Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

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shawnee11
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Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by shawnee11 »

hello - I am not sure how to go forward with looking up more details about my family? I do know that my great grandfather Giuseppe Riviello and great grandmother Filomena DiStasi came from a town called Felitto, Salerno in Campania. They came to Old Forge, PA around 1900 with my great aunt Maggie, when she was a baby and they were around 20-22yrs. old. Not sure what her given name was. My grandfather (Maggie's brother) was born in Old Forge, PA in 1902. His name was Salvatore Giuseppe but on most everything I can find, he went by Samuel Joseph and the spelling was Reviello, not Riviello.
I also know my great grandfather was killed in around 1910 in a truck accident. My great gram re-married at some point and the guy's last name was Malachi/Malaggi/not sure of spelling. He was only know as "Steppy" by my mom. Before my great dad was was killed, my greats managed to have a total of 7 children. The youngest was Josephine? Went by "Aunt Josie.". She had one daughter named Shirley. I was told they would fly to Felitto every year or two, to visit relatives. Not sure on details. Unfortunately, everyone is now passed and my aunts and mom have only bits and pieces of information.
I am new to genealogy so I'm not sure where or how to move forward. When I try to search "Riviello" and "DiStasi" and even both names with "Felitto", I get a number of hits but none seem to lead to us. Riviello and DiStasi are a lot more common than around here for sure!

Any relatives out there or any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Shawnee
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Tessa78
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by Tessa78 »

Hello and welcome :-)

Let's begin with US records and see if we can work backwards to Italy...

Possible 1910 Census for your great grandfather Joseph and his family...
Living in Old Forge, PA
Joseph, 35, miner, immigrated 1899
Maria Antonia, his wife, 35, immigrated 1901
Pasqualina, 9, born in Italy, immigrated 1901
Salvatore, 8, born in Pennsylvania
Antonio, 5, born in Pennsylvania
Maria, 1, born in Pennsylvania

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/9524 ... census.jpg

T.
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shawnee11
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by shawnee11 »

Wow! That could be them. His wife should be Filomena (DiStasi). And he should've had 7 kids by 1910. According to my mom, her aunts and uncles were: Maggie; Louie; Tony; Mary; Ann and Josie. And in that order with my grandfather Sam being between Maggie & Louie.
There are a ton of Riviellos in Old Forge but this 1910 record almost matches. I think he was killed in 1910 though so not sure where the other two kids come in? Now I'm starting to wonder... I know re-married but from what we were all told, all kids were Riviello and that "Steppy" and Filomena had no children together.
Getting inaccurate stories from your parents and grandparents can make things a bit difficult in genealogy! Not that I'm saying they lied, just pondering about how it would be if that were the case! lol

Thank you so much T.!
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Tessa78
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by Tessa78 »

It's a start :-)

And, yes, sometimes the family stories are inaccurate (like a game of telephone where each time it is repeated...well, you get the idea)

According to the above census, Joseph and his wife had 6 children, but 4 were living...

T.
vj
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by vj »

Hi Shawnee!
Just in case you haven't seen these, possible 1900 & 1901 manifests for Giuseppe and Filomena from Ellis Island
Valarie

possible 1900 manifest
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0010

5 Jun 1900, SS Hesperia, Naples to NY
line 10
Guiseppe Reisrello (Giuseppe Riviello) 24, abt 1876
- married
- last residence Felitto
- destination Old Forge PA
- joining brother Rosario
---

possible 1901 manifest
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0002

31 Jul 1901, SS Scotia, Naples to NY
lines 2-3
Filomena Di Stasi 29, abt 1872
- last residence Felitto
- destination (?)
- joining husband Gppe Riviello
Pasqualina 6 mos, abt 1900
---

(Hey T! neat census)
vj
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by vj »

shawnee11 wrote:... According to my mom, her aunts and uncles were: Maggie; Louie; Tony; Mary; Ann and Josie. And in that order with my grandfather Sam being between Maggie & Louie...
Death date for Giuseppe probably closer to 1913-1915

possible 1920 census from ancestry. com
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2003/1920i.jpg

Home in 1920:
229 Moosic Rd
Old Forge Ward 1, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania

head Loritta Rivello 43, abt 1877 IT
- widowed
son Samie Rivello 17, abt 1903 PA
- slate picker, coal mine
son Tony Rivello 13, abt 1907 PA
daughter Mary Rivello 11, abt 1909 PA
daughter Anna Rivello 8, abt 1912 PA
son Louis Rivello 6, abt 1914 PA
daughter Josephine Rivello 4 10/12, abt 1915 PA
---


possible 1930 census
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1262/1930y.jpg

Home in 1930:
229 Moosic Rd, owns
Old Forge, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania

head Filemona Revello 50, abt 1880 IT
- widowed
- immig 1902, Na (naturalized)
- clerk, confectionery store
daughter Josephine Revello 15, abt 1915 PA
son Louis Revello 16, abt 1914 PA
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Tessa78
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by Tessa78 »

Great work on the manifests Valarie :-D

Looked and looked, but to no avail...

