Family Surname Simparosa

[simpj24]

My Great Great Grandfather came from Italy. I can't seem to find any Italian records on the surname Simparosa to find out where we are from. On his 1902 Naturalization document, it states that he came over from Italy through the port of New York in or around April 1st, 1883. The 1900 Census backs that data up by stating that he had been in American for 16 years. It also states that he was married around 1880. He was unable to read or write in English, so I am thinking his name got misspelled or even changed at Castle Garden.

His name was Henry Simparosa (Sept 1854 - 5/5/1938) , and he came over with his wife Jennie (DiRenzo) Simparosa (5/14/1857 - 11/19/1940) and their son Rocco Simparosa (5-21-1879). I have found Rocco Simparosa's WWI Registration card and it only states that he was from Italy.

Henry's fathers name was also Rocco. Jennie's parents were Matteo DiRenzo and Anna (Christelo) Direnzo.

Any ideas where he came from or how the surname was spelled in Italy would be very helpful

-Jim

[johnnyonthespot]

The surname Simparosa does not seem to exist in modern Italy, a good sign that it never did exist and is a corrupt spelling. The nearest I could find is Cimarosa, which exists in small numbers throughout Italy - http://www.gens.labo.net/en/cognomi/gen ... e=CIMAROSA

Cimarosa would be pronounced Chee-mah-RO-za (Chee like cheese).

PS: You can also find a small number of Cimarossa's (with a double-s) in Italy today.

[johnnyonthespot]

Check out the obituary at the top left of this newspaper page: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap ... =102966589

Son of Elizabeth Simparosa?

[simpj24]

I forgot to mention that Henry and Jennie Simparosa also had James, Carrie, Michael, Anthony and Elizabeth after coming to America in 1883. The current Simparosa's in America are all descendents of Henry and Jennie.

[johnnyonthespot]

I was looking at your family tree at Ancestry . com and could not help but notice the odd way in which the family appears in the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 US censuses:

Now, why would it be that over a span of so many years - decades - the name keeps appearing as Simbrose?


png upload

[simpj24]

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first saw those census records. On the 1897 and 1902 Naturalization documents that I found, it was spelled Simperasa on both. Not sure if that was just another misspelling. I was also hoping to find something on the Castle Garden website. I have used every misspelling that I can think and I still cannot find anything even remotely close.

I appreciate your help with this.

-Jim

[johnnyonthespot]

What is Henry's given name on the naturalization papers? Henry? Enrico?

[simpj24]

I just uploaded them into my Ancestry account under his name. The name on all the papers is Henry Simperasa instead of Henry Simparosa.