Finding Palmieri or Masi Relatives in Forenza, Potenza

[JerryD57]

I am trying to find relatives in Forenza, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy that my grandmother and great grandfather came from.

Antonio Palmieri was born about 1863 (14 Sep 1863 on California death record as Anthony Palm), married Christina Masi between 1885 and 1890 and had Archangelina Palmieri on 8 Oct 1891 and was an only child. Antonio and Christina divorced(?) and Archangelina was raised by her Palmieri grandparents in 1898 the same year Antonio came to America. When Archangelina became 18 she came to join her father in Fresno, California in 1910.

Any help??? Thank you.

[Squigy]

I am trying to find relatives in Forenza, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy that my grandmother and great grandfather came from.

Antonio Palmieri was born about 1863 (14 Sep 1863 on California death record as Anthony Palm), married Christina Masi between 1885 and 1890 and had Archangelina Palmieri on 8 Oct 1891 and was an only child. Antonio and Christina divorced(?) and Archangelina was raised by her Palmieri grandparents in 1898 the same year Antonio came to America. When Archangelina became 18 she came to join her father in Fresno, California in 1910.

Any help??? Thank you.

Would this be Antonio? http://img98.imageshack.us/i/tif2gif.png/

If so, do you already have this record?

[wldspirit]

For a records request:

Comune di FORENZA

Provincia di POTENZA

Indirizzo (address) : CORSO GRANDE 5/A

C.A.P. (zip code) : 85023

Telefono : 0971 - 772220

Fax : 0971 - 0971 - 772229

E-mail : iangeloanto@tiscali.it

To locate current persons who carry the surname of interest:

PagineBianche

Enter surname in cognome, town in dove, and click cerca, this will bring up all persons with that surname along with address and telephone number if listed.

For a potential relative letter, ( and yes these have been used with success)

Potential relative letter

Also the following may be helpful:

Italian letter writing guide

And while your query seems to be about finding relatives which I assume to mean current persons....you may be interested in researching microfilmed civil records for the town of origin, although limited by dates, if you would like to take the family farther back in time:

Forenza

Let us know and members can provide detailed sites on how to use this great resource!
wldspirit

[JerryD57]

UPDATE TO:
I am trying to find relatives in Forenza, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy that my grandmother and great grandfather came from.

Antonio Palmieri was born about 1863 (14 Sep 1863 on California death record as Anthony Palm), married or was with Christina Masi between 1885 and 1890 and had Arcangela Masi (she kept her mother's name as her mother's first husband had left several years before and was assumed dead, but unknown at the time) on 8 Oct 1891 as an only child from them ( there might have been another boy, Vincenzo, from the marriage to the husband whose name is unknown). The husband came back after 7 years or so, found the new child and Antonio Palmieri and took his son and left with him. Christina soon died "of a broken heart(?)" and Arcangela was then raised by her Masi grandparents in 1898 the same year Antonio came to America. When Arcangela became 18 she came to join her father in Fresno, California in 1910 and then was known as Arcangela Palmieri (vs Masi). She married Giuseppe De Cesare in 1914.

Any help??? Thank you.

[PeterTimber]

The help you seek is right above your revised inquiry? =Peter=

[Squigy]

In response to your message:

Here is the link to the record where I found it on EllisIsland.com

http://www.ellisisland.org/search/shipM ... 2684010473


Click on where it says Click to enlarge manifest to enlarge it.

[JerryD57]

Thank you for the information to look at the reply, but unfortunately I have written the Anagraff(SP?) office in Potenza both with Arcangela Palmieri and Arcangela Masi's both reqeust and Antonio Palmieri for bth birth and marriage to Cristina Masi. The reply was that there was nothing between 1890 - 1895 for Arcangela under either name and nothing for Antonio in the 1860s for birth and marriage to Cristina in the 1885-1890 range. The town has both Masis and Palmieris in the phone book which lends credence to the that being the right town, as well as my great grandfather's passenger list showing he left from Forenza. Also my aunt has given me names that she used to correspond with also in Forenza with a name of Cristina Russo. I do not speak conversational Italian and so I am not sure what to do now. I have a friend who does and my plan might be to call the town hall with her or some of the white pages names (I have Vonage and it is free to call Italy)? Any other suggestions? Thank you.

[JerryD57]

In answer to a question, am I sure they were born in Forenza?

Not sure of where they were born, only that Arcangela told her daughter she was from Potenza Province, that Antonio Palmieri's last place on his passenger list was Forenza, my aunt (Arcangela's daughter) had correspondence with cousins in Forenza and,just found, Maschito (which I wrote to by e-mail last night with same questions, and that there are Palmieri's and Masi's in Forenza's white pages. Other cousins mentioned on note found last night were Maria Zotto, Liugina de Leonardo and Cristina Russo. These would all be related to either Masi or Palmieri. I alos wrote to a nearby town that I could find an e-mail, Acerenza. Hope someone finds this to be a connection.

[Squigy]

I'm sorry I'm not sure what I would do next. You contacted the records office, and were told there was no record of them, right? This would mean they most likely were born in another comune. You might try contacting towns close to Forenza to see if there are any records of them there. You could also try to find American records that have the exact place of birth. Other than that I can't think of anything. Without an exact place of birth, it's near impossible to find records. Sorry I can't be of more help.

