Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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wendrellica
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Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by wendrellica »

I have been trying to locate our family's ancestors, who came from Perugia, and emigrated to the US in 1880. Alfonzo Sirchio was our great grandfather, and he was born circa 1860 around Perugia. I would like to find his birth and marriage records, as well as information about the family members who stayed in Italy. Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks for your time.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by wldspirit »

Welcome to ItalianGenealogy.......Have you located all US records?
Are you referencing the Province or the town of Perugia?
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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In fact, no, I have been unable to locate anything beyond the census documents, but have been doing all of this from outside the US, so have not made any visits to the courts in Pennsylvania. Also problematic is that I have been unable to locate ANY record of our great grandfather entering the US at any of the Eastcoast ports of entry, although I have the approximates date or arrival. Isn't this strange? I've tried Philly, Baltimore, New York and Boston.

Re. Perugia, I believe they came from Perugia proper, but it may have, in fact, been one of the little towns outside of the city.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by BillieDeKid »

I found this manifest - let me know what you think

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup ... &line=0154
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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Thank you so much for the link! I had not tried that spelling variation, and I actually searched further with it, and found one other possible match. The trouble I have is that the information on the U.S. census reports differs- one shows Alfonso arriving circa 1890, and another, circa 1880. There are two possible matches on ships with this new spelling: 1 in 1882, one in 1893, age is the same in both cases, as is the port of debarkation. I have NO idea how to figure out which one is which. I'm hoping the one that you found is indeed the correct one, as he came from a small village, and birth records might therefore be easier to find. The other manifest does not show last place lived in Italy. I am wide open to any advice or suggestions which you might have. And thank you again.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by BillieDeKid »

For reference 1910 census
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8659 ... suskl8.jpg

1920 census
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5660 ... susfx4.jpg

Do you know if any other family members came to the US? His brother(s) or sister(s), uncles, aunts etc. If so can you give the names and approximate years of birth? If another family member came later we might be able to find a manifest that has the actual comune listed.

Also, the census lists his wife as Rose do you know her maiden name? And can you post the 1893 manifest? His 1920 census show's him as coming to USA in 1893 so you may have the correct manifest.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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Also be open to the possibility that he made more than one trip, which is not uncommon.

Perhaps running the names of the boarders may reveal further clues,
such as a relationship, cousin, brother in law, ect., between the families.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by wendrellica »

I'm sorry for my ignorance on this, but what do you mean by post the 1893 manifest? It was attached to the earliest reply to my posting, above. What is the reason for posting it?

I think the idea of running the boarders' names makes a lot of sense, and I'll do that immediately.

Perhaps what would be helpful is if I give you the big picture goal of my research - We have been living in Europe for nearly 20 years, and with the new possibility of obtaining Italian citizenship through ancestors who emigrated, we thought it would be an interesting possibility to pursue. Ultimately, we need to reach the point of finding our greatgrandfather's birth certificate, and his parents' marriage certificate, possibly their certificates as well. Am I heading in the right direction, based on your experience?
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by BillieDeKid »

After I posted the manifest I found you commented that there are 2 possible manifests (1892 and 1893) I would have liked to take a look at the other manifests you found to check for possible information to help in the search.

Yes you're headed in the right direction but in order to get a birth certificate you need to know the actual comune the person was born in and the comune married in.

If the manifest(s) are the same as posted I apologize and no need to post then.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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Since last poting, I have followed your advice on searchig for the boarders at our ancestor's home, to see if there is a common link, either birthplace or family tie, to indicate where our great grandfather emigrated from. I know one of the boarders was a cousin, Antonio Sirchio, dob 1880, arrival 1914. However, I can not find a record of his transit. I struck out with the other boarders.

What puzzles me is that there are definietely two different families: Sirchio (ours) and Sierchio (the one you found so helpfully on the manifest from 1893. I have searched back and forth and sideway,s using differrent sources and ways of thinking, to try to determine if our great grandfather might have simply dropped a letter in his name after arriving. Both families settled near each other outside of Philly, but came from different areas of Italy - Perugia and Calabritto, where they remain today. While the dates make sense, and the fact that I find NO record of an Alphonso SIRCHIO on a manifest seems to indicate that perhaps he could be the same person as the one listed on the 1893 manifest, I still trust my instincts that the two are different men. I don't know how to resolve this. I know he met his wife, Rosie, on the ship, and I have found a Rosa who was single on that ship, and approximately the right age. But I can not find a record of her in a census, nor do the census reports for Alphonso Sirchio from 1900-1920, show her maiden name.

I thought perhaps finding their marriage certificate would at least allow me to trace her passage, and narrow down the options. Do you have any other advice?
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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wendrellica wrote:Since last poting, I have followed your advice on searchig for the boarders at our ancestor's home, to see if there is a common link, either birthplace or family tie, to indicate where our great grandfather emigrated from. I know one of the boarders was a cousin, Antonio Sirchio, dob 1880, arrival 1914. However, I can not find a record of his transit. I struck out with the other boarders.

