Sciortino, Geloso/Geluso, Giammona, DiGiovanna

[ck76]

Hello all,

I'm new to Italian genealogy and thought I'd try this. I'm working on my girlfriend's ancestry and her father's side is 100% Sicilian. The families I'm working on are as follows:

Salvatore Geloso and Rose Giammona of Giardinello. Their children that I've found are Giussepe b.1882 (who remained in Giardinello), Francisco b.1883, Anna b.1884, Santa b.1889, Giovanni b.1891, and Cristofolo b.1895. In Cristofolo's American death notice in 1953 it lists a brother and 2 sisters living in Italy. If Giussepe remained in Italy then I'm missing 2 daughters. Salvatore came to America to visit his son Giovanni in 1921 and that ship log lists his age as 66. His wife Rose also visited in 1921 listing age 63. They both list their son Giussepe as their closest family in Italy and list him in Giardinello. All of their other children came to Grand Rapids Michigan USA and their death records are accounted for. I find an online family tree listing a sister of Rose named Antonina Giammona b. 1849 in Capaci.

Cristofolo used the name Geluso and married Lena DiGiovanna who was born to Calogero DiGiovanna and Grazia Scimonelli. Calogero was born in 1868 and Grazia about 1886. They landed in New York before moving to Grand Rapids Michigan USA and then Calogero went to Illinois where he was murdered in 1931. They were both from Sicilia but I haven't found which town yet. I did find a ship record that I think is the correct Calogero coming to Brooklyn New York USA in 1907. The town he lists looks like "S. Margherita".

The biggest surprise of this family has been the "bandit" Pasquale Sciortino who married the daughter of Cristofolo and Lena Geluso and had a son here in America (while married to Marianna Giuliana in Italy) before being captured and sent back to Italy. Pasquale was my girlfriend's paternal grandfather and was born 1923 in San Cipirello. His mother was Nunzia, daughter of Grazia Renda b. 1881 (father unknown so I don't know what her maiden name was upon her marriage to Sciortino). I'm not aware of his father's name but in newspaper accounts of Pasquale's escape to America it lists Nunzia as claiming that the Italian government had Pasquale's father killed. Pasquale had a sister Santina who married a Scamardo. Nunzia is listed in her half siblings obituary with the last name of Micciche and still living in 1996. Pasquale and Santina were both still alive in 1990. Grazia Renda died in Grand Rapids Michigan USA in 1946 and her death certificate lists her father as Frank Renda and mother as Rose Lacorta.

I'm interested in birth/death dates and locations and if possible, any burial locations and death notices. I'm particularly interested in the death dates for Pasquale Sciortino and his sister Santina and their mother Nunzia in addition to who their father was. Everything I've read is that the Sciortino name was quite well off in Italy. I'm not interested in starting problems (with Pasquale's flight to America), just simply in recording the family history. I know some of these will be more difficult due to lack of a particular town but Pasquale's family was from San Cipirello and the Geloso family was definitely from Giardinello.

I'm not sure how this forum works but I'd be willing to pay someone (within reason) to do some of the digging into the records if someone is willing. If someone can point me in the right direction and some of this is available online I'm willing to look myself (but I don't know a word of Italian).

Thanks much in advance!

Chris Korstange

[ck76]

Since posting I found this on familysearch.org:
Pasquale SCIORTINO Pedigree
Male

Event(s):
Birth:
23 OCT 1923 San Cipirello,Palermo, , Sicilia Region, Italy
Christening:
Death:
24 APR 1991
Burial:

I have been told he was living in Florence in 1990 so I'm guessing he died there. I'm really interested in where he's buried and if there was a death notice in the paper. Given his history with Salvatore Guiliano I would think something was written.

[ck76]

I also found the obituary of Frank Geluso in 1930 that lists his mother Rose (of Grand Rapids MI) as surviving him. Unless she remarried I find no record of her death here so I believe she died in Italy after 1930 and it means her husband Salvatore Geluso must have died between 1921-1930.

[Amj]

If you are interested I may have some information. If you would like information please inquire.