Emmigration 1896 - passport questions

[autumn4680]

Hi Everyone,

I just got some wonderful help from the group over in Italian language, handwriting , script & translations, and they have referred me to this forum for a few of my other questions.

I have in my possession my great grandfather's passport from Italy. We have deciphered the language and handwriting pretty well, but I am trying to figure out if it holds any clues to his port of departure, arrival, etc.

The document indicates that Francesco Antonio Masino (my great grandfather) traveled with his younger brother, Antonio—their father was deceased. I am wondering if they both would have traveled using just this one document? Antonio would have only been about 14, so I presume because he is a minor, his older brother acted as his guardian. Does that make sense?

There is a stamp on the back of the document marked Genova with the date. Francesco Antonio being from Marsico Nuovo, the closest port to him would have been Naples, so I wonder if it is possible he boarded in Naples and stopped in Genova? I've not been able to locate any ship manifests for Francesco, and so I have no clue his port of departure, arrival or ship name. I know he settled in Philadelphia, but am not sure if he came through there directly or if he went to Ellis Island.

Also, another stamp on the back says TULDA, which I have been told means "deck." Does this give any clues as to what sort of a ticket he had? I presume he rode in steerage because it seems most likely, but I have no evidence to back that up.

Thank you in advance for your help!
Pictures attached.

[vj]

This may help to locate his manifest
Is this his 1918 WWI Draft Registration Card?
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3021/1918h.jpg
born 15 Nov 1874

[vj]

No ship listed on 1904 Petition for Naturalization

from ancestry. com
front
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/3465/1904z.jpg
back
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8821/1904p.jpg

Name: Frank Masino State: Pennsylvania Court Type: District Court Court Location: Eastern District, Pennsylvania Naturalization Record Type: Petition for Naturalization Roll Description: (Roll 060) Petition Nos. 8456-8985 Archive: National Archives, Washington, D.C. Collection Title: Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795-1930 Archive Series: M1522 Archive Roll: 60

[autumn4680]

This may help to locate his manifest
Is this his 1918 WWI Draft Registration Card?
img221.imageshack.us/i.../1918h.jpg
born 15 Nov 1874

VJ,

Yes, this is my ancestor. I have this document too. You think this will help me find his manifest? I actually have a lot of documents for him... several census records, his marriage certificate and his naturalization papers... It seems he was easy to find once he got to the states, but it's prior to his immigration I'm struggling with. And his brother Antonio falls off the face of the earth after the 1900 census. I can't find him anywhere.

I even tried searching ship manifests for his cousins, whom I suspect may have also traveled with him, hoping that might help, but I've found nothing. Surname NEGRO, first names: Tony, Frank, Joe, Luisa, Raffael

I have also decided that Frank didn't know his actual date of birth. Almost all my documents conflict on that year and I have several documents in his own handwriting where he writes a different year. Based on that, I figure he was born between 1874 and 1878. (I have a journal he kept of his children's births, which is absolutely amazing... but in the opening page he even listed his own year of marriage incorrectly. I have his marriage certificate, so I was able to prove it. I think he was just really bad with keeping track of years!)

Thanks,
Michelle

[vj]

Hi Michelle!
Thank you for the update.
I was hoping that it was a later naturalization - the ones after 1906 listed the ship and date.
I haven't had any luck locating a manifest for the brothers in 1896-1897 either
Valarie
---

...I even tried searching ship manifests for his cousins, whom I suspect may have also traveled with him, hoping that might help, but I've found nothing. Surname NEGRO, first names: Tony, Frank, Joe, Luisa, Raffael...

For everyone's reference
Frank and brother Antonio Masino living with their aunt (Isabella) and cousins

1900 census
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/811/1900j.jpg

Home in 1900:
844 Christian Street
Philadelphia Ward 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sabella Negro 49
Tony Negro 28
Frank Negro 25
Joe Negro 19
Luisa Negro 15
Raffael Negro 9

nephew Antonio Masiris 19
nephew Frank Masiris 21

---

Note:
Possible naturalization for cousin from footnote

Ralph Nigro
born 1 May 1890
immig Dec 1894 SS Fulda

1894 manifest for some of the Nigro family
lines 9-13
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0013

Tony (Oct 1871?) and Frank Nigro (Apr 1875?) aren't on the 1894 manifest

[autumn4680]

For everyone's reference
Frank and brother Antonio Masino living with their aunt (Isabella) and cousins

Hi Valerie,
Would you believe that I have been analyzing that 1900 census record for over a year and it never occurred to me that "Sabella" could be "Isabella?" It looks like an "M" for Male in the sex column, so I just ran with that, but "Isabella" makes much more sense! (Frank and Rose Masino's third daugher is named Isabella, and they seem to follow the Italian tradition of naming children...)

1894 manifest for some of the Nigro family
lines 9-13
www.ellisisland.org/EI...;line=0013

Valerie, I could kiss you! Where did you find this document? This HAS to be them! It lists Nicola Nigro as a laborer (I did not know his name because he was deceased by the 1900 census) and Isabela Nasca, which confirms Frank's mother's maiden name (I thought it was either Nasea or Nasca), and Isabella must have been her sister! I have chills, I am so excited, thank you so much!!