What puzzles me is that there are definietely two different families: Sirchio (ours) and Sierchio (the one you found so helpfully on the manifest from 1893. I have searched back and forth and sideway,s using differrent sources and ways of thinking, to try to determine if our great grandfather might have simply dropped a letter in his name after arriving. Both families settled near each other outside of Philly, but came from different areas of Italy - Perugia and Calabritto, where they remain today. While the dates make sense, and the fact that I find NO record of an Alphonso SIRCHIO on a manifest seems to indicate that perhaps he could be the same person as the one listed on the 1893 manifest, I still trust my instincts that the two are different men. I don't know how to resolve this. I know he met his wife, Rosie, on the ship, and I have found a Rosa who was single on that ship, and approximately the right age. But I can not find a record of her in a census, nor do the census reports for Alphonso Sirchio from 1900-1920, show her maiden name.

I thought perhaps finding their marriage certificate would at least allow me to trace her passage, and narrow down the options. Do you have any other advice?
Since last posting, I have had a real breakthrough, in that I learned the maiden name of our great grandmother (Rosa Beviaqua), and thus confirmed that our great grandfather arrived on July 20, 1893, on the USS Scotia. Now we are certain of his birthplace (Calabritto), and can go from there to find birth certificates, etc... What puzzles me is that the Catholic church where they settled, and all of their children were baptized has no record of their marriage. I know they met on the ship, and I wonder if anyone has any idea of whether or not shipboard marriages were common, and if so, how you find out about them. Or, alternatively, were there certain Catholic churches near Ellis Island where recent immigrants would rush off to marry? These are the only two alternatives I can think of, and would appreciate any thoughts or advice anyone might have to offer. The moderators have been so helpful so far, that I'm going to try my luck again. Thank you for your time.
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by suanj »

here a Alfonso Sirchio:
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
about Alfonso Sierchio (SIRCHIO)
Name: Alfonso Sierchio
Arrival Date: 15 Apr 1882
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1859
Age: 23

Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Palermo, Italy and Gibraltar
Destination: United States of America
Place of Origin: Italy
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian
Ship Name: Washington
Search Ship Database: Search the Washington in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York
Line: 35
Microfilm Serial: M237
Microfilm Roll: M237_449
List Number: 467
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States

more:
1900 United States Federal Census
about Alphonso Sirco
Name: Alphonso Sirco
Home in 1900: Conshohocken, Montgomery, Pennsylvania
Age: 41
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1859
Birthplace: Italy
Relationship to head-of-house: Head
Spouse's Name: Rosie
Race: White
Occupation: View Image
Immigration Year: 1881
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Alphonso Sirco 41
Rosie Sirco 37 imm. 1893
Antonio Sirco 2
Alfonso Sirco 3.12
Joseph Erie 27 lodger
Volentind 41 lodger
Dominick Comicella 31 lodger
Philip Comicella 23 lodger





maybe interesting.... regards, suanj
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by wendrellica »

Thanks, Suanj. This two manifests have caused me great confusion, as has the 1900 census. This is the only one of the three (1900,1910 and 1920) which shows Alfonso's arrival date as 1881 - the others all show early 1890s. It may be that this was his second trip, and that he met his wife at that time. When I looked at the 1900 census, I did not see indication of Rosie Sirco's immigration date. Where did you see that? Is there a particular code to look for that I missed? I'd appreciate knowing that, as I've looked at these censuses many, many times!

Do you have a suggestion about the shipboard marriages, or any pattern of immigrants marrying right after reaching the US, near Ellis Island? Thanks for your help, Wendy
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

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wendrellica wrote:Thanks, Suanj. This two manifests have caused me great confusion, as has the 1900 census. This is the only one of the three (1900,1910 and 1920) which shows Alfonso's arrival date as 1881 - the others all show early 1890s. It may be that this was his second trip, and that he met his wife at that time. When I looked at the 1900 census, I did not see indication of Rosie Sirco's immigration date. Where did you see that? Is there a particular code to look for that I missed? I'd appreciate knowing that, as I've looked at these censuses many, many times!

Do you have a suggestion about the shipboard marriages, or any pattern of immigrants marrying right after reaching the US, near Ellis Island? Thanks for your help, Wendy

Hello wendrellica,

SE HAI BISOGNO DI TROVARE DOCUMENTI (es. ATTO DI NASCITA DI ALFONSO SIERCHIO) DA CALABRITTO IO POTREI AIUTARTI.

ANCHE LA MIA FAMIGLIA (DI POPOLO) PROVIENE DA CALABRITTO, E HO MOLTI PARENTI CON QUESTO COGNOME.

SE HAI BISOGNO CONTATTAMI PURE.

FILIPPO
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Re: Finding the Sirchio family in Perugia

Post by desimone4 »

I have been recently researching my family, and I came across this forum. I believe my great grandfather was also Alphonso Sirchio (or Sierchio), born about 1859. My grandfather (his son) was Anthony Joseph Sirchio, and his death certificate indicates that his mother (Alphonso's wife) was some spelling variation on Rosa Beviaqua, born in Italy. His wife (my grandmother) was Carmella Gallucci, also born in Italy. The family was settled in Conshohocken, PA at the time. I would be very interested to know how you determined that Alphonso Sirchio came from Calabritto. Or if anyone else has information about the Sirchio and Gallucci families, I would appreciate it. Please reply to desimone@mit.edu
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