Searching for anything on the last name BIVALACQUA

[Bivalacqua]

My grandfather was born in Sicily in 1918. I ma not sure of what part he was born in but I am trying to find out where the name originated and such. If anyone can help please email me at aprildjensen@yahoo.com

[wldspirit]

Have you attempted to locate any documentation which may give his exact birth location? Immigration records, naturalization records, military records, are just a few of the documents which may reveal the town of origin.

[Tessa78]

Can you give us some other details to help?
When did he emigrate from Sicily?
What is he first name?
Where did he live?


T.

[johnnyonthespot]

My grandfather was born in Sicily in 1918. I ma not sure of what part he was born in but I am trying to find out where the name originated and such. If anyone can help please email me at aprildjensen@yahoo.com

I think we need to begin at the beginning and take note of the fact that the name BIVALACQUA is non-existent in modern Italy. Since it is rare for names to completely die out, we have to consider the likelyhood that the spelling of the name has become corrupted over time.

Wikipedia has substantial entries for Comune di Bevilacqua (note the spelling variation) in the province of Verona (northeast Italy) and also a notable family of the same name.

As this mapping tool shows, Bevilacqua is widespread throughout modern Italy, including Sicily. I would suggest therefore that any search of immigration and/or Italian records should probably focus on the Bevilacqua spelling.

PS: Interestingly enough, a Google search turns up over 29,000 hits for Bivalacqua. Nevertheless, I still believe it is an anglicized/corrupt spelling variant.

[edit]

Hey! I just hit 400 posts on this board!

[Bivalacqua]

yes i have googled the last name and most of the hits are my family that i grew up with lol. I dont know much just that his name is Michel Bivalacqua and his mother and fathers name was Michel and Jenny. He came straight to New Orleans from Sicily. I have an aunt here in Louisiana I am trying to locate for more info.

[johnnyonthespot]

1920 and 1930 New Orleans census images are below. Do the family members fit? Note wife's name is Jenny, husband is Salvador/Sam, and Mike - born in 1917/1918 - was born in Louisiana, not Italy.

[johnnyonthespot]

PS: Italians do not have the convention of naming a child after his immediate ancestor; in other words, there are no Jr's in Italy. In fact, under current Italian law, it is simply not permitted.

So, it is unlikely that Michel's father would have been also named Michel if, indeed, both were born in Italy.

[johnnyonthespot]

In case the census images are not easily readable, names and ages at time of census are below

1920:

Sam Bevilacqua 31
Jennie Bevilacqua 29
Ignace Bevilacqua 10
Grace Bevilacqua 9
Rosatta Bevilacqua 6
Frank Bevilacqua 5
Mike Bevilacqua 2 10/12 (2 years, 10 months)
Salvador Bevilacqua 2 10/12 (2 years, 10 months) Twins!
Mamie Pensylvanie 21


1930:

Salvador Bevilacqua 42
Jennie Bevilacqua 41
Ignatius Bevilacqua 20
Grace Bevilacqua 18
Rosadie Bevilacqua 17
Frank Bevilacqua 16
Salvador Bevilacqua 11
Mike Bevilacqua 11
Mary Bevilacqua 10
Edward Bevilacqua 6
Josephine Bevilacqua 4

[Bivalacqua]

OMG thats them! Like I said I dont have a lot of info on them as most have passed on. but thats them my grandfather( mike was actually a triplet but the girl died at birth and it was just him and my uncle sal left! this is amazing. thank you so much! where did you find the info?

[johnnyonthespot]

OMG thats them! Like I said I dont have a lot of info on them as most have passed on. but thats them my grandfather( mike was actually a triplet but the girl died at birth and it was just him and my uncle sal left! this is amazing. thank you so much! where did you find the info?

Great! Notice that all of the children (and Jennie) appear to have been born in Louisiana, not Italy. However, census reports for non-English speaking persons were notoriously inaccurate, so anything is possible.

On the other hand, as I suspected, the correct spelling of your name appears to be Bevilacqua. But don't feel bad; my mother was 83 years old when we finally found the correct spelling of her maiden name!

I grabbed the images off of Ancestry.com. If you create a "free trial" account than go to this page, you will see these two census reports at the top of the search results list.

If you private message me and include your email address, I can email the full-size images to you.

[Bivalacqua]

well i do know that both of his parents did not speak english. The kids learned it in school and went on to work. Thanks so much for the help this is awesome

[johnnyonthespot]

Thanks so much for the help this is awesome

I am glad I was able to help.

[Bivalacqua]

does anyone know of a free search on marriage records and death records?

[johnnyonthespot]

April, here is the 1910 Census. Salvadore, his wife Jennie, and their son Ignacio were living in the household headed by Salvadore's uncle. The names and ages are as follows:

Philip Laltlamachia 33
Josephine Laltlamachia 30
Grace Laltlamachia 13
Frank Laltlamachia 10
Pauline Laltlamachia 7
Rosie Laltlamachia 4
Salvadore Bioatacgua 22
Jeanne Bioatacgua 19
Ignacio Bioatacgua 4/12 (4/12ths of one year; means four months old)

Note that this census says that both Salvadore and Jennie were born in Louisiana. Again, this may or may not be correct. Also, the spelling "Bioatacgua" is not what appears on the handwritten census, but is what the person who transcribed the record into a database believed he/she was reading. I believe the name "Laltlamachia " is badly mangled as well.

[wldspirit]

Here is one link for exploration:

New Orleans

Scroll down to the section titled genealogy.