Michelle

[vj]

Hey Michelle!
I'm so glad we could find at least one family manifest .
I used the information on Raffaele Nigro's petition for naturalization to find it.
Valarie

[vj]

Masino

Michelle,
I'm pretty sure this is it
- the 'Tulda' stamp on the passport is the SS Fulda - the ship name
(same ship as their aunt & uncle in 1894)
- they did leave from Genoa
Apparently whoever filled out the manifest misspelled their last name
At Ellis if Frank or Antonio couldn't write their surname they wouldn't have been able to confirm the spelling
Valarie

lines 20-21
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1292/1896o.jpg

Name: Franc Ant Molini
Birth Year: abt 1875 Age: 21
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian

Name: Antonio Molini
Birth Year: abt 1882 Age: 14
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian

Port of Departure: Genoa, Italy
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 25 May 1896
Ship Name: Fulda

[vj]

Michelle, if you're interested in Italian record research, this may help.
Please excuse the length of the post...
Valarie

Since you don't have exact birth dates (years) you may want to check out the microfilmed records for your family rather than trying to request birth records from the comune??

Your nearest Family History Center can order records for Marsico Nuovo on microfilm.
The cost is about $5.50 mo (rent), you’ll need to go to the center to order & view them.

Title:
Registri dello stato civile di Marsico Nuovo (Potenza), 1809-1910 Marsico Nuovo (Potenza).
Ufficio dello stato civile

Film notes for Marsico Nuovo:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library ... +Marsico+N &columns=*,0,0
---

Note: they also have church records for 3 churches
Registri ecclesiastici di Marisco Nuovo (Potenza), 1648-1900 Chiesa cattolica.
San Giorgio Martire (Marsico Nuovo, Potenza)
Registri ecclesiastici di Marisco Nuovo (Potenza), 1752-1891 Chiesa cattolica.
Santa Caterina (Marsico Nuovo, Potenza)
Registri ecclesiastici di Marsico Nuovo (Potenza), 1647-1889 Chiesa cattolica.
San Marco (Marsico Nuovo, Potenza)
---

In case you aren’t familiar with the Family History Center & Italian records

FamilySearch Home Page
Includes how to find your nearest local Family History Center
You may want to call first to verify the hours they're open.
Most centers are staffed with very helpful volunteers.

A helpful essay written by Trish, one of our forum members:
Steps for Finding Microfilm at the Family History Center

Family History Library Catalog:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/Library ... t_fhlc.asp
---

Italian Record Research from FamilySearch guides:
Italy Research Outline
---

Also from FamilySearch (PDF format)
Italian Records Extraction - An Instructional Guide
---

Three books that may help you to find, read & understand your records:

Italian Genealogical Records
How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, &
Other Records in Family History Research
By Tafford R Cole
google book link

A Genealogist’s Guide to
Discovering Your Italian Ancestors
How to find and record your unique heritage
By Lynn Nelson
google book link

Finding Italian Roots
By John Philip Colletta, PhD
google book link

[maestra36]

Great find, Valarie! I'm really impressed by how you located this passenger list. My research skills must be slipping.
Peg

Masino

Michelle,
I'm pretty sure this is it
- the 'Tulda' stamp on the passport is the SS Fulda - the ship name
(same ship as their aunt & uncle in 1894)
- they did leave from Genoa
Apparently whoever filled out the manifest misspelled their last name
At Ellis if Frank or Antonio couldn't write their surname they wouldn't have been able to confirm the spelling
Valarie

lines 20-21
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1292/1896o.jpg

Name: Franc Ant Molini
Birth Year: abt 1875 Age: 21
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian

Name: Antonio Molini
Birth Year: abt 1882 Age: 14
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian

Port of Departure: Genoa, Italy
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: 25 May 1896
Ship Name: Fulda

[vj]

Hi Peg !
Thank you!
I was really lucky to be able to build on the team's research on the passport translation.
I remembered Michelle's note about Tulda meaning deck
When we found the manifest for the Nigro family on the Fulda - it clicked (several hours later) that Tulda may have been the ship Fulda
Since we knew Antonio was born in 1882 (from the hard work by everyone on the passport translation) I looked for an Ant* born 1882 +/-1yr immig 1896 +/- 1 yr on the ship Fulda on ancestry. com's New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
The result 'Molini' seemed worth looking into - and there was brother Franc Ant!
Valarie

[pink67]

Congratulations Valarie! great research....

Ancestry.com has online the civil registrations for Marsico Nuovo:

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1886

Laura

[vj]

Hey Laura
Thank you so much!
I forgot to check ancestry
Here's another link: Potenza, Basilicata, Italy, Civil Registration Records, 1861-1938
(in Italian)

[pink67]

If I may give an help, this is the 1874 birth act for Francescantonio Masini, from Ancestry.com:

Birth act number 263 - year 1874

Francescantonio Masini was born on 20 november 1874 and was son of Giuseppe Masini (son of the late Francesco), age 27, farmer and of Rosaria Nasca (daughter of the late Francesco)

Image:
http://postimage.org/image/2y4zfta5g/

Laura

p.s. I'm so happy to check the italian databases on ancestry....

[pink67]

1 october 1903 S.S. Nord America

Rosaria Nasca, age 51, married then corrected in Wid., from Marsico Nuovo to Philadelphia to join her son Francesco Masino, travelling with her child Lucia age 14 and Raffaele age 9:

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0009

Laura