Mother with different last name than children

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tammyweinercuratilo
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Mother with different last name than children

Post by tammyweinercuratilo »

I am trying to figure out this family story -

Rosaria Costa and her brother Giuseppe Costa (ages 15 and 11) respectively, are on the ship with a woman who is identified as their mother in the manifest, however she has a different last name.

It looks sort of like "Montosanna", and her first name seems to be Crocifisfo.

She is age 40.

The story I have from the famly is that Rosaria's mother had 18 children, and all but 2 died at birth (looks like Rosaria and Giuseppe), so this makes sense. But why does mom have a different last name?

Do you think she remarried after the children's father died? Why wouldnt the children be given the new father's last name? I am not sure whta the customs were then.

Could she be an aunt or cousin who is filling in for mom? Did women ever take back their maiden name?

Here are the manifests that I am trying to figure out,
Jul 18:
http://ellisisland.org/search/shipManif ... 2042090242


and Jul 2:
http://ellisisland.org/search/shipManif ... 2017041173


They list no surviving relatives in San Cataldo - it looks like the whole family has left.
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Re: Mother with different last name than children

Post by wldspirit »

Italian tradition......women do not lose their maiden surname, ship manifest will more than likely show them coming into America under the maiden name....once here, they then took on the surname of the husband as is American tradition.
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tammyweinercuratilo
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Re: Mother with different last name than children

Post by tammyweinercuratilo »

Thanks! This is my first foray into the Italian side of the family, so I am delighted to find a tradition that eases identification of the mother's family :)
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suanj
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Re: Mother with different last name than children

Post by suanj »

the mother name is Crocifissa MARTORANA so it seems... suanj
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MikeSavoca91
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Re: Mother with different last name than children

Post by MikeSavoca91 »

I have to say it is funny, I don't think there is any relation, but one of my great grandfather's sisters Grace married a John Costa, and another sister Frances married a guy named Sam Martorana. That just struck me as kinda cool.
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