Name changed at arrival to USA - Chufo

[shanac55]

Hello, I'm fairly new to this. I have gotten a lot of my family information through Ancestry.com. I am however stuck on my great great grandparents who came from Italy in the late 1800s. I know their American names, approx birth dates, descendants and I even have a couple photos of them. I'm pretty sure they changed their names when they came to America. Problem is, I don't know what the name was prior to arrival. Is there an Italian name which was commonly changed to Chufo? I realize their first names were also probably changed. I wonder the same about James and Mary - were there names which were commonly changed to James and Mary?
What makes all this more difficult is the fact that I don't know where they came from in Italy, and I only have an idea which port they came into (Pennsylvania). Here's what I know:
-James "Gims" Chufo b:abt 1871 in Italy
-Mary Chufo (maiden name unknown) b: 1878 or 1883 in Italy
various census records have them both coming over together in 1890, and one record shows Mary arrived in 1895.
Their first son, Anthony Daniel was born in 1897 in Pennsylvania. The rest of their children were born in Ohio.
I know I'm asking a lot, but if anyone knows anything about my missing pieces, I would love to get some help or direction.
Thanks!!
~Shana

[jamiecapaldi]

I would say James was either Vincenzo or maybe Giacomo. Mary would have been Maria.
Chufo could be a short version of Cufone name from Calabria??

[jamiecapaldi]

I found a Vincenzo Ciuffi born 1870ish and a M. Rosa born 1873 travelling to USA in 1895 from Napoli?!?
I believe Ciuffi is from Prescara, Abruzzo Region?


Look at line 370: http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0370

[suanj]

I Believe that the surname is Ciufo, and James must be born in Tufo, hamlet of Minturno town (Latina province, Lazio region, IT)
regards,
suanj

[vj]

Hey Shana!
I took a quick look at your family pages on ancestry - very nice research
I noticed that you have both James and Mary's SS #'s (Jas is on his death certificate)
You can find their parents' names and place of birth on their SS Applications for $27 @
Valarie
---

Social Security Application SS-5

About the SS Application:
http://genealogy.about.com/od/online_re ... equest.htm

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
- 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

Order form SSA-711 (can be done online):
http://www.ssa.gov/foia/html/foia_guide.htm

Please Note: ... under our current policy, we do not release the parents’ names on an SS-5 application unless the parents' are proven deceased, have a birth date more than 120 years ago, or the number holder on the SS-5 is at least 100 years of age.

[vj]

This Francis may be the daughter on the 1910 census (same address)

from FamilySearch:
1919 Death Certificate
http://imageshack.us/a/img846/2788/1919q.jpg

name: Francis Chufo
event: Death
event date: 20 Aug 1919
event place: Youngstown, Mahoning, Ohio
street address: 613 North Ave.
gender: Female
death age: 14y 9m
marital status: Single
race: White
birth date: 20 Nov 1904
birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
estimated birth year: 1905
burial date: 22 Aug 1919
cemetery: Calvary
father: James Chufo
father's birthplace: Italy
mother: Mary Popio
mother's birthplace: Italy
reference number: fn 49452
film number: 1984825
digital folder number: 4021999
image number: 3010

[shanac55]

Thank you everyone for your help! I have found some more info since I posted this question yesterday. I found James Chufo's Death certificate. So, I now know where he was born: Tufo, Italy, His exact birthdate: 4 Nov, 1869, His father's name: Antonio Chufo, and his mother's name: Maria Rasile.
I plugged this info into Ancestry.com and got a family tree match with James's father's name: Antonio Ciavnella, married to a Maria Rasile.
Now I guess I need to find out if this is the right guy.

[jamiecapaldi]

Suanj is right. See here and it shows Ciufo and Rasile surnames in Tufo!
I am unfamiliar with the 'Ciavnella' surname though???

[shanac55]

I wasn't finding the name Ciavnella either. I did however find Ciavarella. I thought maybe someone along the line misread the name?
I've heard that sometimes people changed their names to the place they were from when they entered America. Tufo...Chufo?
I will see what I can find for Ciufo...

[jamiecapaldi]

Use avitrees.com to help you with names and places!

[shanac55]

After some searching I am convinced that Suanj is right. The name I'm after is indeed Ciufo.
Can anyone help me with the next step? I would like to find my actual ancestors in Tufo. Specifically, the parents of James and Mary,who traveled to USA in 1890.
How do I start?

Thanks again!

