re:origins of dean martin

[mezzogiorno62]

interested in italian family origins of singer dean martin(dino crocetti).deans father,gaetano(guy)crocetti was born in montesilvano abruzzi to giovanni crocetti and maria focosa.but nothing is ever mentioned regarding the origins in italy of the parents of angela barra,wife of gaetano.she was born in west virginia to italian immigrants domenico barra and josephine miraglia.but where in italy did they originate? just curious as to their place of birth.

[joetucciarone]

Wikipedia says his father was from Montesilvano in Abruzzo. It also said Dean (Dino) was born in 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio.

[mezzogiorno62]

i know that.thats all documented.i'm interested in the origins of his mother angela barra.her parents were domenico barra and josephine miraglia.where in italy did they originate is the question.

[Tessa78]

According to the Crocetti-Barra Family tree on Ancestry...

Domenico Barra was born in 1857 in Monasterolo del Castello, Bergamo Province, Lombardy Region.

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/40434523 ... &ml_rpos=5

T.

[mezzogiorno62]

thats possible but its unlikely gaetano crocetti,from abruzzo,would marry the daughter of immigrants from lombardy in northern italy( angela barra).most of the time immigrant italians married others from their home province-or at least the same region.i wonder who gave this information.a family member? i checked the cognomi di italia online maps,which give the places of origin of italian surnames.as i would have guessed,the surname barra is very common in campania and the naples area,as is the surname miraglia.campania is much closer to abruzzo than lombardy in the north.but i'll check it out further.anything is possible.thanks

[PippoM]

This is the marriage of Domenico Barra and Maria Giuseppina Miraglia in Jefferson County, OH.
Unfortunately, it is does not say anything else about the spouses.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8QC-X9Z

[PippoM]

I searched and searched, but I couldn't find Domenico's place of birth.
For any curiosity, here are his naturalization records:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... ,265569901

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/T ... ,265690501

1920 Census states Angela was born in West Virginia, but 1930 states Ohio, like her death record does:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPDG-4YP

The one thing that emerges from naturalization papers, is that he was born aroun 1859, and went to the USA in May 1887.

If someone could find his manifest (though they contained very few info at that time) or his death record...

[jennabet]

thats possible but its unlikely gaetano crocetti,from abruzzo,would marry the daughter of immigrants from lombardy in northern italy( angela barra).most of the time immigrant italians married others from their home province-or at least the same region.i wonder who gave this information.a family member? i checked the cognomi di italia online maps,which give the places of origin of italian surnames.as i would have guessed,the surname barra is very common in campania and the naples area,as is the surname miraglia.campania is much closer to abruzzo than lombardy in the north.but i'll check it out further.anything is possible.thanks

I must agree with you that the Abruzzese marry other Abruzzese as occurred in my own family (I have four grand-parents all from Teramo) or they marry into families from regions far closer than Lombardia. For example, the father of Rocky Marciano the famous boxer, (authentic spelling Marchegiano), Pierino Marchegiano was born in Ripa Teatina in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo. He left Abruzzo in 1920 to work in a shoe factory in Naples and in 1921, he met and married Pasqualina Picciuto the daughter of Luigi Picciuto, a shoe craftsman from Naples. And where is Naples? In the region of Campania and much closer to Abruzzo than Lombardia.

[mezzogiorno62]

need passenger records i guess

[mezzogiorno62]

rockys mother pasqualina was from san bartolomeo in galdo in benevento-very close to abruzzo.in the extreme,frank sinatra's father antonino was from lercara friddi near palermo,and his mother,dolly garavanti,was from genoa,in the far north

[jennabet]

Here are two associations you could phone or write to for possible information on Dean Martin's family:

Regione Abruzzo
Servizio di Collegamento
con le Comunita Abuzzesi all'estero
v.le Francesco Crispi 17
67100 L'Aquila
Tel.: 0862.4843306 (Dr. Marcello Verderosa)
Tel:.: 0862.4843301 (Dr. Giuseppe Leuzzi)

and

Associazione Figli Di Pratola
di Cleveland Ohio
19920 Detroit Road
Rocky River, OH 44116

also

You could try writing/calling the Municipality of Montesilvano (Pescara), which has a fairly new Piazza dedicated to Dean Martin. City hall is located at Piazza A. Diaz. Phone 085-44811. Email: sindaco@comune.montesilvano.pe.it Giovanni Crocetti, Dean Martin's father is registered with the anagrafe there.

[mezzogiorno62]

interesting.thanks.unfortunately,other than passenger records,the generic term"italy" is all thats given on records created in the united states.i ran into this in my own paternal family.it was always stated that my grandfather was from naples and my grandmother from sicily.didnt tell me much.but i found a marriage interragatory for them(preliminary marriage questionnaire)and this gave me their places of birth.towns in the provinces of avellino(near naples)and messina(in sicily).i also ran into this locality problem in researching my maternal french canadian ancestry.all documentation stated my great grandparents were born in "canada" but no locality.but knowing,as they were french,it was most likely quebec,i was able to work from there.plus genealogical records in quebec are possibly the best in the world of genealogy.i was able to go back many generations fairly easily to the places of origin in france.but none of this was considered when these documents were created.

[jennabet]

After I obtained my recognition of Italian citizenship, I returned to live in Abruzzo and my cousins from Teramo presented me with an edition of the International Magazine of Italian Life. The specific edition I received is titled "Abruzzesi degli Stati Uniti". The website has info on Abruzzese and Italians around the world. www.abruzzoitalia.com . Send them a message. You never know.

[mezzogiorno62]

thanks.this is all just curiosity anyway.being italian on my father's side i'm interested in the roots of other italian americans.actually i found an entry for a d.barra who arrived at ellis island aboard the aubia(?) from naples.but on those pre 1892 passenger records last place of residence is never shown.just very basic info.found this on castlegarden and family search.pretty sure its him.no info.on giuseppina(josephine)miraglia who arrived a few years later.probably between 1888 and 1893 when she and domenico barra married in west virginia.

[jennabet]

Just wanted to mention that you are correct about generic location Italy used on records created in the USA. My grand-father married my grand-mother on January 5, 1920 in Philadelphia and the place of origin for both of them is listed solely as Italy.