Surnames: Chiappisi and DeNicola from Sciacca area

[cchaotic2006]

Hi,
I am new to this, and speak no Italian. Looking for Chiappisi and DeNicola families from the Sciacca area. How do I find records, understand them, etc. Thanks

[PeterTimber]

Go to www.angelfire.com/ok3/pearlsofwisdom which is an english website on doing your own genealogy at your own pace. If you run into any problems get back to us. =Peter=

[PeterTimber]

Postscript: there is an excellet book which you may also wish to purchase for your own library or biorrow fromyour library. It is titled Italian Genealogical records by Trafford R. Cole. It isd an easy read and has fotos of documents with translations.=Peter=

[wldspirit]

Have you completed all US research on the family?
We can help with US records if you need something specific.
Otherwise, per Peter's instructions, researching from microfilm is the
best way to go. Once you have exhausted that resource it then becomes neccesary to write to the town of origin.
Let us know how we can help.
wldspirit

The book recommended by Peter is the best, very informative and well worth the money.

[cchaotic2006]

Update and help request:
Alfonso Chiappisi, born about 1846, father of my grandfather Filippo (1884), remains my biggest brick wall. My guess is that he was either not born in Sciacca, was born out of wedlock or was adopted. The earliest civil record I find for him is his 1884 marriage to Rosaria Noto, lists his parents as unknown. Rosaria may have been a common law wife prior to that as she is listed as the mother of Caterina Chiappisi (12 Aug 1880 Sciacca, per naturalization petition), but I didn't find a birth record for Caterina in Sciacca, nor her "siblings" Onofria b abt 1879 or Maria b 1873-1880 (Luigi Caselli)(she was b Jan 1876 Sciacca per naturalization petition), and Calogero b abt 1875. Alfonso may have had another common law wife as well, as he is listed as widowed on an 1898 ship manifest, although Rosaria is living.
BTW the Cole book sits by my side as I work on my tree. It's been very helpful.
Is there an inexpensive way to get look ups for US marriages? Caterina married Domenico DeNicola (first husband) probably Brooklyn NY 12 Dec 1898. My hope is that would give a maiden name for her mother.
Since there are so few civil records for Alfonso what other resources might there be? I have written the church in Sciacca three times with no response. I was hoping for a census listing household members or any kind of record to maybe find parents or siblings for Alfonso. Thanks in advance.

[PippoM]

Here is Caterina's birth record:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=2043548

Father's complete name was Alfonso Cusumano Chiappisi.
So, maybe he was given one surname at birth, as child of unknown parents, and a new one when adopted or recognized. Let's look for more documents.

[cchaotic2006]

PippoM,
OMG! Thank you so much! Both the Cusumano and Chiappisi surnames are present in Sciacca, and I have 5 DNA hits for the Cusumano surname (but not the Chiappisi surname) which I will explore in the upcoming snowstorm on Friday and Saturday. While not knowing parents or siblings for Alfonso, this is so much closer:-)! You also solved another mystery. I had thought Luigi Caselli was married to two different Maria's, first to Maria Cusumano (marriage record) and then to Maria Chiappisi (birth or death record of some of Luigi's children), and now suspect they are likely to be the same person. I will also search for birth records of Caterina's other siblings using the Cusumano surname:-)! Happy dance.
I would love to look for more documents after exploring these new leads:-)! It would be wonderful to find out who adopted Alfonso, his birth or adopted parents, and any siblings or half siblings. In my AV towns Alfonso would never have been given a surname from the town as a foundling, is that probably the case in Sicily as well? How usual was/ what circumstances for common law marriage? What were adoptions, formal or informal, like? Were the witnesses to the records likely to be known or related to the family or just people hanging around the town hall hoping to make a little money? So many questions; Alfonso has been a roadblock for so long that my mind is flooding with them.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[PippoM]

Do you have Alfonso and Rosaria's marraige record? Can you show it to us?
I can't find year 1884 marriages in Sciacca Records...

[cchaotic2006]

Sorry, I don't have it:-(! The date was 19 Sep 1884 according to an IGI record reference. I wonder why 1884 isn't in with the digital images. There is only one scanner at my family history center and it's usually broken. Can't believe I didn't abstract the microfilm record though:-(!

I tried looking for Caterina's siblings but didn't find them under either Cusumano or Chiappisi for the years with indexes, but there are several without, which will take awhile to go through.
Here's a summary of what I know:
- Maria that married Luigi Caselli. Don't have the marriage record, could be in either Sciacca or Palermo, probably the latter about 17 Nov 1894 and I believe the surname is Cusumano. Maria's birth is reported as 2 Jan 1873 on Luigi's naturalization petition and 2 Jan 1876 on hers, both in Sciacca. Daughter Maria b 10 Feb 1895 Palermo per mother's naturalization petition. They arrived NY about 5 Dec 1895 on SS Brittania.
- Calogero was born about 1875/1876 and died in 1958. He married Rosa Mondello born about 1879, died 1951. I have never found their marriage record, or birth records for children, at least two, Rosa and "Clara", of unknown birth years or marital status.
- Onofria was born about 1879. I learned this month that she married Carmelo Barbera, probably abt 1898-1900 in NY, and had a daughter Laura born Dec 1900 in NYC, Laura died in 1998 in NY, married surname Warga. I suspect Carmelo died in 1914 and Onofria (aka Fanny or Sophia) in 1918.
- My grandfather Filippo was born 28 Nov 1884, record #710, reported by midwife 29 Nov.
- Alfonso was born 24 Jun 1887 and died Apr 1965.
Filippo and Alfonso arrived NY about 12 Jul 1906 on SS Sannio and went to brother-in-law Luigi Caselli.
hth:-)!

[adelfio]

1884 marriage publication of Alfonso Chiappisi age 38 father unknown and mother Maria Chiappisi married to Rosaria Noto age 37 daughter of Filippo Noto and Maria Trafficanti they were married on Sept 18th

PG LINK TO RECORD
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=2043548

Marty

[cchaotic2006]

Marty,
Thank you so much for finding that record:-)! Sorry for the delayed response, there was a death in my family. I was curious about the word after Maria Chiappisi as I can't read it, if you might have any suggestions for possibly teasing out WHICH Maria Chiappisi, or what my next steps should be? Thanks again!