The mystery of Natale Calabrese

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calabresi
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The mystery of Natale Calabrese

Post by calabresi »

Hello,

I believe I have a great-uncle named Natale Calabrese, born on 2 February 1875 to Domenico Calabrese and Carmela Neri. I found his parish birth record and his parish marriage record to Santa Ieracitano on 2 October 1904.

However, I cannot find those records in the Stato Civile. What I did find were records of a Natale Calabrese, born 27 February 1875, who married Santa Ieracitano on 4 September 1904. However, this Natale Calabrese was the son of Antonino Calabrese... and a Carmela Neri. This Natale Calabrese was quickly widowed, as Santa Ieracitano died 5 November 1906. This Natale married a Caterina Barilla 7 October 1920 and passed away 12 March 1945.

I'm trying to solve two riddles here:

1) What happened to Natale di Domenico? I cannot find any trace of him in Reggio Cal. death records.
2) In 1913 the ship Moltke traveled to the U.S. On that ship were a Michele Scarfone, a Giuseppe Neri, and a Natale Calabrese. Michele and Giuseppe are cousins of mine. The Natale was listed as a widower, with his closest relative being Carmela back in Reggio, going to visit his brother Giovanni in Rochester, NY. I have been operating under the assumption that the Giovanni listed on the ship manifest is my Nonno... but now I have some serious doubts.

I think confirming Natale Calabrese di Domenico's fate is the key to this mystery... but not finding birth or marriage records in the Stato Civile, where a death annotation is likely to be made in the margin, is really throwing me off here.

Any help/guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks!
MC
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PippoM
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Re: The mystery of Natale Calabrese

Post by PippoM »

We can't be sure, but I'd hypothesize they are the same person
1) Antonino might be the "civil" name, and Domenico "baptismal" name
2) marriage dates are very near and, at that time, civil and religious marriages took place separately
3) It often happened that parents "forgot" to declare children at Town Offices; so, as they had to do it within a time, they declared a fake date. I had a G-uncle, born in Sicily in 1899, whose real and official birth dates were 4 months away from each other
4) Mother's name is the same, and Santa''s father's name is the same.

Have you found Domenico/Antonino births or marriages?
And, as Giovanni was your GF...do you know who his parents were?
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Primo Mattino
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Re: The mystery of Natale Calabrese

Post by Primo Mattino »

You should not worry too much about different names for the same person. It is a total mindfuck, I know, but get used to it. These things are happening untill today in small communities. I have a brother in law whose name is Cesare. His parents have chosen this name because a close friend of my father in law named Cesare was going to be the godfather. Everyone is calling him Bruno though, because he, as the second son, should have been called Bruno after his maternal grandfather.
It is also possible that the officer of the Civil Registry made a mistake. In small communities he himself could sometimes hardly read or write.
calabresi
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Re: The mystery of Natale Calabrese

Post by calabresi »

PippoM wrote: 21 Feb 2020, 17:00 We can't be sure, but I'd hypothesize they are the same person
1) Antonino might be the "civil" name, and Domenico "baptismal" name
2) marriage dates are very near and, at that time, civil and religious marriages took place separately
3) It often happened that parents "forgot" to declare children at Town Offices; so, as they had to do it within a time, they declared a fake date. I had a G-uncle, born in Sicily in 1899, whose real and official birth dates were 4 months away from each other
4) Mother's name is the same, and Santa''s father's name is the same.

Have you found Domenico/Antonino births or marriages?
And, as Giovanni was your GF...do you know who his parents were?
I've found Domenico's birth and marriage record; I have not looked for Antonino's. I do know Giovanni's parents to be Domenico Calabrese and Carmela Neri (also my uncle Dom and aunt Mel are good evidence of that <grin>; I don't have any Antonino on my dad's side of the family).

EDIT TO ADD: I'm unable to find a civil birth record for Giovanni, but that was only after a very cursory look.

I guess my next steps are to look for evidence of Antonino existing.

Thanks!
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Re: The mystery of Natale Calabrese

Post by Txbrandiwine »

I have an ancestor that I am also trying to locate with the name Lucy Calabrese. Let me know if you come across her.
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