Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

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Moneyman2010mn
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Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by Moneyman2010mn »

I am looking for any information regarding the Petruso and Salvia families in the Palermo, Sicily region. I know that is pretty general but I also have a few more specific questions.

Right now in my family tree I have around 262 people in it. It's a nice start especially because it was mostly from memory given to me by my grandmother. I have 5 generations in the tree and have now hit a bump. I cannot seem to collect enough data to get me to my 6th generation and this is where I seek help.

The Petruso Family
My number one goal is to expand my knowledge about the Petruso family. This is probably because I know it can be traced back pretty far from the Petruso Coat of Arms. It reads:

Illustrious stock of the ancient nobility, originating in Catalonia and transplanted in Sicily by one Manfredo Petruso who was honored with numerous commissions by King Frederick II and who in 1229 acquired the fief of Bubenetto. The House of Petruso also owned the fiefs of Ragamulsuri and Pollicarni.

It flowered primarily in Catania, Castrogiovanni, Palermo and other locations on the Island and was represented by many noted men who continued to seek acclaim and who filled the most prominent positions in the cities where they resided. It was accepted into the Sovereign military Order of Malta. -- which is the oldest and noblest of the Chivalric Orders existing today and for which it was and still is necessary for those seeking membership to demonstrate that they are part of an old established Noble family -- in the person of Carlo in 1578, of Giuseppe in 1595 and of Giovanni Petruso, colonel in the service of the Republic of Veneta, in 1671.

Its current true and legitimate decedents, through reconstruction of the genealogical tree of the family itself, may reclaim its ancestral nobility.


My Great-Great Grandfather, Santo Petruso, is as far back as I can go. I don't have a birthdate for him (but I'm guessing he was born in the mid 1860s if you consider one of his children, Benedetto, being 28 when he immigrated to the US at 1913. Since Benedetto would have been born around 1885, I'm estimating that Santo would've been born around 20 years earlier.) I do know that he was married to someone named Josephine (don't know last name) and he had at least 5 children named Custode, Joseph, Benedetto, Anna, and Saviara. I do not think Santo immigrated to the US because he does not appear in any census I've seen. Is there any other way I can get information about him?

Custode Petruso is my Great Grandfather. He was born on February 8, 1889 in Borgetto, Palermo, Sicily and moved to the US in the March of 1907. He eventually moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania where he met Concetta Salvia. They had 18 children together. (Around 6-7 of them made it to adulthood.) Both are no longer living today.

Madelaine Petruso is my grandmother who married and had two children with John Damico. Madelaine is still living, however John suffered from a heart attack in the 1980s.

The Salvia Family
The Salvia family also originated in Borgetto, Palermo, Sicily. Nicola (found Nicolo on most sites) Salvia was born around 1874 and married Maddalena Di Marco having two children in Italy. They were named Concetta and Francesca. They moved to the US and lived in New York until the Mafia chief's son wanted to marry her. They traveled to Meadville, Pennsylvania by railroad with only the clothes on their backs. Nicola and Maddalena had some more children in America.

Concetta Salvia, is my Great Grandmother as I've said before. And of course this is where the two families merge.
---------------------------
I'd be happy for any information you may be able to provide. This doesn't have to be about these two families but even tips on how to link things together. I will always provide any other information you may need including the family tree if want me to. Thanks!
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by brujaojos »

Hi There,

The Family History Center has microfilm for the town of Borgetto. On the film you can find copies of Birth, Marriage, and Death Acts of your ancestors. The films cost about $5.75 a roll. Here is the link for the film numbers.

click here

Here is the link to find the nearest Family History Center.
click here

In case you want to write directly to the town, here is the address.

Ufficio Stato Civile
Comune di Borgetto
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, 1
90042 Borgetto PA
ITALY

Here is a link from ICC that will help you translate your letter into Italian.
click here

Here is the official website of the town.
click here

Hope this helps some,
Still looking,
Trish
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by brujaojos »

Hi Again,

I'm not sure what records you have, but this could be the family in the 1920 census. Custode was considered an alien per this census.