Super sleuthing on those census records, too....

T.
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shawnee11
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by shawnee11 »

T & VJ..... how cool are both of you!?!

I asked my mom and she said yes, they lived on Moosic St. and when she was a kid, that was her Aunt's house.
Now we need to figure out the time frame of Greatpop's death. He couldn't have been killed when my grandpop was 8, as we were told, if the younger kids weren't born until 1914-1915... unless of course....
From what my mom said, all seven kids were Riviello kids. Grandpop dropped out of school when he was 8 or 9 to go work in the mines to help support the family. Then, he had his mom lie about his age so he could join the Navy in 1917 to fight in WWI. he was 14 or 15 when he enlisted. I think he put his birth year in as 1900 or 1901 to the Navy. This also does not help when trying to dig up info based on dates!
I do like though, that Filomena Riviello got younger as the years went by! By 1930 she was 8 years younger that her original birth date!

Thanks again to both of you! Great investigating and so fast! i would've never found "Riesrello", Sherlock! -

Now backwards to Felitto, SA?

Shawnee
vj
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by vj »

shawnee11 wrote:...Now backwards to Felitto, SA?...
Shawnee,
I'm so glad we could find some US records for you!
You should be able to write to Felitto for Giuseppe and Filomena's birth and marriage record(s)

Italian form letter generator with instructions:
http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... civile.asp

Or other helpful form letters:
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... tters.html

Address:

Comune di Felitto
Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Piazza Mercato
84055 Felitto SA
ITALY


http://www.tuttitalia.it/campania/97-felitto/
---

Website for finding comune addresses:
http://www.nonsolocap.it/
===

Thanks T :D !
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redzinner
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by redzinner »

vj wrote:
Italian form letter generator with instructions:
http://www.circolocalabrese.org/resourc ... civile.asp

Or other helpful form letters:
http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwi ... tters.html

Address:

Comune di Felitto
Ufficio dello Stato Civile
Piazza Mercato
84055 Felitto SA
ITALY


http://www.tuttitalia.it/campania/97-felitto/
---

Website for finding comune addresses:
http://www.nonsolocap.it/
===
Although my ancestors are not Riviello & DiStasi, mine are also from Felitto (Schiavo) and Roccadapide (Urti). These links to form letters will help me acquire some information. Thanks for posting this information!
John.Capano
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by John.Capano »

Hi, I know it has been seven years since you originally posted your request, but are you still seeking info on Riviello and Di Stasi? My grandfather was Carmine Prinzo and my grandmother was Antonia Di Stasi. Riviello‘s are cousins of mine. I visited Felitto last April and met a lot of cousins. I had (have?) a lot of relatives in Old Forge, Scranton and Jersey Shore (Williamsport), PA. Other surnames are Gnazzo, Sabatella, etc. Do you live in Old Forge? Let me know if I can help.

John Capano
frankbarbieri1950
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by frankbarbieri1950 »

Good morning John. My great-grandmother's last name was DiStasi and she was from Felitto. Prinzo is also a surname in my family. Can you give me your email address so that we can further discuss our common ancestry? My email address is frank.barbieri@comcast.net
patty013
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by patty013 »

I don't know if you are still around. My parents often spoke of the Rivellos. They were from Old Forge, Pa and my dad's parents came from Felitto, Italy. I was born in Old Forge, PA. 1940. Somehow we must be connected. We all moved to NJ when I was only a few years old and I left there at age 36 and have been living in S. California.
Joeydis
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by Joeydis »

Hello my name is Joey and my great grandfather was Luciano DiStasi. He also came to Old Forge from Felitto. All I know is that he was married to a women named Reba and they were similar in ages. Now after a few generations I am really interested in my ancestors. If you have any questions about them please reply
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Re: Riviello & DiStasi from Felitto

Post by Carcam51 »

Hi, my name is Shannon. I'm not sure if any of you are still actively searching, but I figured I'd share. My great grandfather was Domenico Prinzo (born 1882) he married Antonia Palmieri - both from Felitto. I also have the DiStasi and Schiavo names in my family tree. My great grandfather, Domenico, immigrated in 1910-11 and settled in Cleveland, Oh. Also, if anyone is looking to write to the Comune to obtain records, I recently did this by USPS and it took about two months to receive a response, but they did respond and sent the birth and marriage certificates I was looking for! Would love to connect with anyone that is interested!
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