Surname: Sbrocchi

Are you looking for an Italian surname? Do you need more information about your family heritage?
This is the right place to start your genealogy search.
Post Reply
User avatar
Joe1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: 31 Jul 2007, 00:00
Location: Wales

Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by Joe1 »

Hi to all, I am trying to discover the origin and meaning of the surname Sbrocchi, which is my mothers maiden name, she was born in Rossetto and now resides in wales and the remainder of her family live in Canada. If any one has any information that can assist me I would be very grateful. Thanks
vj
Master
Master
Posts: 8069
Joined: 16 Aug 2002, 00:00

Re: Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by vj »

Hi Joe and welcome to the forum :D !

Town is probably
Roseto Valfortore, Foggia, Puglia (Apulia)
A start, several Sbrocchi records on click here Ellis Island going to NY

Valarie
User avatar
Joe1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: 31 Jul 2007, 00:00
Location: Wales

Re: Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by Joe1 »

Hi Valarie Thanks for your reply, yes the family did originally live in Roseto, up until they emigrated.
Joe
User avatar
hansells
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: 08 Aug 2007, 00:00
Location: Australia

Re: Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by hansells »

Hi - my mother's maiden name is also Sbrocchi (she passed on in the late 90s). She and some other siblings was born in Australia while others were born in Vancouver Canada. As to the meaning of the name Sbrocchi - I can recall some similarly structured words when I studied the Italian language many years ago however can give you some information as to the Sbrocchi clan ( what is the Italian equivalent for clan?) which was supplied back in 1985 by a Sbrocchi living in New York who corresponded with one of my Canadian aunts (married to my uncle Peter Sbrocchi) after her name was featured in a magazine. An excerpt from one such letter follows from Anthony J Sbrocchi who I believe may have passed on by now. he menitons the use of an additional surname and also that the Sbrocchis may have stemmed from the Roman slaves. My cousin while doing some research in Roseto found that the surname was originally Sbroccho.

"It is good to know that there are other members of the Sbrocchi clan, like myself, who are trying eagerly to find traces of our roots. After I retired in 1973, the urge to find these traces became so strong that, upon making a strip to Roseto, where my parents were born (I was born in Ohio, then, at the age of six months, taken to Roseto until my seventeenth year when I returned to Ohio, not knowing how to speak English) I began an intensive search into the background of the family name and the town of Roseto.

First, I’d like to congratulate your husband Peter for having had a father with so much adventurous, pioneering blood in his veins to venture to places that, at that time, were little known. You did not mention whether those roamings were prompted by reasons other than, or in addition to, his spirit of adventure. Does Peter remember his father talking about his life in Italy, eg the family’s traditions, the additional surname of the family (this is how to distinguish one Sbrocchi branch from another). Did he ever mention the name of the town, or say whether he had relatives still living there? You didn’t state where Peter’s father settled in the U.S.

During my 1973 trip I learned that the Sbrocchis had been among the town’s first settlers, a very long time ago. But I could not determine from whence they came prior to that. The fact that there is no trace of Sbrocchis in other parts of Italy indicates that they must have come from outside the country. It was disappointing to find that all of the old relatives in the town had died by the time of this visit, a source no longer available. I visited the town’s municipal building, believing this to be a foolproof source of the necessary data I sought. This turned out to be disappointment #2----their records went back only as far as 1800. I was advised to check the town’s main church. Disappointment #3---the records are all there but no one is willing nor able to undertake the long, tedious job of sorting them out. It involves going through many books of records, not only in that church, but also in the archives of the Province.

One thing everyone assured me of, was that all the Sbrocchis living in N. America, S. America and Australia have their roots in that little town of Roseto Valfortore. It is situated two hours (by auto) south of Foggia. It is a clean, picturesque town of antiquity. In the old section, the houses are like cubicles, the streets are less than six feet wide. A book written on the history of the town states that it probably existed in the days of Christ. There are documents proving that Roman slaves were sent there to establish a settlement, and after a while were set free. In those days, bands of people were on the move for various reasons. Many defenceless people fled from warring factions in their villages; groups abandoned their towns that were being attacked and plundered and wandered in search of safe havens. Also, since Roseto was so close to Naples, it became a favourite stopping-over place for travellers, many of whom settled there as did the previously mentioned groups.

I know for a fact that the first members of the Sbrocchi clan to come to this country settled in Ohio. When I lived there, there were two other families with our name. on a recent visit, I found that some of their children now spell their names “Sbrockyâ€
User avatar
mjones
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 148
Joined: 16 Jun 2006, 00:00
Location: California

Re: Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by mjones »

Here is a site dedicated to Roseto Valfortore:

The Two Rosetos

Very interesting ... also, this message board contains info about a monument in Roseto that has the surname Sbrocchi listed....

Roseto Message Board

merjones
FERRI - PROVENZANO - GUADAGNI - MARINESI - LARUSSA
User avatar
Joe1
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: 31 Jul 2007, 00:00
Location: Wales

Re: Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by Joe1 »

Hi hansel that was interesting, you mention you have an uncle Peter living in Canada, what is his wifes name and would you happen to have any further info, ie home address, childrens names, the reason I ask is that I also have an uncle living in Canada called Peter, just wondering if it was the same person...
User avatar
hansells
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: 08 Aug 2007, 00:00
Location: Australia

Re: Surname: Sbrocchi

Post by hansells »

Hi Joe1
I can definitely report that you are not related to the same person as I know all of the close relatives. Also Canada is a big place.
Cheers
Post Reply