Rizzo and Degerome Familiesl

[gayleputt]

Hello...I am trying to find information of any kind re: Francesco Antonio Rizzo, b. 24 Feb 1888 in Botondella? Italy. He was married, I believe to Josephine Forti/Forte (b. about 1891-1894). They immigrated to the USA in 1912. I would love information about when/where they married and who their ancestors (parents, grandparents) were.

According to family, Josephine was married twice. The other husband was "Chick" DeGerome. I believe he was her 2nd husband as they married in 1938 in Alleghey Co., PA. However, Mr. Rizzo lived until 1972. Divorced? One of Josephine's sons, assumed to be a son of Mr. Rizzo, took the DeGerome name of his stepfather. He was Patrick "Patsy" A. DeGerome. This is based on oral family history and not, at this point, on proven fact. If anyone can shed light on this for me, I would be so grateful.

Thank you.

Gayle Putt

[erudita74]

Hi Gayle
Welcome to the forum. Do you by any chance have the 1912 passenger list for your Francesco Antonio Rizzo? or for Giuseppa? The correct town name is Rotondella in Matera Province. The Francesco Antonio Rizzo I see arriving from that town in 1912 was married to a Maria Gaetana Comparato. I found their 1910 marriage record among the online records for the town at familysearch.org

Erudita

To clarify an error in your post. It was the son Patsy who married in 1938 and not Chick and Josephine. The son was born in 1916, according to his 1938 marriage record, which you can view online at familysearch.org

Name: Patsy A. De Gerome
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 07 Jul 1938
Event Place: Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States
Age: 22
Birth Year (Estimated): 1916
Father's Name: Chick De Gerome
Father's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Name: Josepine Forti
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Name: Elizabeth T. Di Yanni
Spouse's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Age: 19
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1919
Spouse's Father's Name: David Di Yanni
Spouse's Father's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Mother's Name: Clementina Tarquinio
Spouse's Mother's Titles and Terms:
Reference ID: cn 325
GS Film number: 1983203
Digital Folder Number: 004474889
Image Number: 02103

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... :904269200

[erudita74]

Here's a WWII draft registration card for an Antonio Francesco Rizzo with the correct date of birth and wife named Josephine. Do you know if this is your Francesco?

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... 1558890853

Also in the social security index, I see a Tony Rizzo who died in June of 1972 at age 84.
http://www.familytreelegends.com/record ... &rzi=&bzi=

If this is yours in the social security index, a copy of his application for his ss card would give you his parents' names.

Erudita

[gayleputt]

Hi Erudita...I have seen the marriage record and the WWII draft card. The family has lived in Allegheny Co. for a few generations so I believe any reference to the name in that area is the correct family..I have found census information for 1930 and 1940 that shows his wife as Josephine as well. On the 1930, the son Patsy is also shown in the family. My head spins when I work on this family. I'm just trying to sort it all out. Do you know if Chick (DeGerome) is a nickname for an Italian man's name?

[adelfio]

Welcome to IG website here is the marriage record
INDEX#30
1910 Oct 22nd in the the town of Rotondella appeared Antonio Francesco Rizzo age 22 farmer born in Rotondella son of Giuseppe Rizzo and Isabella Fabiano married
Maria Gaetana Comparato born in Rotondella age 21 daughter of Nicola Comparato and Giulia Mele

P)G LINK TO MARRIAGE RECORD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... 1194313274

Marty

[adelfio]

Birth extract of Antonio Francesco Rizzo
1888 Feb 26th in the town of Rotondella in a house on vico Giglio #12 birth of Antonio Francesco Rizzo son of Giuseppe Rizzo age 28(abt 1853)mason son of Francesco Rizzo and Isabella Fabiano age 23(abt1858) farmer daughter of deceased Vincenzo Fabiano

PG LINK TO BIRTH RECORD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... :367980738

