. He would only have been about three years old when his grandmother Francesca dies, too young to remember her.
(continued...)
Louisa Terragnoli was married by the time she immigrated to the United States in 1907. She arrived in Boston, MA with her husband, Arnaldo DeNicola, and daughter, Annunziata, on May 13, 1907. They left the port of Naples, Italy on the S.S. Canopic on May 1, 1907, sailing for 13 days. Louisa was 24 years old when she ventured on this trip to America. I found an image below of the ship, and another site which has a little history on the SS Canopic.
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| Immigrants arriving in Boston, MA on the SS Canopic 1920, from BPL flickr site |
Louisa's last place of residence on her passenger record is listed as Prezza, Italy. It also lists her daughter, Annunziata, was born in Prezza in 1905. If Louisa had her first child quickly after being married, this would give Louisa and Arnaldo's marriage year to be around 1904-1905, maybe in Prezza. The 1910 Census states they had been married for 6 years, so that would also suggest around 1904. The Family History Center Library does not have the civil registrations for these years on microfilm, they only have 1809-1865. I did write to the commune of Prezza in August of 2010, over two years ago; asking for their extraction of marriage; unfortunately, I did not get a response.
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| From blog post louisa terragnoli |
1910-1943 residence for Arnaldo and Louisa DeNicola
View Arnaldo and Louisa DeNicola in a larger map
Arnaldo and Louisa lived on Canal Street in 1910. After looking at some historical maps, it seems the name of this road at some time was changed to the current Revere Road. By 1920, they moved to Washington Street; 1926 they are on Winter Street. The 1930 Census has Louisa living on Bracket Street with Arnaldo and 9 out of her 10 living children; their eldest, Nancy was married by 1930. By 1932 the family has moved to Edwards Street, then Massachusetts Ave by 1933 to at least 1938. In the 1940 Census, Louisa is a widow living with five of her children on Arnold Street. Louisa moves at least one more time by 1943 when she is found on Spear Street in that year's Quincy directory.
I believe Louisa's mother, Francesca Pettinelli, may have lived in Massachusetts also; as her name is etched on her daughter Eva's gravestone in Quincy, MA. Francesca dies in 1925, two years after her granddaughter Eva, who was only about 3 years old. These must have been some difficult years for Louisa.
Louisa may also had at least one brother, maybe two, living in Massachusetts; Cosmo and Damiano as mentioned above. I have not found Francesca or Cosmo in any census records, but Damiano is listed in the 1920-1940 censuses, living in Quincy, MA. Louisa probably saw Damiano since he was living so close.
The 1930 census gives us a little bit more information on Louisa and her husband. It does state that they were both naturalized by 1930, which I knew since I found Arnaldo's naturalization papers on ancestry.com. The census also notes that they are both able to speak English, and are able to read and write. They are renting their house, which is not surprising with all the moves from house to house they have done. They rent their house on Brackett street for $30 a month. (The only new information from the 1940 census is that Louisa's highest level of education is 4 years of High School. I am not sure of the school system in Italy when she was a child, but it seems she was well educated.)
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| From blog post louisa terragnoli |
Louisa's husband died in 1935, leaving her with her youngest child, Remo, still only 13 years old. Remo is my grandfather, and I do not remember him speaking much of his parents, or if his grandparents or any Aunts and Uncles came to the US along with Louisa. He would only have been about three years old when his grandmother Francesca dies, too young to remember her.
(continued...)
Thursday, October 25, 2012
louisa terragnoli denicola (part 1 of 3)
birth
I do not have a lot of information on my great grandmother, Louisa Terragnoli. I have only seen an exact birthdate on one record, her husband Arnaldo DeNicola's petition for naturalization. This record has a date for Louisa's birth as May 20, 1877. This record also states that she was born in Roma, Italy, but Louisa's passenger record states she was born in Prezza, Italy.
I do not have any records that state who Louis'a parents were. I am hoping when I obtain her death record it will list them. I do have a couple of guesses from some indirect sources.
One source is a gravestone of her daughter, Eva, who died at a very young age in 1923. John Talieri created a memorial on findagrave.com with a picture of her gravestone from Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy, MA; which also has Eva's grandmother listed on the stone, Francesca Pettinelli. Perhaps this is Louisa's mother.
I remember some time ago when I first became interested in genealogy that one of my family members mentioned the name Pettinelli (and Faiella) in relation to my great grandmother, Louisa Terragnoli. I am not sure where the Pettinelli name came from though, as I would guess she would have had her married name of Terragnoli on her stone. It could be her maiden name, but again I find it strange that she would not put her married name. Another option might be that she remarried a Pettinelli, and this is her second married name. Finding her death record would also be of help to get more information. (see updated post on Terragnoli / Pettinelli connection)
Another indirect source I found which links the Francesca name to Terragnoli is a marriage record I found of a Damiano Terragnoli. He marries Giselda Faiella (a name mentioned in my family) in Boston, MA and his parents are lised as Guiseppe Terragnoli and Francesca Licente. Maybe Damiano was Louisa's brother and Francesca Pettinelli's maiden name is Licente. That would mean Francesca most likely remarried a Pettinelli. The trees on ancestry.com have Giselda Faiella from the same area of Prezza, Italy. I was unable to find more information (such as passenger or census records) for Damiano or Francesca though; so I am not sure if they were from Prezza also. (see note 1 for update)
I did not find too much information about the area of Italy that Louisa grew up in. I am guessing that the petition of naturalization was wrong in stating Roma as her place of birth, and that she was born in Prezza as this area is listed for many Terragnolis. Prezza is in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It seems to be a small commune, with a current population of around 1200. The following is an excerpt from the http://www.abruzzocitta.it/english/comuni/prezza.html website :
(to be continued, immigration to America...)
