Castelnuovo di Conza, Salerno, IT

[jackdaisy]

jennabet, yes it certainly is an interesting family. So much of the family history was kept in the dark and lost as the older relatives died. My nephew was left with a made up surname and no idea where in Italy his family came from. Slowly I am finding information for him thanks to help from friends like Saunj.
If I could confirm that Frank Sibilia was born in Castelnuovo di Conza I would be extremely happy. I am preparing a letter to the church in that Comune which will include an international money order and I also will give them a broader possibility of surnames and birth years to check. Maybe it will give me the information I need.
I am finding a lot of the family information on their lives in the United States and I feel good about that.

Thanks for the note.

jack

[fargone]

Hi Jack,
if you want i can go to Castelnuovo in Conza and get the documentation that you need.
if you want you can contact me on my mail address: grldapolito@gmail.com
best regards

[jackdaisy]

Thanks for the offer but I don't want to engage anyone to go to Castelnuovo di Conza because I am not one hundred percent sure the information is there in that Comune. The family only thinks that is the Comune he left to come to America because a brother-in-law is from CdiC. Also his birth year is based on his stated age at his marriage. He could have given a false age for some reason. He was a shifty fellow who left his wife and 6 children.
Even asking Civil Registration to look it up is taking a chance. If they tell me they didn't find a record then I don't know if there is no record or he was born in a year that they didn't research.

Thanks for contacting me with your offer.

jack

[cmatyckas]

TO ALL:

My grandfather, Angelo Palmieri, was baptized at St. Lucy's Church in Newark, New Jersey on July 14, 1911. His Godparents were Alfonso Sibilia and Michelina Iorlano. Angelo Palmieri's parents were Guiseppe Maria Palmieri (from Lioni, Italy) and Alfonsino (Frances) Buonocore (from Caposele, Italy); they lived at 28 Boyden Street in Newark.

I believe the parents of Alfonso Sibilia were Guglielmo Sibilia and Giovanna Palmieri (may be related to Angelo Palmieri). Alfonso Sibilia was also baptized at St. Lucy's Church on April 29, 1895. Alfonso Sibilia's sister, Filomena Rosa Maria Sibilia, was also baptized at St. Lucy's Church on August 29, 1897.

I'm unable to upload the Baptism Registry for Angelo Palmieri; but will share this and any other information. My e-mail address is cmatyckas@yahoo.com

Caren Matyckas

[jackdaisy]

Caren, Thanks very much for the information however my connection to Sibilia proved wrong. I was researching a man named Frank/Francesco but the surname was uncertain. The marriage record for him showed Frank Siballo. That name goes nowhere. To add to the problem after he had 6 children he left his wife and never returned. In desperation I noticed his Mother's maiden surname was close to his Brother in law's surname. I tried to find a connection in Castelnuovo di Conza where the brother in law came from but received no answer to letters. Around that time I received a huge lift from a great researcher on this site, suanj. She did a lot of work and found the birth of Frank/Francesco's Father in Lioni, Avellino, Italy. An unusual situation, the mother kept her baby but would not name the father. The court gave the new infant the surname of Gratobene and allowed her to raise him. His son Frank/Francesco came to Ellis island under that name but I am guessing he tried to use his mother's name when he registered for his marriage. What make me think this happened is the mother's maiden name is Cavallo. The American marriage clerk must have mistaken what he heard and wrote Siballo. With suanj's help we were able to uncover a lot of records in Lioni on the family.
Caren, I noticed one of the Godparents was shown as Michelina Ioriano. That looks very close to the name Soriano. You might check it out. Soriano is very popular in Lioni. Frank/Francesco Gratobene/Cavallo had a sister Rose who stated on her arrival at Ellis island that she was going to a cousin Soriano in Newark in her 1909 arrival. 1910 census she is shown as his sister. She later married a Calabrese. All were from Lioni.
Thank you very much for you information. If I can be of help with something I might have in my data base I would be glad to pass it on to you. I kept a few Sibilia records.
Jack