Hi,
I'm new to the forum and have only recently begun researching my family's genealogy.
I'm having difficulty finding any documentation online for my paternal grandfather, Rocco Aceste. His name was changed to Acesta sometime after his immigration to the United States.
My father's two sisters were gracious enough to provide me copies of Rocco's Birth Certificate (he was born in Calatifimi-Segesta on 26 Jul 1893), his Honorable Discharge from the Italian Cavalry (discharged 6 Sep 1919), his Marriage Certificate (married 10 Feb 1929 in Brooklyn, NY), his Naturalization Certificate (dated 13 Feb 1945), and his Death Certificate (died 12 Jan 1956 in Brooklyn).
I found Rocco in the 1930 and 1940 US Censuses, but only because he had been living in the 6-family Brooklyn apartment building that his father-in-law owned. His name was so badly spelled on these documents (Rucco Artale on one!) that I would have never found him searching directly.
I suspect his surname is recorded or transcribed incorrectly on these other documents also.
Nor does his name come up on searches of Sicilian documents. It seems there is not much that has been indexed digitally from the Trapani province of Sicily. I've ordered a few rolls of microfilm through a local LDS Family History Center. Hopefully, these films will give me a foothold in Trapani. I know Rocco's parents names were Benedetto Aceste and Vincenza Papa -Aceste.
I'd like to find Rocco on an Immigration Passenger List but have had little success. I have no records to show where Rocco was or what he did from the time he left the cavalry (Sep 1919) until he was married (Feb 1929).
Rocco's niece tells me that Rocco came to America in 1922 aboard the SS Giuseppe Verdi with his younger brother, Camillo. And Census Documents suggest he arrived circa 1923. I have not found Rocco in the 1925 NYS census either.
Any suggestions for finding immigration data on my grandfather?
Steve
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