Bertola, and Citta Bertola, in Castelbuono

[parkergambino]

Esteemed colleagues,

As my attention returns to my Bertola lineage in Castelbuono I once more encounter the issue of compound surnames. I had hoped to see the last of it with the Bertola-Fiore surnames (dealt with in some older threads), but no such luck.

According to my studies, there are several distinct Bertola lineages in Castelbuono. Some, including the Bertola-Fiore, are clearly my closer relatives there. I'll call them "MY" Bertolas. I don't think that the compound name is in much use in today's Castelbuono.

A second lineage can be traced back to [Nicolo Bertola & Anna Rosa di Lorenzo] both born in the late 18th century. I have verified only one offspring from this couple, Antonio Bertola, who married Rosa Gentile in 1849.
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 05/wEjYm7d
Antonio and Rosa had six sons among their offspring, so there is abundant persistence of the Bertola surname from these descendants, both in Sicily and the USA.

There is a third batch of assorted Bertolas who I cannot link to either of these first two lineages, and it is not clear even within this batch how many different lineages there are. For many of these, I have only been able to trace back through civil death records, as parents of some Bertola who died in the early 19th century. But there are also some whose vital documents well into the 1800's are proving elusive.

It has recently come to my attention that another compound name has been used, "Citta Bertola". An additional complication (as if I needed one) is that "Citta" is often applied to an individual where one or both parents are not known. As in my previous research with the Fiore lineage, there does not seem to be consistent application of the compound name, sometimes just "Bertola" is used.

So far I have traced the compound Citta-Bertola surname back to five offspring of [Matteo Bertola & Vincenza Tortorici]. Matteo's 1883 death act indicates that his parents were unknown:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... =en&i=1229

For Matteo and Vincenza's five known children, according to the birth acts, the father is indicated as follows:
-Antonia Bertola b:1858, father = Matteo Bertola
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... dM?lang=en
-Giovanna Bertola b:1860, father = Matteo Bertola
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 90/5VeRyaV
-Domenico Citta Bertola b:1865, father = Matteo Citta Bertola
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... Xv?lang=en
-Antonio Bertola* b:1868, father = Matteo Bertola*
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 36/w6eBAnQ
-Anna Bertola b:1873, father = Matteo Bertola
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... EK?lang=en

*Most challenging to my comprehension is the 1868 birth act of Antonio. On this document (and also on Giovanna Bertola's 1860 birth act) Matteo's father is reported to be named Domenico. The originally recorded surname on Antonio's document is Bertola, but in 1892 it was crossed out and replaced with Citta. There is an extensive marginal notation that might explain the circumstances accounting for the name change. Translation of these notes (beyond my ability, assistance sought!) might shed light on what is going on.

There is also the 1893 birth of Vincenza Citta Bertola to parents [Antonio Citta Bertola & Antonina Cucco]:
https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12 ... 50/0n3MklZ
The father could very well be the son of Matteo and Vincenza mentioned in the previous paragraph. The address #33 Via Benedettini is very close to my grandmother's birthplace at #25 Via Benedettini.

Evidence from the naming tradition is perhaps flimsy, but maybe better than nothing.

Matteo is a name that I have not identified as being from either "my" Bertolas, or from the second Bertola lineage of [Nicolo Bertola & Anna Rosa di Lorenzo]. I would be curious to see the birth or marriage document for Matteo, husband of Vincenza Tortorici, but have not been able to locate either. He is one of several Matteos sprinkled through the assortment of Bertolas whose alignment with either of the two known lineages is unknown (or nonexistent).

In contrast, I have not found the name Domenico in the [Nicolo Bertola & Anna Rosa di Lorenzo] lineages, but it occurs several times in "my" Bertolas, including one direct ancestor. There are also several instances of earlier Domenico Bertola whose alignment is unknown.

Perhaps someone might provide wise counsel about what's going on, and how to proceed. In past episodes the advice provided here has led to significant breakthroughs, so I'm hoping that might again happen.

Parker