"Ciao Carm!
I am just starting to do some research and found your blog. My grandmother was Philomena Cefalo (Miazga). Her parents were Carmine and Emilia Cefalo. I know that they were from outside of Naples. I wanted to know if I'm on the right track. I found Emilia Cefalo (http://tlngenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/about-blog.html) born in 1879. Thanks for such a thorough and interesting blog.
Suzanne"
Hi Suzanne!
Below is the birth act and pedigree chart of Emila Cefalo. She was born on 5 April 1879 at 3:00 pm in the family home on Contrada Grifi to Generoso Cefalo and Maria Grazia Bevilacqua.
Emilia had five full siblings - Maria Letizia (1876), Fiore (abt. 1882), Albino (1885), Maria Laura (1888) and Nicolo (abt. 1891), and one half-sister, Maria Giulietta Bevilacqua (1872). Maria Giulietta was the only child of Maria Grazia Bevilacqua's first marriage to Ciriaco Pasquale Bevilacqua.
I'm not showing a marriage act for Emilia, but it's likely she was married after 1899 - the cut off date for most of my records. Carmine was one of the most popular male names in Torre, so I have several of them in Emilia's age bracket (actually about 15 or so) ... but with a little work we can probably narrow down the possibilities.
Are we on the right track?
Regards,
Carm
1879 Birth Act of Emilia Cefalo
Pedigree Chart of Emilia Cefalo
Thanks so much for your response! What I'm not sure about is, wouldn't Emilia have had a different last name, her maiden name?
ReplyDelete@Suzanne
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne,
It's certainly possible - in which case the Emilia above wouldn't be the one you're looking for.
The other scenario would be that Emilia's maiden name was also Cefalo. It's a fairly common surname in Torre and the surrounding comunes, and many times the families inter-married.
You'd need to have a bit more info before you could either definitely verify (or rule out) the connection.
Have you located passenger manifests for either of your grandparents yet? Those are a big help in locating their comune of origin. If they came through the port of New York, the Ellis Island website is your best place to look for those. (www.ellisisland.org).
Let me know what turns up and I'll see if I can help you make a connection.
Regards,
Carm
Ciao Carm,
ReplyDeleteI did some more digging and contacted someone in my extended family. (I have always been interested in Italy and studied Italian but didn't know the Italian side of my family because of the early death of my father) It turns out the Cefalo's of our family are from nearby Monteforte, Avellino. Thanks so much for getting back to me. I really enjoy your blog! Best, Suzanne
@Suzanne
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne,
Great news! Best of luck with your research in Monteforte.
Regards,
Carm