Birth extract of Maria Gaetana Comparato
1889 Feb 14th in the the town of Rotondella in a house on via Rolle Canori #12 birth of Maria Gaetana Comparato daughter of Nicola Comparato age 32(abt 1857) son of Pasquale Comparato and Giulia Mele
age 26 (abt 1863)daughter of deceased Filippo Mele

PG LINK TO BIRTH RECORD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... :367980738

PG LINK Marriage allegati cover page
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... :367980738

Marty

[erudita74]

Hi Erudita...I have seen the marriage record and the WWII draft card. The family has lived in Allegheny Co. for a few generations so I believe any reference to the name in that area is the correct family..I have found census information for 1930 and 1940 that shows his wife as Josephine as well. On the 1930, the son Patsy is also shown in the family. My head spins when I work on this family. I'm just trying to sort it all out. Do you know if Chick (DeGerome) is a nickname for an Italian man's name?

Hi Gayle
The nickname Chick might be for Charles or Carl (in Italian Calogero or Carlo), but really it could just have been a nickname that was given to him for some other reason and may not have been related to his first name at all. Also you should not assume that your Rizzo family was the only one with that surname in that area of Pa. Rizzo is a common Italian surname. I still don't know about Chick's surname and the 1938 marriage info found for Patsy with the DeGerome surname, and the mother named Josephine Forti. I have to give this mess some more thought, as it is just not adding up for me.
Erudita

[erudita74]

deleted-

[erudita74]

I was thinking earlier that the surname DeGerome may have originally been DeGirolamo. Anyway, I just came across the following.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin ... &id=I22341

Erudita

[erudita74]

Gayle
I was just looking at the marriage record of Patsy DeGerome on familysearch.org. Where he lists his father as Chick DeGerome, it also says that he is dead. So, if Chick was deceased in 1938, then he and Josephine Forti probably did not marry in that year. Online at familysearch, there are estate indices for Allegheny Pa. The names are not alphabetized within each letter, so you would have to go page by page, but you might be able to find Chick's date of death that way or possibly something more about him. It may be a long shot, but if you have the time, you should go through the index, at least for the letter D.

Erudita

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... :904269200

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1999196
For the probate records, you can select Allegheny and then the letter D.

[erudita74]

Gayle
I found an obituary for Patsy DeGerome. Unfortunately it doesn't give his parents' names, or help explain why his surname changed from Rizzo to DeGerome, but it does help make the link to his Rizzo siblings found in the census records. Obituary is on page 8 of 18.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=g ... page&hl=en


Here's death info for the sister Isabella (Rizzo) Cipriano.

Isabella M Cipriano, "Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007"
Name: Isabella M Cipriano
Name Prefix:
Name Suffix:
Event Type: Death
Event Date: 16 Jan 2001
Time: 07:55 PM
Event Place: , Mahoning, Ohio, United States
Registration Place: Long-Term Care Facilities
Registration State:
Registration Date: 22 Jan 2001
Residence Place: Campbell, Mahoning, Ohio, United States
Address: 778 Tenney Avenue
Residence Postal Code: 44405
Within City Limits: Yes
Gender: Female
Age: 88
Marital Status: Widowed
Race: White
Hispanic Origin: Not Hispanic
Ethnicity:
Industry: Own Home/At Home
Education Level: 4
Occupation: Housewife/Homemaker
Military Service: No
Military Service Branch:
Social Security Number: 284-22-2981
Birth Date: 06 Aug 1912
Birthplace:
Father's Surname: Rizzo
Mother's Surname: Gaetana
Injury in Ohio: Yes
Injury at Work:
Type or Place of Injury: Unspecified Place
Hospital Status: Other/Nursing Home
Referred to Coroner: Not Referred to Coroner
Autopsy Performed: No Autopsy performed
Method of Disposition: Burial
Infant Certificate Number:
Certificate Number: 005392
Volume Number: 32715
Registrar Certificate Number: 00158
Page:
Certifier's Role: Physician
Census Tract: 8101
Registration District: 5000
Affiliate Line Number: 5379
Affiliate File Name: deaths2001.dat
Source Reference: Ohio Department of Health
Sources

"Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VKGP-W6G : accessed 04 Dec 2013), Isabella M Cipriano, 2001.


