Tama family… Messina?

[warriorrabbit]

Well, revisiting a branch I got stuck on long ago.

My GGrandfather had a half brother, Ferdinando Alfredo Tama. He was 10 years younger. He followed my great grandfather here, joined him in New York, and eventually they both settled in California.

I’ve never found Ferdinando’s birth record in Italy. His birth date (29 Sep 1887) is supplied by him on all his US records.

I never found a marriage record of his parents in Messina, either, nor any record at all of his father Fortunato Tama, other than the birth of another child, Margherita Francesca (for whom there is also no other record). From that record, Fortunato would have been born circa 1863.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... d=M98F-7JP

Ferdinando’s parents Fortunato and Anna would have married sometime between 1881 (death of his Anna’s last (?) child with her first husband, also no death record for that husband) and 1887 (Ferdinando’s birth in September).

Cognomix says Tama is also well represented in Letojanni, so I also looked for Fortunato’s birth record there 1859-1865, but no luck. I just tried because I don’t know for sure Fortunato is from Messina, only that he lived there.

This family is perplexing.

[MarcuccioV]

There are currently a couple of Tama's in Roccofiorita -- might be worthwhile checking there or neighboring villages...

[MarcuccioV]

That should read "Roccafiorita"...

[mmogno]

Tama` 27.00 Letojanni Messina
Tama` 24.10 Santa Teresa di Riva Messina
Tama` 17.64 Messina Messina
Tama` 11.28 Catania Catania
Tama` 10.08 Fiumedinisi Messina
Tama` 8.96 Limina Messina
Tama` 5.14 Giardini-Naxos Messina
Tama` 3.08 Mascalucia Catania
Tama` 2.90 Aci Sant'Antonio Catania
Tama` 2.87 Tremestieri Etneo Catania
Tama` 2.72 Patti Messina
Tama` 2.68 Nizza di Sicilia Messina
Tama` 2.66 Scicli Ragusa
Tama 2.59 Roccafiorita Messina
Tama` 2.29 Casalvecchio Siculo Messina
Tama` Alessandro 2.25 Letojanni Messina
Tama` Mazza 2.25 Letojanni Messina
Tama` Stracuzzi 2.24 Limina Messina
Tama` 2.23 Sant'Alessio Siculo Messina

[warriorrabbit]

I am not sure what this is. Cognomix distribution? Yeah, I checked Letojanni on Antenati, no dice.

Most things seem to be indexed nowadays and there’s no trace on Family Search…

A random note is that the guy who witnessed Margherita’s birth was named Raimondo Macdonald. His wife was Giuseppa Tamà. Related? Some rando? Who knows. Those two had at least 5 kids in the 1890s, but like Fortunato Tama there is otherwise no record of them in Family Search (no marriage nno death). At least two of those kids, the mother was listed as Giuseppa Tamà La Rocca. And I think the last kid was born in Caltanissetta. What does any of this mean? No idea.

[ACM7]

Hmm...Macdonald is not an Italian name, but there still might have been some in Sicily, and more broadly Italy.

This tree suggests some Raimondo Macdonalds in Sicily: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/pe ... t/GKD9-B36

This image taken from media.regesta.com/dm_0/ASNA/xdamsProget ... 5.0001.pdf might show evidence for Macdonalds in Italy.


Hopefully this will help you in your search for the Tamas. If this is all nonsense, I apologize.

[warriorrabbit]

I’ve run across a fair amount of English, Norwegian, etc surnames in Messina records. It’s a port town. There’s even a British cemetery. They fall in love, put down roots. I’m not surprised by Macdonald. But I have no idea if his wife Giuseppa Tamà is related to my Tamas or not. The Macdonalds in that tree are in Palermo, I’ve seen them before. Related to “my” Macdonald? Probably. There aren’t that many Macdonalds for it to be a coincidence. Still can’t locate my Tamas, though.

[warriorrabbit]

Hey I found my great grandfather’s half brother’s birth listed on the 10-year index… Oct 1 rather than Sep 29, pretty close.

Ferdinando Tama
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 46&lang=en

Does that say… Scalo? That’s not a Parte I or II, what is that and does it exist or is it lost?

[warriorrabbit]

If it’s a location, rather than a type of index, maybe that will point me toward Tama origins…

[mmogno]

#59. Birth on the first of October, 1887 in Villaggio Scala.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 67&lang=it

[warriorrabbit]

Ahhh ha ha

Thank you!!!

[warriorrabbit]

Well, I am very happy/lucky to have found that record via the index, but it turned out to be a bit of a red herring. Seems he was just domiciled in Scala, temporarily.

I did not find him in the 10-year marriage indexes for all of Messina.

I went through the Messina village records town by town, twice, with no joy, but they are a bit weird. Of course not every town is present every year, but half of the 1886 records are actually 1880. And while the top page on the 1887 and 1885 records say those are the years, the actual records all are for 1916 and 1912.

And other towns… Fiumedinisi was the town with the most Tamas. No luck, birth or marriage. Santa Teresa de Rive was missing his likely birth year of 1863, and also there were hardly any Tamas despite what Cognomix says. Letojanni and Limina, nothing. In fact, I went through most of the coastal towns, no luck. Nearby inland towns like Mandanici, no dice. Gazzi and Nizza had a couple, none relevant.

And Messina I’ve been through before with no luck, and of course it’s been scraped by Family Search anyhow, same with Catania, so he’d pop up on Family Search.

I find it so odd that I cannot find the birth, marriage, or death record of Fortunato Tama in Sicily. Wherever he’s from, it’s likely not already grabbed by Family Search, and where is that? There are not many places left untouched.

Like his predecessor, her first husband… I never found a death record, but at least I have birth and marriage. But to go 0 for 3… I think it’s unusual. (It’s also weird that her death record says she’s a widow of her first husband.)

Could Tama be from Milan or Turin or Naples, where her first husband’s family did a lot of business and sometimes lived? Well… anything is possible. In which case I guess I have to wait for those records to show up on Family Search. After all, the wife only showed up recently (ish) as having died in Milan in 1944.

Arrgh.