cognome "Tomolo"

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josetomolo
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cognome "Tomolo"

Post by josetomolo »

Hi all

If anyone has any information/links to the surname "Tomolo"

Trying to find more information on my non no's family

His name was Vincenzo Tomolo likely to have been born in Sortino or around there 1901.

Didnt know his parents. Had a sister/ step sister with the name Giulia Rafaele.

Any tips on where i can get information about his birth parents would be greatly appreciated

Thanks guys

Josie
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adelfio
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by adelfio »

Welcome to IG website
Birth record of Vincenzo Tomolo
Index#11 in Part II
1901 April 9th in the town of Sortino birth of Vincenzo Tomolo he was a foundling.
Side note says he was married in Ferla 2/27/1923 to Michelangela Miceli???

PG LINK TO RECORD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... ,361800701

Marty
Researching Trabia, Palermo surnames Adelfio, Bondi, Butera, Scardino,Rinella, Scardamaglia

Marty
erudita74
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by erudita74 »

The date was April 27th not the 9th.

He was a child of the wheel-abandoned at the wheel of a charitable facility in the town located on via Ruota Proietti. His parents are unknown. His surname was made-up by the town official when he was presented at the town hall by the woman who received him at the facility.

The town of Ferla, where he married, is about 8 km from Sortino by today's standard. I have been in contact with the parish in that town via facebook. It's called San Giacomo Maggiore. The priest will have his clerk do a look up for you but wants a donation made to his parish in order to do so.

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adelfio
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by adelfio »

Marriage of Vincenzo Tomolo and Michelangela Miceli
Index#3
1923 Feb 23rd in the town of Ferla appeared Vincenzo Tomolo age 21 farmer born in Sortino parents unknown married to Michelangela Miceli age 17 born in Ferla daughter of Sebastino Miceli and Concetta Riscica

PG LINK TO RECORD
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... ,361801901

Marty
Researching Trabia, Palermo surnames Adelfio, Bondi, Butera, Scardino,Rinella, Scardamaglia

Marty
josetomolo
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by josetomolo »

Thank you so much erudita74 and adelfio !

I had tried to look up his details on the births/ marriages civil documents / military etc on family org and also ancestry.com but I didnt know how to narrow down the search effectively?

Can anyone shed some light on to how to narrow down the searches on these websites or is there another way (just for future reference)

i.e. received access to the birth certficate's in this time period but when I typed in Tomolo nothing would come up? Unless I had the wrong census date?

Thank you so very much for those links, I didn't expect anyone to be able to help me access information this is great! Are you both based in Australia or Italy?

It confirms the vague stories that have been passed down, but still a lot of unanswered questions.

Once I get the spelling correct for Vincenzo's sister/ step sister I will do a proper search for her. (my dad needs to confirm the spelling of "Giulia Rafaela" ended up being married to a Marino, possibly there may have been a brother who worked as a judge in Palazollo (again all story nothing factual).

Erudita 74 how did you get such detailed information regarding the wheel? Was it just a side note on the birth document? If you have access to that please let me know. I am very interested in what happened once he was taken in. How long he was taken care of by the church/ midwives and who actually adopted him if at all? Is there anyway to find out his adoptive parents names? And I guess the million dollar question is is there anyway to find out his biological parents are ? (I guess if i get more information from my long distance cousin regarding his Mo Giulia and whether she was a step sister or biological). And why did they chose the surname Tomolo? (Would his surname have been different to his adoptive parents surname)
Is this the information you think the priest may have? If so let me know and we can arrange some sort of donation.
Funnily enough I have been to Ferla last year but didn't have this information before. I probably walked past the church San Giacomo Maggiore what a missed opportunity! 9 churches in Ferla but no hospital amazing!
I will keenly await you r reply
wow
Many thanks
Josie
erudita74
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by erudita74 »

Josie

The info about the wheel is in the 7th line down of the birth act where it states:

"trovato esposto nella ruota di proiezione"-"found exposed in the wheel of showing" (this is the literal translation of the phrase-this charitable institution which was called Congregazione di Carita`, located on the street which I mentioned in my above post, had a mechanical device built into the external wall of the building where a person could anonymously leave an unwanted child. Then a person inside the institution would rotate the wheel and bring the infant safely inside. The wheel was meant to be used for an infant who being abandoned, but there were instances, not necessarily in Sortino, where people tried to abandoned older children at a wheel and they would be crushed or killed as a result.

