Birth record help and question

[poliquie]

Here is another birth record for my great Uncle Crescenzo and his wife.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=1947578

Info I can make out:
Birth occured July 16, 1905 in Torre Del Greco,
Daughter was named Raffaela Maria Giuseppa Carmela Francesca Mazza

Dad - Crescenzo Mazza age 31?
Mom - Maria Michele Di Simone

witnesses Armando Maglione and Cobia Sorrentino

It appears on the left that Raffaella married Alba Aniello on Dec 19, 1932? in Torre Del Greco

Did I get it correct? any other important info that I am missing?

Question- Is there a pattern to naming the children? I know that Raffaela is named after her paternal grandmother, and this would make it appear that she is the oldest daugther, I also know Maria is used alot by Catholic Italians, but is there any pattern to the rest of the names?

Also, are the witnesses usually family members? and would they be married to each other?

Thanks again for your help!

[bbivona]

Here is another birth record for my great Uncle Crescenzo and his wife.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=1947578

Info I can make out:
Birth occured July 16, 1905 in Torre Del Greco,
Daughter was named Raffaela Maria Giuseppa Carmela Francesca Mazza

Dad - Crescenzo Mazza age 31?
Mom - Maria Michele Di Simone

witnesses Armando Maglione and Cobia Sorrentino

It appears on the left that Raffaella married Alba Aniello on Dec 19, 1932? in Torre Del Greco

Did I get it correct? any other important info that I am missing?

Question- Is there a pattern to naming the children? I know that Raffaela is named after her paternal grandmother, and this would make it appear that she is the oldest daugther, I also know Maria is used alot by Catholic Italians, but is there any pattern to the rest of the names?

Also, are the witnesses usually family members? and would they be married to each other?

Thanks again for your help!

The birth occurred on the 15th. The date at the beginning, July 16, is the day the witness appeared at city hall, but in the text of the record is says that the birth was at 3 a.m. on the 15th.

If I'm not mistaken it's Albanese, continued on the next line.

The naming patterns would usually be the first male child named for the paternal grandfather, the second for the maternal. The first female child would be name for the paternal grandmother and second female for the maternal. Other children would typically be named for other favorite relatives - aunts, uncles, great grand parents. I don't know of a pattern on multiple names for one person. Most of the time children just received a single name, or sometimes a second one. Only a couple of times have I seen one with several like this. I assume they're beloved relatives.

The witnesses are usually not close relatives and not necessarily married to each other.

[NickAndreola]

You are doing well! I'll take some time to write because you are 'learning to fish' and because I need to repay Livio Moreno and all the others here for my education.

On these later standardized forms, look for the phrase '...dichiarato che alle ore...'--the actual event time & date is there. Remember that phrase (or something similar) when you are looking at the older handwritten documents.
You will sometimes see words instead of numbers; ieri, oggi etc... Learn what those mean so you can calculate the date from the date reported.
Agree with bbivona on her husband's name and the date looks like Dec 10, 1932 to me.

A couple things to add to your scan data. #1 Occupations....Usually casalinga or other form of housewife for the women, some form of farmer for the men. BUT in this case Crescenzo is a NEGOZIANTE=shopkeeper. I keep a printout from one of the excellent sites available for these translations nearby and am slowly learning to recognize some of the most commonly seen. #2. Addresses....The Mazza's lived at #25 Corso Avezzana? (I'd google map it to verify)...Great to know if you ever intend to visit your hometown and on some rare occaisions, that street address is the missing puzzle piece to cement a relationship...rare but MAGIC when it happens!

Witnesses are not something I pay a lot of attention to anymore. In some years at some locations it appears they're just a couple of dudes who were always hanging around the town hall and their names are on 90% of the records. Again, on rare occaisions, they can be helpful. I just scan the names, see if it sparks any interest in further investigation and then move on.

Hope this helps & Happy Hunting!

[bbivona]

Witnesses are not something I pay a lot of attention to anymore. In some years at some locations it appears they're just a couple of dudes who were always hanging around the town hall and their names are on 90% of the records. Again, on rare occaisions, they can be helpful. I just scan the names, see if it sparks any interest in further investigation and then move on.

The usefulness of the witnesses various with the situation. I have found the witness names useful in a lot of cases, but more often than not it's unrelated to the primary party in the birth or death act. In my family's home town of Gibellina, Sicily, only about 20%-30% of the years between 1820-1870 have available records, so there are huge gaps in birth and death records. My ancestors were mostly blacksmiths and blacksmiths often functioned as the undertaker in towns back then. When I scroll through the available records, a half dozen or so of my blacksmith ancestors and their relatives appeared regularly as witnesses for death acts (sometimes 50+ times in a year) between 1820 and 1855. Because the witness is almost always listed in that period with his age, profession, and his father's name it has been a huge help in piecing the family together. It helped me add a couple of generations to my tree. Also, with so few death records available, it has helped a lot in approximating death years. You can see the years when they were still appearing as witnesses in death records and then see references to their children listing them as deceased and narrow the dates down, sometimes to just a year or two.

[poliquie]

Thanks so much for the insights! I knew Crescenzo was a businesses owner, as he was involved in the coral trade in Italy and here in the US.

The insights about the witnesses are helpful too, as I have seen some patterns of the witnesses. The witnesses here have the last name of Maglione, which I was told was a family cousin of my Uncle Crescenzo and Great Grandfather. They owned a Tomato company in Torre Del Greco. And Sorrentino, had family relations in the US that married 2 of my cousins (sisters- one died and he married the other)

As for Raffaela husband, are you thinking the name was Albanese, Aniello - Albanese being the last name?

[NickAndreola]

"Albanese being the last name"

Yep