Adoptee Searching Just Discovered Italian Ancestry

[princessbubbles_1]

Hello,
Here is a website that lets you find where a surname is found in italy. Hope this helps.
http://gens.labo.net/it/cognomi/

[nolnacsj]

@ princessbubbles_1

Thank you very much for the link. I will check it out.

Judy

[JohnPCamp]

It has been over a year since I last posted. Thought I would update just in case. I now have a predicted 5th cousin DNA match with a person with the Italian surname COSTIGLIOLA, after having my DNA tested with Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) "Family Finder". I am curious what region of Italy this surname is most commonly found.

In addition, I am helping another adoptee who was born in Italy in 1958 and adopted in the USA. His birth name is Massolino, and he was born in Benvento, Italy. Is this a common surname in Italy? Supposedly he was dropped off at a convent there when he was a baby, at least that is what he was told.

Any advice is appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Judy

Hi Judy / Cecelia / Cecilia / Costigliola:

To find out the current distribution of an Italian surname you can use the following URL:
http://www.gens.labo.net/it/cognomi/gen ... gnomi-prov
http://www.gens.labo.net/it/cognomi/gen ... &t=cognomi

I am also the moderator of the ITALIADOPTION community which helps Italian born adoptees who have been adopted by American parents locate their birth relatives in Italy so you can let Massolino know about it and I will see what we can do here in Italy to give him a hand - we have other Italian born adoptees from Benevento who we have helped over the years so he is not the first!
Its important to know if he was "recognized" at birth or not...

CIAO for now...

John Pierre Campitelli
JohnPCamp@aol.com
Skype: JohnPCamp (650) 557-2153 (leave message)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ITALIADOPTION/

[nolnacsj]

John,

Thank you for your reply. We also communicated earlier when I registered the Massolino search on the ITALIADOPTION site. Unfortunately, Michael (adopted name) does not use the computer so either I or his daughter would have to help him, and neither of us live near Michael. However, we will figure out a way to get him the resources and info he needs. It is encouraging to know that there have been others from Benevento who you have helped.

What does it mean, "recognized" at birth?

Thank you for your interest and assistance.

CIAO!

Judy (birth name Cecelia)
born 1956 Binghamton, NY

[carmine1917]

Listen, do NOT give up! A friend of mine only had her mothers name and that she was from Maine and the hospital she was born at. When she went there the hospital it was a nursing home. I started posting on different sites/blogs whatever you want to call them, all I did was ask if people knew her. They thought I was looking up an old friend. I found her, took me 3 weeks and now my friend and her mother and sisters and brother spend many weekends together!

And as for joining the Italian culture, it is in your blood. I am 100% Italian, 2nd generation, but we are Americans first, Italians second!

If you need any help, you can PM me. I have been doing historical research for years and have traveled a lot to do more research.

[nolnacsj]

Micheles,

Thank you for the encouraging words. I have not given up. I know my birth mother was 19 when I was born, and the 1940 federal census is coming out this spring. I have a name which may or may not be an alias (unfortunately it is Jones), but the census should help me figure that out. Also, there is a new "Bill of Adoptee Rights" sitting in the NY Assembly and Senate, and we are writing and calling the legislators, asking them to please support the Bill, and allow it to get to the floor for a vote. We have been trying to get this passed for 20 years and it has been blocked by just a few powerful individuals. Hopefully this time, it will get to the floor for a vote, and pass. If so, all adult adoptees born in NY State where I was born and adopted, will be able to get a unaltered copy of their original birth certificate, just like any other citizen born in the USA. This is really a issue of equal rights. There are 7 states so far who have changed their law/legislation, and now allow adult adoptees to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate. The most recent states to change were Rhode Island and Illinois in 2011.

Adoptees are also now able to take advantage of autosomal DNA testing, which I have done. Based on the amount of DNA shared, I now have 54 predicted 3rd, 4th and 5th cousin matches with names. This is with the FTDNA Family Finder test. A few have Italian surnames so they would be from my birth father's side of the family tree. As more people get tested, the chance of a closer relative match showing up increases. Some adoptees have been lucky enough to be matched with a 1/2 sibling, or a 1st and 2nd cousin. I have to be patient. I have fewer matches because I am 1/2 Italian and fewer Italians seem to participate in DNA testing. Thousands involved with genealogical research are doing this test, and it is also an added new search tool to adoptees, allowing us to find out about our genetic/ethnic heritage. My results confirmed what had been reported to me by NY State concerning the ethnic background of my birth parents, Irish/Dutch mother, Italian father. Knowing this just makes me want to learn more about my ethnic heritage. It is hard for anyone who has grown up and known all their life, who they are and where they came from, to understand what it is like to discover ones ethnicity when they are in their 50's. I joyfully embrace my newly discovered "roots", and look forward to someday learning more.