On the sister Betty's marriage record, her mother's name is given as Josephine Forti. The link is below:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... 1663598895


The son Rocco's marriage record also shows Josephine Forte as the mother

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KHXF-R27

James Rizzo's marriage with mother Josephine Forte

James V Rizzo, "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950"

Name: James V Rizzo
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 22 Jul 1948
Event Place: Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States
Age: 24
Birth Year (Estimated): 1924
Father's Name: Anthony Rizzo
Father's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Name: Josephine Forte
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Name: Evelyn B Ciamacco
Spouse's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Age: 21
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1927
Spouse's Father's Name: Charles Ciamacco
Spouse's Father's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Mother's Name: Elizabeth Shaczur
Spouse's Mother's Titles and Terms:
Reference ID:
GS Film number: 2033271
Digital Folder Number: 004832357
Image Number: 01423


Erudita

[gayleputt]

Wow...you have given me a lot to think about. I don't think as clearly as I used to so it's taking me a bit to organize this and digest it...but I'm sure now this is the right Rizzo/DeGerome connection. Isabella, Betty, Joseph, James and Helen (if she is aka Concetta) are all children of wife #1. I believe Anthony and Patsy are the children of Chick and Josephine Forte DeGerome. And I think Rocco Rizzo is a child of Rizzo and Josephine Forte. I need to confirm it of course but it makes sense. My son's girlfried (Faye DeGerome) said two of the DeGerome brothers were stepsons of Antonio Rizzo - one took the Rizzo name, the other did not. So Patsy it would appear kept his name and Anthony probably was the one who changed his name to Rizzo, based on the family oral history. I had it all wrong in the beginning, but Faye insists it was the DeGerome boys were step sons of Rizzo.

At least I have a few new directions to travel down. I still need to find a marriage date for Rizzo/Forte...that would help determine which children belong to which wife. Although Antonio lists his 5 children on his naturalization application (Isabelle; Elizabeth or Betty; Giuseppe or Joseph; Vincenzo or James V; and Concetta or Helen. Their dates of birth match the Americanized names.

I appreciate all of your help on this....If you find anything more...please post. It's coming together.

[gayleputt]

Erudita...you are right..I mixed up the date of marriage...it was Patsy who married in 1938 and not Chick. If I'm correct that Rocco is a product of Rizzo/Forte then Chick died before 1928 and I'm guessing Rizzo/Forte married in the late 1920's.

Gayle
I was just looking at the marriage record of Patsy DeGerome on familysearch.org. Where he lists his father as Chick DeGerome, it also says that he is dead. So, if Chick was deceased in 1938, then he and Josephine Forti probably did not marry in that year. Online at familysearch, there are estate indices for Allegheny Pa. The names are not alphabetized within each letter, so you would have to go page by page, but you might be able to find Chick's date of death that way or possibly something more about him. It may be a long shot, but if you have the time, you should go through the index, at least for the letter D.

Erudita

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... :904269200

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1999196
For the probate records, you can select Allegheny and then the letter D.

[gayleputt]

Thank you so much for the links to the documents. Most helpful. You all are great! I don't think I'd ever unravel all this without your help.

Welcome to IG website here is the marriage record
INDEX#30
1910 Oct 22nd in the the town of Rotondella appeared Antonio Francesco Rizzo age 22 farmer born in Rotondella son of Giuseppe Rizzo and Isabella Fabiano married
Maria Gaetana Comparato born in Rotondella age 21 daughter of Nicola Comparato and Giulia Mele

P)G LINK TO MARRIAGE RECORD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... 1194313274

Marty

[erudita74]

You're welcome, Gayle. Happy we found some related info. You should check the other online editions of that newspaper where I found the obit for Patsy.

Erudita