Name: C Petruso
[C Petruss]
Home in 1920: Meadville Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania
Age: 31 years
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1889
BirthPlace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouses's Name: Katherine
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Marital status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Rent
Year of immigration: 1913
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 191
Source Citation: Year: 1920;Census Place: Meadville Ward 3, Crawford, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1556; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 30; Image: 191.

Household Members: Name Age
C Petruso 31
Katherine Petruso 22
Saura Petruso 2 3/12
Josephine Petruso 3/12


Here is the family in the 1930 census. Per this census, Custode came to the USA around 1907 and was naturalized before 1930. Possibly between 1920-1930 he was naturalized. Also, they were married around 1915.

Name: Costude Petruso
Home in 1930: Meadville, Crawford, Pennsylvania
Age: 41
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1889
BirthPlace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouses's Name: Consetta
Race: White
Name: Costude Petruso
Home in 1930: Meadville, Crawford, Pennsylvania
Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Meadville, Crawford, Pennsylvania; Roll: 2022; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 28; Image: 785.0.

Household Members: Name Age
Costude Petruso 41
Consetta Petruso 34
Santo Petruso 13
Nick Petruso 9
Josephine Petruso 7
Sam Petruso 3
Bennie Petruso 2
Savario Petruso 4/12

Here is the WWI Draft Card for Custode.

Name: Custadio Petruso
City: Not Stated
County: Crawford
State: Pennsylvania
BirthPlace: Sicily;Italy
Birth Date: 09 Feb 1889
Race: Caucasian
Roll: 1877883
DraftBoard: 2


Hope this helps,
Trish
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by Moneyman2010mn »

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

I do have a subscription to ancestory.com which does provide that information but it has very little info about Custode's dad. (They do spell Custode wrong.) The C Petruso wouldn't be the family but the second one is.
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by Moneyman2010mn »

A few questions for you, Trish. If I go to the nearest Family History Center, exactly what would I be able to find? Do you feel that writing a letter to the town would be the best way to find out Santo's (Custode's father) parents since they most likely stayed in Italy their whole life?

Thanks again!

Anyone else have any information or tips they would like to provide?
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by brujaojos »

Moneyman2010mn wrote:A few questions for you, Trish. If I go to the nearest Family History Center, exactly what would I be able to find? Do you feel that writing a letter to the town would be the best way to find out Santo's (Custode's father) parents since they most likely stayed in Italy their whole life?
Hi There,

I've been volunteering at a Family History Center for the last 6 years, so I know the ins and outs. The FHC will not have the film you are looking for in their procession. You will have to order the microfilm. Microfilm costs $5.75 a roll. On the films you will find copies of the actual birth record of your ancestors. This goes the same for marriage and death records. The microfilm has exact copies of the records.


Here is the link for the film numbers again. click here

Now if you were to write directly to Italy, 1. They may not respond back to you. 2. you will get an "Extraction" of the record. An "Extraction" only list the name of the individual with minimal information like his parents' names.

The microfilm record will have tons of information on it. An example would be that on the microfilm record of 1850's, it will list the parents' names, the parents' ages, could list a street's name, the day the child was baptized and the name of the Church. And if a the person writing the record was "really into his job", there could be added information like grandfathers' names - ex: Giuseppe Greco di Antonio (Giuseppe son of Antonio {who is alive}). So you never know what you might find on the film.


I hope this answers your questions.
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by Moneyman2010mn »

Once again thanks for your help.

I checked out the link and of course had to translate it using babelfish because I don't know Italian. I eventually plan on learning it but I've been busy with school. (I'm only 15.) Now what microfilms would you suggest I buy? Of course the birth certificates for 1889 since Custode was born then but I don't see one for 1889. And then I'd find Santo Petruso on Custode's certificate and possibly find out when he was born and order his microfilm.

Where can I find ordering information?

Once again, thanks.
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by nuccia »

Moneyman2010mn wrote:Once again thanks for your help.

