Looking for info on my Pescuma Ancestors

[Pris1981]

Hello everyone!

I wonder if someone could help me find info on my great-grandfather, Alfonso Pescuma, born in either 1866 or 1867 somewhere in the South of Italy.

As you can see, I have little info to start my research.

My actual last name is Pescuno, but my father swears he heard as a child that the real family name was Pescuma. For what I've read in the Forum so far, it makes sense.

Some information I got from Alfonso's death certificate (issued here in Buenos Aires) is that he was married to Maria Brienza, also Italian, and was the son of Pasquale Pescuma and Maria Luigia Accuara (I wonder if these names are accurate).

I'm basicaly looking for his birth date, place of birth, or maybe any info about his marriage to Maria Brienza. They must have come to Argentina before 1909, because that's when my grandfather was born in Buenos Aires, but I didn't find any immigration records here.

I'd appreciate any clues or suggestions!
Thanks!

[maestra36]

Hello and welcome to this forum-

The surname Pescuma does currently exist in Italy. This is the link for the current Italian phonebook.

http://www.paginebianche.it/index_en.html

I also found only 1 person with the surname spelled as Pescuna in the databank of Italians to Argentina. That person's first name was Gerardo.

PESCUNA GERARDO
Age 46
# Sex # M
# Marital status Sposato/a
# Occupation # OPERARIO
# Religion# CATOLICA
# Port of embarkment # GENOVA
# Name of the ship # BRASILE
# Date of arrival # 03-03-1909
Travel compartment Terza

Possibly this person is somehow related to your ancestry. I don't see any entries with the name spelled as Pescuma.

[maestra36]

on the website www.familysearchlabs.org there are some online records for Argentina. Possibly you will find something on that website

[maestra36]

I just found the following in the Italians to Argentina databank. This may be yours:

PASCUNA PASQUALE
Age 40
Sex M
Marital status Sposato/a
Occupation CARPINTERO
Religion Cattolico
Port of embarkment MARSELLA
Name of the ship BEARN
Date of arrival 08-06-1883

[Pris1981]

Thank you both for all this info!

I just found a brother of my great-grandfather in the Family Search Labs website, it seems that he stayed in New York (well done, if you ask me).

About Pasquale, that one may be my great great grand-father, but for what I know, he didn't stay in Argentina, otherwise his son Alfonso woulnd't be Italian himself.

Anyway, I can't believe I'm getting more pieces for my puzzle, thanks!

[maestra36]

Just for your information-

It was not uncommon for Italian males to go to Argentina for one season of work (when the seasons there were reversed from those in Italy) or to leave their families behind in Italy while they worked in Argentina, sometimes even for several years, and then they would return back to Italy.

[Pris1981]

Absolutely, and it seems even more possible since my father mentioned once that someone in the family had come to Argentina prior to my great-grandfather Alfonso coming to live here.

So, considering my recent findings, I know that Alfonso was not an only child and that his parents were Maria Luigia Quazlia and Pasquale Pescuma. Estimated year of birth is still 1866.

But I still haven't found anything on Alfonso himself, or his wife, Maria Brienza. I wonder where they were from.

Is the name of the parents and an estimated year of birth enough to start writing to Italy asking for a Birth Certificate?

[maestra36]

You need to know the exact town of birth for Alfonso and Maria before you can write to Italy to request birth records for them.

gens.labo.net/en/cognomi/

This website will show you the distribution of the surname throughout Italy, but it won't give you a specific place of birth for your ancestors.

[maestra36]

http://www.cemla.com/home.php

Not sure if there is anything on this website of use to you.

[Pris1981]

Thank you very much.

According to the first link you sent me, and considering that my father says they were from the Southern region, I'd say they may have been from Potenza.

I had checked out the CEMLA website before and hadn't found anything, but I'll give it another shot.

Thanks again!