-Squigy

[pink67]

If this 1910 arrival manifest is correct for Maria Angela Masi:

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
about M Angela Masi
Name: M Angela Masi
Arrival Date: 5 Jul 1910
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1891
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Port of Departure: Naples, Italy
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian (South) (Italian)
Ship Name: Berlin
Search Ship Database: View the Berlin in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
NATIVITY: Potenza
Line: 19
Microfilm Serial: T715
Microfilm Roll: T715_1512
Birth Location: Potenza
Birth Location Other: frunga on the manifest Forenza
Page Number: 165

page 1:
[img=http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5104/masimariaangela1910page.th.jpg]

page 2:
[img=http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1782/masimariaangela1910pagea.th.jpg]

she stated she was 19, single, leaving in Italy (Forenza) her uncle (possible Aunt) Riova? Marianna and was joining her uncle Antonio Palmieri in Fresno CA. Place of birth for Maria Angela was Forenza...

I noticed too that on Antonio Palmieri's arrival manifest he stated he was single, so possible he wasn't married with Cristina? And Maria Angela took his mother's lastname for this reason?

Laura

edit to add details:

here is Antonio Palmieri obit (from the Fresno Bee Republican December 19, 1947)

from Ancestry.com:



you can be pretty sure now that the correct name was Maria Angela...

[pink67]

she stated she was 19, single, leaving in Italy (Forenza) her uncle (possible Aunt) Riova? Marianna and was joining her uncle Antonio Palmieri in Fresno CA. Place of birth for Maria Angela was Forenza...

Maybe the correct lastname was Ruvo?

California Death Index, 1940-1997
about Tony Palm
Name: Tony Palm
Social Security #: 0
Sex: MALE
Birth Date: 14 Sep 1863
Birthplace: Other Country
Death Date: 17 Dec 1947
Death Place: Fresno
Mother's Maiden Name: Rova
Father's Surname: Palm

Rova doesn't exist in Basilicata region but it does exist Ruvo

Have you tried to obtain Tony Palm's naturalization documents?

Look this 1941 article: (Tony's name on November 24th)

[img=http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2300/palmtonycitizenship.th.jpg]

[pink67]

For references:

California Death Index, 1940-1997
about Angelina Decesare
Name: Angelina Decesare
Social Security #: 556-09-XXXX
Sex: FEMALE
Birth Date: 8 Oct 1891
Birthplace: Italy
Death Date: 12 Oct 1968
Death Place: Alameda
Mother's Maiden Name: Masi


From:
http://genealogy.about.com/od/online_re ... equest.htm

Once you've found your ancestor in the Social Security Death Index, you may want to request a copy of your ancestor's original Social Security Application. An excellent record for genealogical information, the SS-5 is the application form used by an individual to enroll in the U.S. Social Security program.

The SS-5, or Application for Social Security Number is a great resource for learning more about individuals who died after about 1960, and generally includes the following:

•Full name
•Full name at birth, including maiden name
•Present mailing address
•Age at last birthday
•Date of birth
•Place of birth (city, county, State)
•Father's full name
•Mother's full name, including maiden name
•Sex
•Race as indicated by the applicant
•Whether the applicant ever applied for Social Security or Railroad Retirement before
•Current employer's name and address
•Date signed
•Applicant's signature
As long as a person is deceased, the Social Security Administration will provide a copy of this Form SS-5, Application for Social Security Number to anyone who makes a request under the Freedom of Information Act. They will also release this form to the registrant (the person who belongs to the Social Security Number) and to anyone who has a release-of-information statement signed by the person about whom the information is sought.

you can obtain the full Angelina's SSDI here:

http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

and then request the form here:

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps9/eFOIA-FEWe ... t/main.jsp

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps9/eFOIA-FEWe ... nstruction

Laura

[pink67]

Just in the case you don't have them, these are the 1920 and 1930 census for Angelina and her family:

from Ancestry.com

1920 United States Federal Census
about Joseph Decesare
Name: Joseph Decesare
Home in 1920: Dos Palos, Merced, California
Age: 36 years
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1884
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Angedini
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Year of Immigration: 1900
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 1025
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Joseph Decesare 36 head
Angedini Decesare 28 wife
Cesidio Decesare 5 son
Filomeno Decesare 3 daughter
Tony Decesare 1 6/12 son

image:
[img=http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/9382/decesare1920.th.jpg]

1930 United States Federal Census
about Joseph Decesare
Name: Joseph Decesare
Home in 1930: Township 4, San Mateo, California
View Map
Age: 47
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1883
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Amplim
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace: View image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Joseph Decesare 47 head
Amplim Decesare 38 wife
Cheredo Decesare 15 son
Filemena Decesare 13 daughter
Antonio Decesare 1 son
Elinora Decesare 9 daughter

image:
[img=http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4086/decesare1930.th.jpg]

[JerryD57]

WOW!!! Thanks for the information - I'll go back to Forenza with the Maria Angela Masi and check into the others I didn't have. That 1930 census taker wasn't very good with Italian names and/or English writing! THANK YOU.

[Squigy]

Great find Laura!