Looking for Forte, Matassa, Di Adamo, Gizzi, Capocci, Crolla

[Forte]

Hi Marisa,

Please can you ask your grandmother whether the following are her first cousins:

Clementina Forte married to Antonio Fusco
Rosa Forte married ?Caira
Caterina Forte married Rafo?
Ida ?
Luigi/Louis married Josie
Patrizia married Jerry Forte
Remo
Franco married Malfada Lenzi

THanks,

Paul

[Marisa6]

Hi Paul

Grandma is out at the moment - but I can see from the list I have that these are mostly Vincenzo from Belfast's children. Rosa married Domenico Caira - but I don't know about the others. I will ask her later.

I have found another picture. I don't know if it is of any use but here it is anyway. It is Vincenzo again with no wife this time, so it must be post 1930.



Marisa

[Marisa6]

Ida wouldn't be Ita Forte would she? She married John Forte (yes - another one). I think they were in Minehead - but I'm not sure.

[Forte]

I knew Ita and John from Minehead. Not sure how they fitted in though.

I have just found another link with Belfast Fortes.

The Lucia that you mentioned....I think was born on 4.3.1784. She had siblings Tommaso (b. 27.4.1774), Marco Antonio (b. 28.9.1776 and married Caterina Marsella - this is the Belfast lot), M Vittoria (b. 24.5.1779), Vittoria Rosa (b. 30.3.1781), Lucia Antonia (could be this Lucia, I suppose...b. 8.2.1783), Caterina (b. 19.9.1786) and Crescenzo (b. 22.3.1793). Some of these dates are difficult to read.

Their parents were Andrea Onorio Forte (b. 18.4.1749) who married Angela Marsella. Andrea's siblings are Felicet Andrea, Teresa Madonna, Felice Pasquale and ?. Their father was the Crescenzo you mentioned, b. 1718 and I've got married Caterina Macari. Same person as Porzia?

Does this match?

Paul

[Marisa6]

Hi Paul

Yes, these do match. My record don't go as far back as the ones you have, but from looking at marriage/death records for the children of Andrea and Angela I can see -

Crescenzo bc 1793
Lucia bc 1790
Caterina bc 1783
Maria bc 1779
Marco bc 1779
Tomasso bc 1773

Don't worry about some of the dates being a few years out. Informants of death often didn't know the exact age of the person who died. They all certainly lived to a good old age! One of them was c 85 when he died.

Porzia could well be Caterina. The same caveat applies - informants of the death often didn't get the name of the deceased's parents exactly right either. That has caught me out a few times.

Ita Forte in Minehead was the daughter of Domenico Forte and Maria (Forte too). Domenico was, in turn, Celeste Antonio's son. Ita had three brothers - Edward, David and William. I don't know who her husband John Forte's parents were. All these Fortes get terribly confusing after a while!

Marisa

[Forte]

Ita from Minehead. Was her father the Domenico who was Marco's and Pasqualina's brother?

Paul

[Marisa6]

Yes - spot on! Domenico married Maria Forte and had David, Edward, Ita and William. David married Mary McLaughlin, Ita married John Forte and William married Anna Nardone. I don't know what happened to Edward.

Marisa

[Forte]

Hi Marisa,

Did you manage to speak to your grandmother about those first cousins?

Paul

[Marisa6]

Hi Paul

Not yet - but I know for a fact she will be in tomorrow so I will get her then. She will be off to bed in about 20 minutes so I don't like to call her at this time. The Rosa Forte/Caira is definitely a cousin.

How are you related to the Minehead Fortes?

Marisa

[Forte]

Thanks If she is a first cousin to all of these, sadly Patrizia died last night.

Ita's grandmother was Caterina Antonia, sister of my great grandmother Maria Teresa. I think that makes her my second cousin once removed!

Paul

[Marisa6]

Of course - silly me - brain not working tonight.

Thats terrible news about Patrizia. I had better be very gentle when I am questioning Grandma because I'm sure these are her cousins. Please give my condolences to the family from a long lost and distant cousin.

Marisa xx

[Forte]

Hi Marisa,

Have managed to get hold of a tree that I did with my father about 20 years ago.

He must have thought that Ita's parents were Carmine and Maria, but I'm sure that was wrong. Was Ita's brother David the one from Melrose?

Also, Maria who married Ralph had a son, Tony, who married Velma, who had children Ralph (married to Elizabeth in Hastings) and Maria.

It also says that Maria Teresa and Caterina had another sister called Luigia, who had a daughter called Teresa, who was my father's godmother. Is this possible?

Also, would you mind checking Maria Teresa's husband, Giovanni. My brother found a record in the Casalattico church that says Giovanni died 3/4/1905 aged 77. I make it 67 if he was born in 1937.

Off to US records now to find Sacco and Di Adamo ancestors.

Best wishes,

Paul

[Marisa6]

Hi Paul

Carmine and Maria had two children - Filippo and Maddalena. Filippo married Rosa Esposito, and Maddalena (Lena) married Antonio Fusco. They both lived in Scotland. Aunty Lena died in 1987, and Uncle Phillip in 1991.

Ita's brother David, from memory, was in Melrose. I'm sure I have photos of him lurking in my computer too.

I've not come across a Luigia - but that doesn't mean she didn't exist! I recently came across a sister of my g g grandfather of whom I was totally unaware!

Giovanni is quite definitely registered as being born in 1837. Maybe whoever registered his death didn't know how old he was?

How are you getting on with your Gizzis and Capoccis?

Marisa xx

[Forte]

Hi Marisa,

Thanks.

Doing well with Gizzis and Crollas, thanks to Michel Vacca. Have traced Gizzis back to mid 1700s, Ferris slightly earlier, Crollas back to mid 1500s.

Can you tell me more about how you got hold of the Casalattico records via the Mormons?

Best wishes,

Paul

[dinocaira]

Hi Paul and Marisa. So pleased to read your comments as I've only just started to do a family tree.

I'm one of Luigi Forte and Josie's many grand children, Vincenzo Forte's great grand children.

I'm just back from seeing my grandparents in Monforte and thought how easy it would be to start a family tree of my own. How wrong I was!! Our family seems to be huge!

I'm going to check the names you've listed above with my own tree and hopefully fill in any gaps you have on this side.

If you can leave a comment for me here to let me know you are still using this web page then I will reply straight after. Otherwise I'll assume you no longer use this page.

Look forward to chatting with you both. Many thanks, Dino