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I am hoping someone has information on my great grandmother Carmela Tropea. She was born in Sambiase, Calabria approximately Sept 16, 1881 and passed away in Stockton, Calfornia on April 22, 1947.
According to my records, she arrived in New York, United States on Jan 31, 1903 and moved to Chicago with her husband, Antonio Maria Guadagnolo. (my great grandfather who is also from Sambiase, Calabria)
I would be very grateful if anyone has any information on her family. I am unable to find anything at all.
May I suggest you obtain the book Italian Genealogy Records by Trafford R. Cole which is an easy read and can be obtained from your local public library or bookstore. This will help you establish your research objectives and allow us to get you there quickly. For some basic information: Sambiase is a "frazione", a term used when one town absorbs small villages and hamlets while expanding and the town is called LAMEZIA-TERME. http://www.tuttitalia.it/calabria/31-lamezia-terme
The e-mail address for the town when your ready to send a request for documents (birth,marriage or death records) which are normally free of charge is PROTOCOLLO@COMUNE.LAMEZIA-TERME.CZ.IT. The place to go to send form letters in Italian is found at http://www.circolocalabrese.org (click genealogy) . This website is also very informative about Calabria in which Lamezia-Terme is located. Add their surnames to the Calabria database. Should you have any questions then get back to us. Peter
What I would do is get their death records from California which should give the parents names then go from there unless you know that info........
Name:Carmela Tropea
Gender:Female
Birth Date:29 Jul 1882
Death Date:17 Feb 1967
Death Place:San Mateo
Name:Antonio Guadagnolo
Gender:Male
Birth Date:22 Jul 1877
Death Date:9 Jul 1960
Death Place:Calaveras
There are 6 people surnamed TROPEA in Sambiase suburb. Go to http://www.paginebianche.it for telephone directory in Sambiase area with 4 living in two separate addresses leaving 2 others living in their own addresses but each with their own telephone numbers. You can send a form letter in Italian to possible relatives of Carmela (very likely) at http://www.initaly.com/gene/mem/letter1.htm This is an alternative and easy to do if so inclined.
For http://www.paginebianche.it : Tropea on the left and Sambiase on the right (it will morph into lemezia-Terme. Click Trova and up will come names, addresses telephone numbers and street map for Sambiase. Lots of luck. Peter
Lori,
Here is an index to birth acts in Sambiase in 1847. Hold the mouse over the record and it will act as a magnifier. Bottom left (Line 159) is a Pietro Tropea. Father is Giovanni and Mother is Rosalia Pietrino(sp) This record is impossible to verify until you get Carmela's birth act. It should list the mother and father. http://www.antenati.san.beniculturali.i ... ewsIndex=0
Lori,
I meant to say if you find Carmela's birth act, you would still need her parents marriage record to verify Giovanni and Rosalia as the parents of Pietro.
Good luck to you,
Paul
Researching Ruggiero, Caputo, Viola, Priore and many more at Our Family Genealogy.
Thank you all for these great tips. I have seen a summary of her death certificate however to see detailed information like her parents names I will need to order it. I will do that as I can't find anything else. Thanks again... : )
Then the information that we furnished on how to request documents should be the way to go via the e-mail address we furnished you. If you have any questions please get back to us. Peter
Further to the information provided by Paul, my great-great grandfather Anselmo Tropea was also a son of Giovanni Tropea and Rosalia Putrino. If in fact Carmela's father was the same Pietro, our great-great grandfathers were brothers!
Which conditions may have an effect - positive or negative - on your Italian family history project. The following insights, based on many years of experience in Italy, pertain to factors that have very little to do with Italian genealogy per se, but involve vast cultural differences that influence ...