Arfre family surname

[jarfre]

First of all, thank you all for your replies to my previous post. I appreciate the interest and the help.

I have done some research on my grandfather starting with his arrival in the U.S. Here's what I've found:

Name: Giuseppe (Joseph) Arfre Arrived Port of New York Jan. 13, 1909
Father: Michele Arfre (already residing in Chicago)
Mother: Anna Arfre (nee Manganelli or Manganello)

Lived in Chicago, IL; Centerville, IA; finally Detroit, MI.
Married Francesca (Frances) DiBenedetto, daughter of Santo and
Rosa (Nuccio or Nuccia). Francesca was born in Mazara del Vallo
in Sicily and arrived in the United States in September 1923 with
her mother (father had arrived previously).

My grandfather was the only one to keep the last nme of Arfre;
brothers changed it to Affer, reason unknown.

I am trying to find any information about the name in Sicily. It could have been corrupted from something else upon arrival in New York.

Once again, thank you for your help, and sorry for the long post!

Joseph Arfre

[DonnaPellegrin]

You might like to browse some of the links on this website:
http://anzwers.org/free/italiangen/italynames.html

Your grandfather's name on the passenger manifest was Arfre? I can't find that name anywhere in Italy today. Alfieri is a fairly common name in Sicily and the rest of Italy.