Lauri Family Birth Records Search Striking Out

[mkukiela]

I see from someone else's tree on Ancestry that Giuseppa's husband Giuseppe Musicao was from Siculiana. I've done quite a bit research there but hadn't come across the name before, so I just did a search and found that 3 Musicao siblings moved to Siculiana (from Cospicua, Malta) and married there to local people in the 1830s and '40s, so that information on him may be correct. I'll look into this (it should be pretty easy) and see how much I can find for that family in Siculiana. Doing research in Malta is another matter....

I believe the ancestry tree you are finding him in is mine. I only put Siculiana due to their ship manifest and naturalization records of their son Paolo shows Siculiana. I have never known where specifically he was born, but have accepted his birth year of 1852(though with recent discoveries I cannot be certain of that). I also found the Musicao's from Malta and am wondering if that is where my 2nd Great grandfather was born. Do you know how to access birth records from Malta?

[mkukiela]

Mark

Can you post the arrival manifest link, or an image?

In Sicily, the spelling of the surname could be LAURIA (with an ending "a")---OR --- LORIA

I have checked the births in Santa Lucia, Messina for years 1849-1853, and I do not find her.

T.
Attaching the manifest...

[carubia]

I found the birth record of Giuseppe Musicau [Musicao]. He was born 26 May 1850 in Siculiana to Paolo Musicau and Caterina Valenti. (I guessed he was born in 1850 from the passenger manifest which showed him either as 2 years older or 2 years younger than his wife. It's hard to tell which because they switched the names.) I'll attach the record to my tree.

His brother Paolo Emilio married Rosa Cirami in Agrigento in 1880, but the marriage was also reported in the Part II of the marriage records in Siculiana.

I saw the birth record you found for Caterina and was amazed that you were able to get a copy from the comune. Someone who works in the Siculiana city hall had told me that the old civil records were a mess, disorganized and scattered around, so I didn't expect you'd be able to find it.

As I mentioned, 2 of Giuseppa's siblings married in Ribera and I stumbled upon the death record of one of them in 1892, so that's how I have some bounds on the possible years of death of Giuseppa's parents.

One more thing: You have misread the birth record for Caterina Musicao. She was born on the 24th, not the 28th. The 28th is when the birth was reported.

[mkukiela]

There are other similar names in Sicily, such as Lauro, Laurini, Laurino, and Lauricella.

Edit to add:
I just checked my tree (on Ancestry) and found 11 people with the surname Lauri from the city Messina. A couple of them moved to Ribera and married there in the 1880s. One of those people with the surname Lauri is a Giuseppa Lauri born on 11 Jun 1852! So I guess I have your ancestor in my tree. She was the sister-in-law of the 1st cousin of the husband of my 2nd cousin 3 times removed.

Do you know where there might be marriage records for Ribera, Agrigento from 1885 - 1890. I am not finding the town of Ribera for the years in question on Familysearch.org
On: http://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.it I only find 1821 through 1861.

[mkukiela]

I found the birth record of Giuseppe Musicau [Musicao]. He was born 26 May 1850 in Siculiana to Paolo Musicau and Caterina Valenti. (I guessed he was born in 1850 from the passenger manifest which showed him either as 2 years older or 2 years younger than his wife. It's hard to tell which because they switched the names.) I'll attach the record to my tree.

His brother Paolo Emilio married Rosa Cirami in Agrigento in 1880, but the marriage was also reported in the Part II of the marriage records in Siculiana.

I saw the birth record you found for Caterina and was amazed that you were able to get a copy from the comune. Someone who works in the Siculiana city hall had told me that the old civil records were a mess, disorganized and scattered around, so I didn't expect you'd be able to find it.

As I mentioned, 2 of Giuseppa's siblings married in Ribera and I stumbled upon the death record of one of them in 1892, so that's how I have some bounds on the possible years of death of Giuseppa's parents.

One more thing: You have misread the birth record for Caterina Musicao. She was born on the 24th, not the 28th. The 28th is when the birth was reported.

Thank you so much!

[mkukiela]

I found the birth record of Giuseppe Musicau [Musicao]. He was born 26 May 1850 in Siculiana to Paolo Musicau and Caterina Valenti. (I guessed he was born in 1850 from the passenger manifest which showed him either as 2 years older or 2 years younger than his wife. It's hard to tell which because they switched the names.) I'll attach the record to my tree.

His brother Paolo Emilio married Rosa Cirami in Agrigento in 1880, but the marriage was also reported in the Part II of the marriage records in Siculiana.

I saw the birth record you found for Caterina and was amazed that you were able to get a copy from the comune. Someone who works in the Siculiana city hall had told me that the old civil records were a mess, disorganized and scattered around, so I didn't expect you'd be able to find it.

As I mentioned, 2 of Giuseppa's siblings married in Ribera and I stumbled upon the death record of one of them in 1892, so that's how I have some bounds on the possible years of death of Giuseppa's parents.

One more thing: You have misread the birth record for Caterina Musicao. She was born on the 24th, not the 28th. The 28th is when the birth was reported.

The municipal office was reluctant, but my translator was persistent. We ended up finding it in a book that is not searchable on FamilySearch.org. Since Caterina's gravestone in Auburn, NY reads 1887 as her year of birth I never gave a thought of checking previous years. We finally found the book for 1885 and then found her after some time searching. In addition to the family connection I made in Naso, this find made the trip completely worthwhile!

