Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

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gennattasio
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Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by gennattasio »

Can anyone help me with the most likely cemeteries to search for an Italian passing away in Manhattan?
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Luke
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by Luke »

Where in Manhattan did he pass away and when? Do you know which if any church the funeral was held in?
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misbris
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by misbris »

Hi Gen,

More cemetery geneology. :wink: NYC was (and still is) really divided by neighborhood. There were many Italian churches so Luke is right that you need to know the area this person lived and died in to get the info. Let me suggest that you try this website to find marriage and death info for NY.

http://www.italiangen.org/VRECLIST.stm

If you want to post a name and whatever info you have, I am sure someone can help.

BTW, I haven't gotten to Holy Sepulchre yet, but I'm going to do it before the summer is over.
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misbris
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

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gennattasio
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

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Thanks for all the great responses. The problem is I'm trying to find out where in Italy my gm's family came from and I don't have any death records yet. Have the family's 1892 Castle Garden manifest, no town, have their 1900, 314 Mott St, 1910, and 1920, 329 E. 11th, census records, can't find 1930 census. My gg gp's died between the 1900 and 1910 census, no clue when the g gp's died. I've been sending to NY for possible death records using the Italian genealogy website's NY death records listings, nothing right so far, still trying. I sent to NY for a 5 year death rec. search for my g gm and received a reply saying there were too many people with that name even though I had the parents names and approximate birth year, strange. My gm and sibs were born here, nothing helpful on the birthcerts I have. I was going to start searching the cemeteries.
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Luke
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by Luke »

What is the surname? Many Surnames are typical of certain area's of Italy my surname if found mostly in Rome and Nazzano (RM). If you post the name we may be able to help you better.
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gennattasio
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

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The family name was Ferrara but on the manifest, 1910 census and my gm's birth cert it is spelled Ferraro.
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by warriorrabbit »

Did you try the death records database at the IGG?
http://www.italiangen.org/NYCDEATH.STM (ETA: Oops, your original post says you have checked there.)

I don't know anything about Italian cemeteries, but I found my maternal great grandparents in the IGG database (which is great, because I had no idea when they died).

The death records told me that both of them were buried in Calvary Cemetery, which is, as far as I know, not strictly Italian. It's also in Queens, I think, and apparently huge. As in a population rivaling Los Angeles.

If it means anything, one of them died in Manhattan and the other a few years later in the Bronx. So...I wouldn't limit yourself to Italian cemeteries.

A while ago I tried to find out information about Calvary, trying to see if it was online, or find a 'genealogy angel' who'd go look for the graves (ha ha ha ha ha). What I did find out was that there was some law passed way back when, based on some sort of health crisis, that required all burials to take place outside the city. Am I remembering that right? Anyhow, everyone started carting their loved ones to the big cemeteries in the (what was then) outskirts of town.

I wish I could remember more specifics. I might have it bookmarked...
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by warriorrabbit »

Sometimes I look at my bookmarks, and I'm, like, why do I have so many? I don't even look at half of them. Then there are times like this, when I am happy I bookmark everything I find remotely interesting.

Calvary is Catholic, but started out mostly Irish.

"Some sort of health crisis" was a bit of an understatement [cough]. A cholera epidemic is what prompted the law, and apparently after 1852 no one else was buried in Manhattan. So if your relatives arrived at CastleGarden in the 1890s and are on the 1920 census, look to cemeteries in Queens.

Here is an interesting article on the whole Queens cemetery phenomenon (the Cemetery Belt), including cholera, etc. details. http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/ ... 6627.story

Here's another article about Calvary, if that's interesting to anyone:
http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/Cem ... .hist.html
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by DebDavi »

What was your GM name? I have quite a bit of Ferrara info in my Bono/Buono line.
gennattasio wrote:Thanks for all the great responses. The problem is I'm trying to find out where in Italy my gm's family came from and I don't have any death records yet. Have the family's 1892 Castle Garden manifest, no town, have their 1900, 314 Mott St, 1910, and 1920, 329 E. 11th, census records, can't find 1930 census. My gg gp's died between the 1900 and 1910 census, no clue when the g gp's died. I've been sending to NY for possible death records using the Italian genealogy website's NY death records listings, nothing right so far, still trying. I sent to NY for a 5 year death rec. search for my g gm and received a reply saying there were too many people with that name even though I had the parents names and approximate birth year, strange. My gm and sibs were born here, nothing helpful on the birthcerts I have. I was going to start searching the cemeteries.
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by jcavallo »

There are many famous and infamous Italians buried in St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens. My great grandparents and grandparents, as well as many other family members are buried there. If you find family there and have any luck with death certificates, let me to know. I've been thinking of going that route myself.
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gennattasio
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

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Thanks for the reply. So far the 3 death certs I've received from NY for the early 1900's have very little info on them. Address, name, place of death, cause of death and cemetary are about it. I'm not certain if the certs I've received are my ggp since they left most of the questions on the forms blank. The later NY death certs have much more info on them.
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by Poipuo4 »

My GGM was from the corner of Mott and Kenmare. Although she died in the City in 1911, she was buried in Calvary. You may want to write to the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral. That was my ggm's neighborhood church from the Mott St. area. Perhaps they may have church records of the death. It always helps to enclose a donation too. ;)
http://www.celenzaheritage.com

dedicated to the people of Celenza Valfortore, Province of Foggia
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gennattasio
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by gennattasio »

Brilliant idea!
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Re: Help with NY Italian Cemetery please

Post by PeterTimber »

Old St Patrick Church 263 Mulberry Street, 10012 NYC, telephone number 212-226-8075.. Whynot give them a call and see if they can assist you readily and (ahem) what kind of donation would be acceptable. =peter=
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