[joetucciarone]

Hi Shana,

Your quest to find your Ciufo ancestors caught my attention. My great-grandmother, Rosaline Scarpino, immigrated from Basilicata in 1899 and was met at the port in New York by her cousin Filomena Altieri. Filomena must have brought my great-grandma to Sharon, Pennsylvania, because that is where Rosaline met her future husband, Andrea Tucciarone. Rosaline and Andrea were married just five months after they met. By the way, Andrea Tucciarone immigrated from Tufo (Minturno) in 1896.

I found Rosaline and Andrea on the 1900 Sharon census. Also on this census are Filomena and John Cuffi, both listed as Italian immigrants. Sharon was (and still is) not a big town, plus there were very few Italians there in 1900, so I suspect Filomena Cuffi was my great-grandma's (now-married) cousin Filomena Altieri who had met her in New York.

Living with John and Filomena Cuffi were three other Cuffi's; Anthony, Alexander and another Alexander (it's hard to read the handwriting).

Rosaline and Andrea moved six miles from Sharon, PA to Hubbard, Ohio a few years later and bought a farm in Coalburg (a tiny village 2 miles NW of the tiny town of Hubbard) in 1913. Hubbard is just six miles NE of Youngstown, Ohio. I found a deed in which Raymond Ciuffo bought a lot in Coalburg on September 4, 1913. Raymond Ciuffo's property was just a few hundred yards from Rosaline and Andrea's farm. One of the witnesses to this deed was Silvio Altierei.

It is likely that the 1900 census agent in Sharon and the Recorder of Deeds in Hubbard were trying to spell the same surname, "Ciufo".

This doesn't help you find your Tufo ancestors but it is an interesting side-light, full of clues.

Joe

[joetucciarone]

Hi again Shana,

I have been researching property deeds in Hubbard, Ohio and I've run across several more purchases and sales by Ciufo's.

On September 17, 1904, Antonio and Restelda Ciufo bought property in Coalburg, which is about 3 miles northwest of Hubbard.

Paul & Maria Ciufo bought a lot on September 5, 1914. This must have been former coal company land because the deed states that the "mineral, stone and coal mining rights are reserved out of this grant."

Raymond Ciuffo and his wife Pauline bought property on August 16, 1915. This lot formerly belonged to the Mahoning Coal Company.

Antonio and Restelda Ciufo sold their Coalburg property on September 28, 1916.

Joe

[shanac55]

Hi Joe,
Thanks so much for all this info. I know that anything can be a clue! I thought I was on the right track, but today I received James Chufo's social security application and he listed his mother as Frances Chufo. His Death cert says his mother was Maria Rasile. Was she possibly Maria Frances Rasile Chufo?? lol. Back to the drawing board.
Anyway, thanks again for sharing your finds. I'm glad to have anything that may help me.

~Shana

[Bob_Chufo]

Hi shanc55

Your post and the thread that followed caught our family attention. My name is Robert Lee Chufo, I was born in Youngstown, OH on 07/20/1937. My grandparents were Maria Popio Chufo d 1962 and James Chufo who are interned at Calvery Cemetery in Youngstown, OH. I visit the graves often. They lived at 613 North Avenue and later moved to 1333 Kensington Ave, both addresses in Youngstown. Their children Anthony d 1974, Francis d 1919 (influenza epidemic), Frank L.(my father) d 1982), Steve d 1985, Jack d? and the youngest Harry d? in Los Angles, California. I have a professional photograph of the whole family taken at the North Avenue address. My mother is Elizabeth Pauline Gleba d 9/9/2005. I know that my grandfather James (Jim) Chufo worked as a stone cutter in Vermont when he first came to the USA. He later moved to work in the mills in Youngstown, OH. I have heard about relatives in Hubbard, OH but was never sure about their exact relationship. My cousin Diane Chufo (Jack's daughter) married Ray Kyle owner of the Stewart Kyle Funeral Home in Hubbard, OH. Anthony had a daughter Polly who I have lost track of.

I and my Chufo family have much more info. My Chufo cousins are James(Jimmy), William (Billy), and Francis (Steve's children) Jimmy and Billy live in the San Diego,CA area and Francis Necko is in Youngstown. Francis has been to Italy and I have heard about Tufo, IT and will ask her about it.

Hope this confirms some of your searching. Our family is close knit and the original spelling of Chufo has been of great interest to us. I think this is the first time I have heard the spelling "Ciufo" confirmed.

Great research.

Thanks for now,

Bob Chufo in Pittaburgh, PA and Treasure Island, FL