to do:
1. order death record for Francesca Pettinelli and Louisa Terragnoli from mass-doc.com (since I do not have the time to go to Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics). These would hopefully give me Francesca's maiden name and if it matches Damiano Terragnoli's marriage certificate, I know Louisa and he are brothers. It would be great if Francesca's death record also gives me her parents' names to go back one more generation.
2. find more information about Prezza, Italy
notes:
1. While I was searching for Pettinellis in the 1922 Quincy directory, I came across a Damiano and Giselda Pettinelli. This makes it more likely that Damiano was Louisa's brother, and he changed his name from Terragnoli (on his marriage record) to Pettinelli - perhaps his mother's new married name. This explains why I could not find much information on Damiano, I was using the Terragnoli name. All of his children have the Pettinelli last name, and he uses this last name on all of his records, including WWI and WWII records, and also a naturalization record (only have index entry, not image on fold3.com).
I do not have a lot of information on my great grandmother, Louisa Terragnoli. I have only seen an exact birthdate on one record, her husband Arnaldo DeNicola's petition for naturalization. This record has a date for Louisa's birth as May 20, 1877. This record also states that she was born in Roma, Italy, but Louisa's passenger record states she was born in Prezza, Italy.
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| From blog post louisa terragnoli |
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| From blog post louisa terragnoli |
I do not have any records that state who Louis'a parents were. I am hoping when I obtain her death record it will list them. I do have a couple of guesses from some indirect sources.
One source is a gravestone of her daughter, Eva, who died at a very young age in 1923. John Talieri created a memorial on findagrave.com with a picture of her gravestone from Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy, MA; which also has Eva's grandmother listed on the stone, Francesca Pettinelli. Perhaps this is Louisa's mother.
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| From blog post louisa terragnoli |
I remember some time ago when I first became interested in genealogy that one of my family members mentioned the name Pettinelli (and Faiella) in relation to my great grandmother, Louisa Terragnoli. I am not sure where the Pettinelli name came from though, as I would guess she would have had her married name of Terragnoli on her stone. It could be her maiden name, but again I find it strange that she would not put her married name. Another option might be that she remarried a Pettinelli, and this is her second married name. Finding her death record would also be of help to get more information. (see updated post on Terragnoli / Pettinelli connection)
Another indirect source I found which links the Francesca name to Terragnoli is a marriage record I found of a Damiano Terragnoli. He marries Giselda Faiella (a name mentioned in my family) in Boston, MA and his parents are lised as Guiseppe Terragnoli and Francesca Licente. Maybe Damiano was Louisa's brother and Francesca Pettinelli's maiden name is Licente. That would mean Francesca most likely remarried a Pettinelli. The trees on ancestry.com have Giselda Faiella from the same area of Prezza, Italy. I was unable to find more information (such as passenger or census records) for Damiano or Francesca though; so I am not sure if they were from Prezza also. (see note 1 for update)
I did not find too much information about the area of Italy that Louisa grew up in. I am guessing that the petition of naturalization was wrong in stating Roma as her place of birth, and that she was born in Prezza as this area is listed for many Terragnolis. Prezza is in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It seems to be a small commune, with a current population of around 1200. The following is an excerpt from the http://www.abruzzocitta.it/english/comuni/prezza.html website :
"Prezza is a commune with an altitude of 500 mt above sea level and a population of 1200 inhabitants. Perched on the slopes of Mount Prezza this centre overlooks the Peligna valley. Prezza was known in the Middle Ages, although several archaeological findings date back to a prehistoric age.a terrace over the Peligna Valley, it dominates the whole Sulmona basin. Enchanting is the village, with its typical houses, together with the Baronial palace and the 13th- century of St. Lucia, a destination for religious tourism for the worship bound to the miracle of the grace against eye disease."
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(to be continued, immigration to America...)
to do:
1. order death record for Francesca Pettinelli and Louisa Terragnoli from mass-doc.com (since I do not have the time to go to Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics). These would hopefully give me Francesca's maiden name and if it matches Damiano Terragnoli's marriage certificate, I know Louisa and he are brothers. It would be great if Francesca's death record also gives me her parents' names to go back one more generation.
2. find more information about Prezza, Italy
notes:
1. While I was searching for Pettinellis in the 1922 Quincy directory, I came across a Damiano and Giselda Pettinelli. This makes it more likely that Damiano was Louisa's brother, and he changed his name from Terragnoli (on his marriage record) to Pettinelli - perhaps his mother's new married name. This explains why I could not find much information on Damiano, I was using the Terragnoli name. All of his children have the Pettinelli last name, and he uses this last name on all of his records, including WWI and WWII records, and also a naturalization record (only have index entry, not image on fold3.com).
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