Looking for information on Marcellino's

karen · New Member Joined: Sep 08, 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Florida

My Mom, age 88, wants to see where her Father was born - so we are headed to Calabria in October! We've been researching and think he is from Grotteria. Mom always thought he was from Reggio di Calabria. He was one of four brothers who came to the U.S., sisters did not come over, not sure if there were other brothers. The brothers names are Dominick, Guisseppe; Pasquale and Salvatore. We think his Father was Vincenzo as that was the name of his first born Son, Vincent. We also think his Mother was Rosa, my Mom is Rose. He never talked about his life in Italy so we have very little information about the family he left behind, how many sisters, other brothers, etc. It would be unbelievable and a dream come true if there is still family we could meet while there. What is the best way for us to approach this once there? Thank you. Karen

charliemis

Welcome Karen,

Grotteria is a comune (municipality) in the Province (like a county in the US) of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region of Calabria (like a State), located about 70 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 60 km northeast of Citta (City) of Reggio Calabria.

You don't have a lot of time to do much research before you leave (like going to the Family History Center to order/rent films for Vital records for the Comune or to write directly to the Comune) to try to determine the names of other siblings.You can perhaps use Pagine Bianchi:

www.paginebianche.it/index.html

to see who currently lives in Grotteria with your Cognome (surname); you may also see if there are some folks with the same first names as your relatives who came here due to the Italian Naming traditions.

In addition, I would prepare a small Family tree chart with your Grandparents names along with your great Grandparents plus the names of the siblings you know with estimated DOBs. If there were no male children left behind your search will be more difficult. Italian women do keep their Maiden names. I would bring along any other documents that you might have from your Grandfather. You should also gather as much info as possible using either the Ellis Island site or ancestry.com regarding when each family member arrived here (the original manifest will list their age and the names of parents as well).

It will depend on the cooperation of the clerk at the Municipio (town hall) as whether they really will help you try to find records of other family members or not ----- keep in mind that most small towns need to access old dusty ledgers and find the names by hand. This will take a lot of time and work, since you don't have their names. The town is pretty small (less than 3500 people) and everyone knows everyone else, but if your Mom is 88, your Grandfather must have left there a long time ago.

You might even consider asking to see the Sindaco (Mayor) --- a politician vs. a government employee who may be more interested in helping since he won't be doing the actual work.

I hope this helps a little....I'm sure that other members of the group will offer additional suggestions.

karen · New Member Joined: Sep 08, 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Florida

Thank you for the explanation Charlie, the towns are confusing to me but I am working on it! I do have information on all the brothers, from Ellis Island, Naturalization records, ships registry, etc. I've been working on my family tree so I have charts, etc. also. I will enlarge the ship registries today as I cannot read any parents names. My Grandfather came over in 1913, I understand the fragility of finding a living relative, but my Mom is so excited I can't help but hope! I will check the website you provided this weekend, thank you. My daughter is considering hiring a person/service that does some of the research there, do you have any experience with that? It is somewhat costly and (understandably) there is no guarantee they will be able to locate anyone or any information. Again, thank you for your reply, and help. Have a nice day. Karen

charliemis

I sent you a PM with a recommendation

nuccia · Last edited by nuccia on Sat Sep 10, 2011 11:24 pm; edited 1 time in total

Karen I have done some work with several families in the various towns throughout Reggio Calabria. After reviewing quickly some of the records online for your family it does appear that the parents names *could* very well be Rosa (even Maria Rosa as there was a tenancy to proceed women's names with Maria) and Vincenzo. If you go to the Comune in Grotteria (go early in the morning for best results and since everything shuts down in the afternoon and at the beginning of your trip since I doubt you will get them right away. ) Records are free if you request them yourself and in case they can't get them to you before you leave offer to pay all postage to have them mailed to your home - this is very important as the Comuni do not have a lot of money but they can not accept money themselves for looking up the information but can for postage expenses.

I'm sure once you're in the town someone will ask you who you are - strangers do not go unnoticed so once you mention your surname and show someone the chart you will find someone who either knows something about your family or who is family. If you get lucky enough and this happens, consider visiting the Church where your ancestors records may be (someone should be able to help with that). If a resident comes with you you may be able to view the Church records and perhaps take some pictures of some of the entries. Offer a donation - the priest will appreciate this.

karen · New Member Joined: Sep 08, 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Florida

Thank you nuccia, we will do as you suggested. We are so looking forward to every aspect of this trip! My first to Italy.