I actually found a picture for you of the establishment-

http://www.sicilianticasortino.it/palazzi_sortino.php

Look under where it says Palazzo Municipale

Originally the building was owned by a priest by the name of Don Gaetano Pungello. He donated it to his nephew who, in turn, donated it to the Congregazione di Carita` di Sortino to make into a hospital called San Lorenzo. Then the building was restored and became the town hall, which it remained until a few years ago.

I am in the U.S., not in Italy.

About the surname Tomolo-as I pointed out already, the surname was made up by the town official in Sortino when the representative of the facility presented the baby after he was found. There is no information in the record about how long he remained at this facility or to whom he was ultimately given to raise. There is nothing in the record which indicates that either natural parent came forward to reclaim him. Only a very small percentage of abandoned children were ever reclaimed. Many never even made it to their first birthdays, so he was fortunate that this town had this facility where he could be brought safely inside to be taken care of. Adoption was a rare occurrence.

I'm posting this before I lose what I have typed so far.

Erudita
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by erudita74 »

Here's his baptism record (# 164) from the parish of San Giovanni Apostolo ed Evangelista in Sortino. This record also reads that he was of unknown parents. His godmother was Sofia Sabino*. He was baptized on the day of his birth (the day he was found on the wheel at the charitable institution) on April 27, 1901.

*Sofia Sabino is mentioned on line 4 of the civil birth record. She was the receiver of the foundlings at the charitable institution.

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... 8:53701701

As to the parish of San Giacomo Maggiore in Ferla, there won't be any info in the registers there concerning Vincenzo's natural parents. Also the priest there will not have his clerk do a search unless you have very specific information to give him. The reason I have been in contact with that parish was that I was hoping to get some info from their registers for the mid to early 1600s, but the parish doesn't have records prior to 1693, as the earlier records were destroyed in the earthquake. It's strange though that Sortino has church records going back into the 1500s, and that town was also affected by the same earthquake. There are some missing years, but for the most part, the church records in Sortino are there, have been microfilmed, and are online at familysearch.org

Erudita
josetomolo
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by josetomolo »

Hi Erudita

Thank you again for all of your helpful tips and information.

If I was wanting to get some information about his life as a child is there anywhere that you think I could write to possibly the church that baptised him?

I understand that these institutions protected that single mothers identities in fear of bringing shame to the family.

So the parish in Ferla really doesn't have any actual association with this particular foundling institute that was in sorption?
erudita74
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by erudita74 »

Josie
Even the church where he was baptized will not have additional info about him. There's really no where that I know of where you can write to get more info. Infant abandonment, unfortunately, was very common in southern Italy and Sicily.

I did find Michelangela Miceli's birth record and will post that, in case you want to work more on her ancestry.

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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by erudita74 »

Birth of Michelangela Miceli

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... ,361784802

Dated Jan 17, 1905. Michelanegla Miceli was born on Jan 16th in the house at #9 via Magazzini in Ferla. Her father Sebastiano Miceli was a 34 year old farmer at the time. Her mother, Concetta Riscica, was a housewife.

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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by erudita74 »

One additional thing-about the location of the Congregazione di Carita` in Sortino. I had told you that it was located on via Ruota Proietti (which translates to the street of the foundling wheel). Today that street is via Capuanna (or via Luigi Capuanna) if you try to find it on a map

http://www.tuttocitta.it/mappa/sortino?what=ccZ58887072

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josetomolo
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Re: cognome "Tomolo"

Post by josetomolo »

Hello and thank you again for all your assistance 3 years ago.

I have now returned with some new information and was hoping to gain some guidance about accessing some further records online but I don't know if this is possible.
I can see from family search that you can access the historical collection of civil records in the province of siracusa between 1900-1940 but I am not clear on how you search for names within these documenys if anyone can be of assistance? And are there any search options on ancestry.com for italian/ sicilian records as I cant seem to find these.
In particular I was hoping to run similar search as for what was run for my Nonno previously -
-Giulia Rafala (my grandfathers sister/ stepsister) however grew up in Melilli Sicily unknown as to her parents, or if she was dropped off at the wheel like my Nonno
- Vincenza Riscica born in the latter part of 1800's Ferla/Sortino/ region
Any guidance is much appreciated
Kind Regards
Josie
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