Maria Grazia Todesca (center), with daughters Regina Cefalo (left) and Olimpia Cefalo (right) Photo pilfered from Florindo's site - grazie, Flo :-)
Margaret D. has been researching her Cefalo / Todesca lines and has generously shared documents acquired on her behalf by Italian researcher
Joe de Simone. Thank you, Margaret!
Hang with me a moment while I toss in a shameless plug for Joe as I consider him and his family dear friends.
Joe was born, raised and educated in the U.S. and returned to Italy in 1982 to re-establish his roots. His family has a two story home located in Quadrelle, Avellino. The family lives on the top floor while the bottom level is divided into two rental apartments. If you're going to be vacationing in the Campania region you should seriously check them out. Here's the
link.
Hubby and I have stayed there the last 4-5 times we've been to Italy and consider it our home away from home. It's only 30 minutes from the Naples airport - a straight shot west on the Autostrada. There are a ton of sites nearby - Pompei, Vesuvius, the monastery in Montevergine, the royal castle in Caserta, plus it's only 40 minutes from our Torre le Nocelle.
Joe also does genealogy research on the side. His rates are very reasonable and, more importantly, he's honest and diligent. He specializes in records from the Campania region - provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Napoli and Salerno. Here's a
link to the genealogy section of his site.
Okay, back to the ancestors. Carmine Cefalo was born in 1855 in Torre le Nocelle to Andrea Cefalo and Maria Luigia Coscia. I don't know the exact date as I've not yet been able to locate his birth in the civil records.
Pedigree of Carmine Cefalo
Carmine married Maria Grazia Todesca on 18 September 1877 in Torre. Maria Grazia was born 5 February 1856 to Ciriaco Todesca and Maria Raffaela Anastasia d'Arena. I've uncovered six children born to the couple - details in the family group record posted below. The header photo is of Maria Grazia and her daughters Regina and Olimpia Cefalo.
Pedigree of Maria Grazia Todesca
Cefalo Family Group Sheet
Now, thanks to Margaret and Joe, we also have the dates of death for both Carmine and Maria Todesca.
Death Act #16 / 1929 - Carmine Cefalo
#16 Filed 12 Maggio 1929
Name: Carmine Cefalo, 74, contadino, nato e residente in Torre le Nocelle, figlio dei furono Andrea Cefalo e Luigia Coscia, marito di maria Grazia Todesca
Death: 11 Maggio 1829
Declarant: Beniamino de Placido, 78, possidente
Declarant: Carmine dello Iacono, 54, contadino
Witness: Carmine Pizzano, 55, contadino
Witness: Ciriaco de Minico, 57, contadino
Sindaco: Dottor Pasquale Rotondi
Extract of Maria Grazia Todesca's Death Act
The photo above is an extract of Maria Grazia's death record, but the information on the original record is as follows:
#1 Filed 29 Gennaio 1935
Name: Maria Grazia Todesca, 79, nata in Torre le Nocelle, vedova del fu Carmine Cefalo, figlia dei furono Ciriaco Todesca e Raffaela d'Arena
Death: 28 Gennaio 1935, contrada Bosco Faiano #19
Witness: Gennaro Cassano, 60, contadino
Witness: Giovanni dello Iacono
