Godfrey

[Richiee1]

My family imagreated from italy in the early 1900's im guessing
im not to sure to where in canada they went but i no there is some godfreys in ontario and in thnder bay ont.
i think my grand fathers full name was John Godfrey i know his son my father full name was John Godfrey and he lived in thunder bay for a while he was put in lots of boarding schools or what ever there called and was bounced around lots as a child
he lived in saskatoon sak. and prince albert sak.
if anybody has any info on anything about the last name godfrey or italian imagrents changing there last name to godfrey when they imagreated or if they know mabey what it could of been before it was changed it would be greatly helped and thanked

if you no anything please say somthing


richie

[Richiee1]

Is it possible that my grandfather changed his last name from goffredo to godfrey when he came from italy to canada?
can some one please help me about this question

[wldspirit]

Many immigrants changed their names for a variety of reasons, easier to spell, pronounce, a way of fitting in to their new country, ect.,.......

As to what it could have been......would need more detailed info from you so that members can help you locate source records.
Full names, dates of birth, spouse, children, location of residence......the more info you provide, the easier it is for members to provide help.
wldspirit

[wldspirit]

Until someone more experienced in Canadian genealogy comes along,
here are two sites which may help:

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/index-e.html

http://www.islandnet.com/~jveinot/cghl/cghl.html

wldspirit

[mler]

This seems to have happened very often as the new immigrants tried to assimilate. Goffredo/Godfrey seems a logical change. Note, too, that these changes were generally made informally, not through the courts.

[DonnaPellegrin]

First, I will repost your other message here so that we can stay on one thread:

My family imagreated from italy in the early 1900's im guessing
im not to sure to where in canada they went but i no there is some godfreys in ontario and in thnder bay ont.
i think my grand fathers full name was John Godfrey i know his son my father full name was John Godfrey and he lived in thunder bay for a while he was put in lots of boarding schools or what ever there called and was bounced around lots as a child
he lived in saskatoon sak. and prince albert sak.
if anybody has any info on anything about the last name godfrey or italian imagrents changing there last name to godfrey when they imagreated or if they know mabey what it could of been before it was changed it would be greatly helped and thanked
if you no anything please say somthing
richie

Richie, I think that the following book might be of particular interest to you:
In Search of a Better Life: Emigration to ThunderBay from a small town in Calabria, by John Potestio, published by the ThunderBay Historical Museum Society, 2000.

If you can tell us the name of the town in Italy where your family originated, it would help us to search for the immigration papers on the Ellis Island website. Was it your father who immigrated or your grandfather or both? And as wldspirit asked, what details can you provide to help us search for these passengers? Ages, spouse's name, children's names and ages, etc?

[suanj]

Is it possible that my grandfather changed his last name from goffredo to godfrey when he came from italy to canada?
can some one please help me about this question

Hi, yes is very possible, americanizing the surname;
regards, suanj

[suanj]

Richiee: the better thing that you can make, is to search any documents in Canada, of your ancestors, going back in the time ...
when you will have some sure data, and canadian documents, after you can to start with italian search.. also is possible that your ancestor naturalized, or had the draft registration card or more traces.. please to search very well, and I'm sure that you will find! also you can to contact the Goffredos in Canada, maybe related with your ancestor..... in italian spell the right name is Giovanni GOFFREDO... regards, suanj

[Richiee1]

I know nothing about my grandfather
and he only imagreated not my father
he had 5 children if that helps
i have no idea when he might of been born
i have a picture of my dad and his sister
my father john just died last year some time
thats all i know

[rfornal]

You might want to track down your fathers Social Security Information and from that you can get his Application with will list his father, mother, and where they were born.

This could give you a good start.

Good luck,
Bob

[Richiee1]

What do you mean social security info
what woudl that do for me and if i had it what would i do with it?

[rfornal]

If you can obtain his Social Security Number, you should be able to apply to get a copy of his Social Security Application that was filled out to get him the number.

Your father's parents and where they were born is generally listed on the application. This gives you names and locations to begin the search.

[mler]

I'm assuming Calgary is in Canada, but (and I plead ignorance here), does Canada have social security numbers like we do in the States? Also, does Canada have census information that is made available. If so, that would help.

If you can locate your grandfather's point of entry and get the ship manifest, that might help.

[rfornal]

Ooops ... missed the Canada portion ...

Sorry.
Bob

[Richiee1]

nono we have Social Security numbers in canada