I am registered on quite a few adoptee/birth family search, support and reunion groups, international registries, the NY State registry, and subscribe to Ancestry.com where I and 12,000 other people just had our DNA tested with their new autosomal DNA test. We are now all waiting for the results. If anyone is looking for me, and they go to these registries, I can be easily found. If you Google female adoptee, 1956, Binghamton, NY, you will probably find me there also.

Thank you for the offer to help me. If I receive new information and have names to work with, I will let you know!

Thank you for your interest,

Judy (Cecelia)

[carmine1917]

My friend had the same thing, she did not know what she was. On her 25th birthday her adoptive parents gave her the adoption records they had. It had her biological mothers name and her fathers name, because she was underage, that was our guess. We found out that she is Korean and Irish/Scottish.

She did go to a lawyer to get the records unsealed, the law in NY would not allow it. So i guess without the information her adopted parents had, she would not know what she is, or that her mother did marry her father and had 2 more children.

As for the census, I am counting down the days. However, the census has a lot of errors and I have not been able to find my grandparents on the 1915 or 1920 census in NYC.

[nolnacsj]

Micheles,

NY State is one of the worst for opening adoption records, but they do have the state registry, so if your friend is still searching for any birth family, she should register as they will match you if a parent or sibling has also registered. They will also give her "non-identifying information" (age of parents, educational, religious, and ethnic background, marital status, number of children born before you, etc.). She should also sign up with ISRR.org, a international registry, as any family member can register there (parents, sibs, cousins, aunts, etc.). She should also join the nyadoptees@yahoogroups.com group. There are "search angels" there who help adoptees or birth family searching, for free, and it has a database which you can search to see if the people you are searching for, have also registered there.

I also have my adoption order papers, and it referenced the name of my birth mother, and my birth name. The name of my birth father was not included and it stated that he "abandoned the child" and my mother was not able to care for me. My guess is that since she was 19 and unmarried, and he was 28 with no marital status given, that he probably was married. The fathers name is frequently not listed, especially if the parents were not married, or the mother refuses to disclose the identity of the father.

Regarding your grandparents, have you looked at the birth index (if they were born in NYC)?

Judy

[carmine1917]

I did find my friends biological parents by posting her mothers name in the area she was born in Maine.

[nolnacsj]

I try to respect my mother's privacy to some degree so I have put "personals" in the local Binghamton, NY paper on Mothers Day but I do not put her name, just my birth-first name,and my DOB as she would know that. I don't want to risk ruining the potential for a meeting in the future. However, so far, I have not had any responses. That is why I want to focus on my birth father, but without a name, I am pretty stuck. Also, he would be in his 80's now, and may not still be living. However, I remain hopeful as my adoptive mother is sharp at 95 and still driving a car! Anything is possible I guess!

Judy

[seabreezes1]

Just sent you a private reply.... however, looking at your signature, I may have misinterpreted. I happen to know Italians with the last name Cecilio.

Best~

[nolnacsj]

Karen,

I will look for your other reply. However, my signature shows my birth name, first and last, Cecelia Jones. I know that my birth father is Italian, but I do not have a first or last name. You did give me another idea though! I guess it is possible that the surname of my father was hidden in my birth name. That would be clever! When it comes to adoption and keeping secrets, all kinds of things can happen. My birth mother was listed on my adoption papers as Protestant, but her name (Marie), and my name (Cecelia), are Catholic Saints. I believe Saint Cecelia is the patron saint of music and song. I have sometimes wondered if one of my birth parents were musically inclined. When you don't know anything about your family history, all you can do is wonder and speculate.

I see that you are not too far away, in Gloucester. I am on Cape Cod.

Thank you for your reply.

Judy

[carmine1917]

one of my cousins in Sicily is Protestant. Also, back in the day the Catholic Church would not baptize if the baby did not have a Catholic name.

[nolnacsj]

Micheles,

That is interesting, I never knew that (baptism and a Catholic name). To this day, I have no idea if I was ever baptized. I was given to my adoptive parents when I was 5 days old, but I was probably born in a hospital named "Lourdes", but non-Catholics also used it. My adoptive parents were not Catholic, they were Quaker. According to info I got from NY State, my birth mother was listed as Protestant, but nothing was recorded for my birth father. I have always wondered if I was really Catholic.

[carmine1917]

I just thought I would tell you, because I was surprised my cousins are Protestant. There are many religions in Italy, obviously Catholics are the most popular.