[carubia]

All the marriage records for Ribera between 1885 and 1890 are online. But don't bother looking through them. I have indexed all marriage records in Ribera from 1820 to 1929 and there is no Musicao or Musicau in there. I also have all the marriage records through 1888 in my tree currently (except 2 records) and am working on getting the rest in there.

[mkukiela]

All the marriage records for Ribera between 1885 and 1890 are online. But don't bother looking through them. I have indexed all marriage records in Ribera from 1820 to 1929 and there is no Musicao or Musicau in there. I also have all the marriage records through 1888 in my tree currently (except 2 records) and am working on getting the rest in there.

Thank you

I did not see marriage records in Siculiana or Agrigento for them. Since Giuseppa's father was living in Caltanisetta at the time her brother Vincenzo married Carmela Contina in 1890, perhaps they were married there?
I am not sure where to check next. I am assuming it may have been a bit scandalous having a child out of wedlock in 1885, so perhaps they were married in another town close to Siculiana?

[carubia]

It was actually not uncommon to have a child out of wedlock in Sicily at that time. By my estimate, about 4% of births in Ribera were to unmarried parents. Single mothers might go to another town to have the child, but in this case the father reported the birth and both parents showed up to acknowledge that they were the parents. On their marriage record (near the bottom) it is likely that Caterina would've been mentioned as being legitimized. Often when that happened a note was added to the margin of the birth record, which didn't happen in this case, but not necessarily.

BTW, Giovanna Maria Musicao was born in Malta, not Malfa in Messina. I have copies of the marriage records of Paolo Musicao (in 1837 and 1855) and his 2 siblings Giovanna Maria and Salvadore. I'll attach them to my tree later.

[carubia]

There are a couple of other possibilities with regard to the marriage of Giuseppe and Giuseppa:

1. They were never actually legally married. When they reported the birth of Paolo in Agrigento, Giuseppe claimed to be married since no one there would've known the truth, as they had only recently moved there. This was not unusual. In someone's home town (where Caterina's birth occurred) they would know whether you were really married but not elsewhere.

2. They had a church marriage but not a civil one. One could search church records in Siculiana between 1885 and 1890. I know a genealogist who may have those records; at least he has the church marriage records from Siculiana before 1820.

[mkukiela]

There are a couple of other possibilities with regard to the marriage of Giuseppe and Giuseppa:

1. They were never actually legally married. When they reported the birth of Paolo in Agrigento, Giuseppe claimed to be married since no one there would've known the truth, as they had only recently moved there. This was not unusual. In someone's home town (where Caterina's birth occurred) they would know whether you were really married but not elsewhere.

2. They had a church marriage but not a civil one. One could search church records in Siculiana between 1885 and 1890. I know a genealogist who may have those records; at least he has the church marriage records from Siculiana before 1820.

We went to the church in the piazza in Siculiana but the priest said we needed to see the diocese in Agrigento. When I went to the diocese they said only the local priest would have records that old...So we were not successful in searching church records. These would not be available online anywhere?
I am just trying to confirm that these are the Giuseppe Musicao and Giuseppa Lauri I am looking for. I thought if I could find their marriage record it would confirm it by the names of the parents.

[carubia]

They are not online. I'll ask my friend if he has or can obtain them.

What are the odds that there was another couple with these names in Siculiana? Both surnames were rare and not native to Agrigento. You know their names from your family and records in the US, right? Do you have some independent information about their parents' names?

Let's back up a moment. I assume that you're confident that your GGM was Caterina Musicao from Siculiana. How do you know that her mother was named Giuseppa Lauri?

[carubia]

Here is the death record of Saverio Musicao of Malta, who died in Siculiana on 9 Jul 1850. His parents were the deceased Giuseppe and Teresa of Malta, but the surname of Teresa was not known to the people who reported the death. His wife Innocenza Lanzone was still alive (and in fact was still alive in 1855 when their son Paolo remarried).

[mkukiela]

They are not online. I'll ask my friend if he has or can obtain them.

What are the odds that there was another couple with these names in Siculiana? Both surnames were rare and not native to Agrigento. You know their names from your family and records in the US, right? Do you have some independent information about their parents' names?

Let's back up a moment. I assume that you're confident that your GGM was Caterina Musicao from Siculiana. How do you know that her mother was named Giuseppa Lauri?

You make a good point.
Giuseppa Lauri and Giuseppe Musicao came to America in 1902 with their children (My GGM)Caterina and Paolo, on their ship manifest it shows they were from Siculiana. I have copies of Giuseppa and Giuseppe's death certificates from the town I live in Auburn, NY. On Giuseppa's it shows her father's name was Paolo but left the mother's name blank. I do not believe Giuseppe's death notice (which was not an actual copy but a transcription) showed his parents names. I am at work right now and will those records when I get home and let you know. But you do make a good point about the rarity of these names in the region. I appreciate all you help.

[mkukiela]

Here is the death record of Saverio Musicao of Malta, who died in Siculiana on 9 Jul 1850. His parents were the deceased Giuseppe and Teresa of Malta, but the surname of Teresa was not known to the people who reported the death. His wife Innocenza Lanzone was still alive (and in fact was still alive in 1855 when their son Paolo remarried).

That is amazing you can find this information so quickly.
I did have these names in the tree, but not Paolo remarrying. I show his first wife Caterina Valenti died on 3 Sep 1854. Do you know who he married after his first wife died?