Ferrazzano & Bertolini in Stella Cilento

[MarilynHayes777]

Hello,

I just joined ItalianGenealogy.com and really don't know where to begin!

My grandmother's oldest brother was the only sibling born in Italy and, until last night, I hadn't a clue from where in Italy my great grandparents left. Though my grandmother's brother- WILLIAM BERTOLINI - was not a shining star on the family tree, I was able to find that he was born in Stella Cilento in September 1899. As the family recollects, he was in his mother's arms for most of the trip to NY so it must have been within a year from his birth that his parents, Nicola Bertolini and Josephine Ferrazzano Bertolini left Italy.
Another family story (?) is that Josephine's father, Peter Ferrazzano, was a wealthy man who married (or impregnated and then married) the servant girl Louisa. For this he was disowned from the family. Peter and Louisa Ferrazano then were financially weak and possibly received money and property from the Bertolini family in exchange for giving their daughter Josephine to be the bride of Nicola Bertolini.
Josephine, however, had at least one brother, Jim, and I do not know how that fits in.
Peter Ferrazzano, the family tells, was 33 years old when he died - my g. grandmother Josephine used to say that her father died at the same age as Jesus was when He died. I am only guessing that Peter died in Italy.
I've been told that Josephine remarried and lived in Paterson, NJ. My grandmother visited there in abt 1918 or 1919 so that's the timeframe but
I can't seem to find a census that helps me.
Josephine's death certificate states that her mother's name was Larro but I have found that death certificates are not always a great source of accurate data...Larrow may have even been the name of her second husband, I don't know.
So that's about what I have of the ancestor side...I've only been doing this for about 2 1/2 months and I am hooked!

I sure do hope that you can either help me or direct me!
Sincerely,
Marilyn Hayes
MarilynHayes@HiltonHeadChristian.com

[vj]

Hello Marilyn
Welcome to the Forum !
That is a lot of great information that you've
put together.
Are there some records we can help you find?
If you want to track your family in Italy it is
generally recommended that you gather all
your US vital records first.
We'll all see what we can do to help you get
on track with your research.
Valarie

[MarilynHayes777]

Thankyou! It is great to know that I have experienced help on the way!
The only vital records I could think of obtaining from the US was death records, WWI draft reg. (how I foung Stella Cilento) and census accounts.
I have compiled the following to help you better help me:

More information:

NICOLAS AND JOSEPHINE FERRAZZANO BERTOLINE

From June 7, 1900 census in NYC

Nicolas Bertolini born May 1871* in Italy
(He and Josephine were in two census accounts in 1920:
1920 #1 census, he was 50 => b. abt. 1870, 1920 census #2 he was 55 => b. abt 1865
...so he was likely born somewhere between 1865 & 1871

Josephine Bertoline born January 1873* in Italy
1920 #1, she was 46 => b. abt 1874, 1920 #2 she was 52 => b. abt 1868
...so she was likely born somewhere between 1868 and 1874


This 1900 census states they were married for 14 years => abt 1886 (1910 census says they were married for 21 years => m. abt. 1889 - I'm guessing this is more accurate)
...so they were likely married between 1886 & 1889

Son William Bertolini born Sept. 1889 in STELLA CILENTO Italy

All three of the above immigrated to the NY in 1890, were not naturalized
(there were several other children subsequently born in NY)

JOSEPHINE BERTOLINI (spelled "Bertollini")

Death certificate
Date of death: September 16, 1938
address at the time: 46 E. 1st Street, Manhattan, NY
Married to Nicolas at time of death
NO INFORMANT LISTED
no date of birth given but states she was 69 => b. abt 1869 *differs from 1900 census
Lived in NY for 50 years => immigrated abt. 1888, also differs from 1900 census but unlikely accurate because William was an infant during the trip from Italy to NY
Name of father: Peter Ferrizzine, b. in Italy (I believe it is Ferrazzano because a great aunt said it was"Verrazzano" and the most common variation of that surname - the one prevalent in Paterson, NJ where her mother lived - was Ferrazzano)
Maiden name of mother: Louise Larro, b. in Italy (again, because of the vague information, I cannot be sure if this was her maiden name or her name from her second marriage - see my earlier post)