I checked out the link and of course had to translate it using babelfish because I don't know Italian. I eventually plan on learning it but I've been busy with school. (I'm only 15.) Now what microfilms would you suggest I buy? Of course the birth certificates for 1889 since Custode was born then but I don't see one for 1889. And then I'd find Santo Petruso on Custode's certificate and possibly find out when he was born and order his microfilm.

Where can I find ordering information?

Once again, thanks.
15 eh? Good for you! My oldest son is 15 and getting him involved in his family history is like pulling teeth. You are so going to appreciate this when you are older! :D :D

I know this doesn't answer your questions but I had to comment..

nuccia :D
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by brujaojos »

Moneyman2010mn wrote:Once again thanks for your help.

I checked out the link and of course had to translate it using babelfish because I don't know Italian. I eventually plan on learning it but I've been busy with school. (I'm only 15.) Now what microfilms would you suggest I buy? Of course the birth certificates for 1889 since Custode was born then but I don't see one for 1889. And then I'd find Santo Petruso on Custode's certificate and possibly find out when he was born and order his microfilm.

Where can I find ordering information?

Once again, thanks.
Hi Again,

On the following two film numbers listed below you can find documents of Birth (Nati), Marriage (Martimoni) and Death (Morti) from 1877-1902. Pubblicazioni are the Banns of Marrige, and Cittadinanze is Citizenship records.

Nati, pubblicazioni, matrimoni, cittadinanze, morti 1877-1888 - FHL INTL Film [ 1963170 ]
Nati, pubblicazioni, matrimoni, cittadinanze, morti 1889-1902 - FHL INTL Film [ 1963264 Items 1-10 ]

Here is the link to find the nearest Family History Center.
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library ... et_fhc.asp

If you have questions, just ask.
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by kimalan »

Hello -

I believe I may have some information for you...I am the great-grandaughter of Domenic Petruso, the son of Maddelena Vicari and Domenico Petruso. Domenico and Santo were brothers. I have a quite a bit of information about this branch of the family if you wish to contact me. I am from Meadville, where the family settled after they left New York.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Kim
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by sxp215 »

Hi, we've talked before, but I can't remember if we emailed about this or not. I wrote to Borgetto requesting birth records in Italian...there is a form letter in a book called Discovering Your Italian Ancestors by Lynn Nelson. My library had a copy, your's probably does to. The above address for the Stato Civile looks correct. They took about two months to reply, but they did send me the birth records for my great grandparents: Francesco Petruso and Marianna Frisina. Francesco was also the son of Maddalena Vicari and Domenico Petruso (Dominic and Francesco lived together in NYC before they moved to Meadville). Their names and addresses were included on the records. There was no charge related to this, but I did include two International Reply Coupons as a courtesy (this covers postage and can be bought at the post office).
I left the records at my office this weekend, but I'll check to see if there is anything else related to Francesco's parents on the document when I am back on Monday.

Cheers,
Stephanie
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by Moneyman2010mn »

Oh really? Thank you very much kimalan. You can email me at moneyman2010mn@yahoo.com, post the information here, or even PM me if you wish. I'll also be willing to send you the family tree I have created so far and you can pick and choose what you want to use with it.

Sorry for the late reply, by the way.

@Stephanie. I believe we talked about you writing to them in an email once but at the time you didn't have a response yet. So I guess we have found how we are related, Stephanie. That'll probably be better determined once kimalan replies. Thanks for the info! Also, I haven't been able to talk to my grandmother for a while. She's been in Florida at her second home.
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by Moneyman2010mn »

I apologize for the double post but something new came up. Can anyone read this name? I'm having trouble figuring out what it says. Thanks

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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by nuccia »

I am horrible at reading Italian handwriting although many here are very good at it. First name looks like it could be Francesca or Francisca C__ginlosa Borgetto. Sorry, best I could do.

Meanwhile, you may want to look at this to help you with some of the handwriting.

Handwriting Samples
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Re: Petruso/Salvia - Palermo Region

Post by vj »

From Ellis Island search:
appears to be quite a few
Cangialosi from Borgetto.
vj
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