NICOLAS BERTOLINI
Death certificate
Date of death: Dec. 3, 1946
address at the time of death: 32-31 32nd St. Queens, NY (the home of one of his daughters)
Widow
Informant: William Bertolini, oldest son mentioned above.
Date of birth: May 15, 1864 in Italy *date differs from 1900 census
Age: 82 yrs., 6 mo., 18 days.
Lived in NY for 60 years => immigrated abt. 1886, also differs from 1900 census but unlikely accurate because William was an infant during the trip from Italy to NY
Name of father: Biagio Bertolini, b. in Italy
Maiden name of mother: Angela Lissa
I have no clue whether this is accurate or not - except to say that William was said to be very smart...

[vj]

Marilyn,
Really great job on your research, thank you
for the summary!
The only other record you may want to look into
would be Social Security applications, esp for
William Bertolini?
Otherwise are you ready to jump across the ocean?
A good start may be to review the Italy Research
Guide on the LDS Family Search site (if you haven't
checked it out already)
If they don't have films on Stella Cilento,
(Province of Salerno, Region Campania)
Writing to Italy would likely be the next step.
Here's another pretty neat site for checking out your family
names/correct spellings in Stella Cilento
(click on surnames on the left, you can do
partial name searches)
What do you think?
Valarie

[MarilynHayes777]

Hello again! I have been researching the links you suggested and have only found one new piece of data which may, in the long run, be useful.
On the Family Research website, I found Josephine's mother to be Josephine Lerro Ferrazzano, daughter of Raffaela and Fortunata Ferro Lerra. She remarried a Talpigno in Manhatten in 1894. From this, I found her in the Paterson, NJ census of 1920. The census states that she immigrated to the US in 1887. Today, I ordered a copy of the 1894 marriage certificate to confirm the spellings.
I haven't been able to find anything else on William Bertoline, no SSN, census or citizenship documents...
I wonder if you can help me get started on research in Italy from what I have thusfar. I found two Nicola Bertolini phone numbers currently in Stella Cilento...I would call but, unfortunately, I don't know any Italian!
(My relatives would speak Italian when they didn't want the children to understand!)
Thank you,
Marilyn

[MarilynHayes777]

P.S. The Family History Library does not have anything on Stella Cilento...Neither does Heritage Quest...
Marilyn

[NicoBertolini]

Hello my name is Nicolas Bertolini. This is very strange to see a death certificate with my name written on it.....
So, just for the information, is there a Martino Bertolini (he changed is name in Martin Bertolini when he imigrated to France) who died in 1982 in your family tree ? He was my grandfather.

[MarilynHayes777]

I am sorry to say that I have no such name in my database thus far. My records are rather complete for that generation so I feel safe in saying that we may be very, very distantly related, if at all.
Good luck in your searching! And keep at it - it is sometimes tough but always rewarding!
Marilyn

[fonz]

I just joined and found this. My grandmother maiden name is Bertolini (Annunziato-married). Don't know if it is the same, but I am also related to a Nicola Bertolini, and I noticed that some of our info matches and some do not. I have a prayer card with Nicola Bertolini for the date in your post. I also have one for a Biaggio, but the other info is very sketchy in relation to my family. Just for you info the prayer card is from N. Morisco and Son, Inc. Undertakers, Long Island City. Hope this helps. Also, I have prayer cards for Luigi, Catherine, (Brooklyn) Biaggio Bertoline (spelling different but same family in Jersey City, NJ) and Francis and Rose ( Philadelphia). Have you found any more recent info.

[bertolinidives]

I am also trying to piece together my family history and I know my grandfather's name was Antonio (Christopher/Cristobol) Bertolini and that he was born in 1887 and that he was from the area/province of Salerno. Searching the manifests I found 5 Antonio Bertolini's that immigrated and only one from the area of Salerno (6 June 1901). Antonio Bertolini (age 12) listed Stella Cilento as his home and was on the ship with who I assume was his brother Enrico (age 15) and father Luigi (age 42). Could this possibly be the Luigi you speak of?