Surnames: Massa, Castagnera, Grosso

[wishyou]

Hi.
Now I live in Vittorio Veneto, but till few yeras ago I lived in Scomigo.
Some parts of Scomigo is not under the city of Conegliano , may be you can't find it by this.
Anyway I know very well the priest of Scomigo.

About Castagnera: Could be also Castagner (it is usual name in Vittorio).
In Vittorio Veneto there are a lot of church and Castagner (or Castagnera) abitually came from the church of San Lorenzo in Montagna or Sant'ANdrea. I don't think you'll find anything in Serravalle or Ceneda church (anyway is better Serravalle than Ceneda).
You received the answer from Vittorio by Rita, isn't?

If you need any help contact me

N.b.: Castagner (or Castagnera) means "place where chestnut trees are". Probably the surname was given because they came from a place with a lot of chestnut trees (as San Lorenzo in Montagna or Piadera or Sant'Andrea or Forcal, all part of the city of Vittorio Veneto).
Massa is not an usual surname in Conegliano or Scomigo area, either Mazza. It could be Mazzer.

Another: all documents of Stato Civile in Italy start from 1871. Before you have to ask to the church. SOme register has benne destroyed in WWI (1917-1918) causa of Austrian invasion and WWII casue of Nazi invasion (1944-1945, lot of municiplity were burned up)

[wishyou]

Double....

[antonius2987]

Thanks for the great information! Check for a PM

[antonius2987]

I wanted to put a new post here to give some new information I found (with help from a very nice person in Italy). John Massa's name is in fact Giovanni Mazzer; he immigrated 17 Apr 1913. His parents were Giovanni Mazzer and Augusta Scottà. On the off chance that anyone knows about the Mazzer or Scottà families, I'd appreciate it.

[jcsm400]

Great! Now you can get those birth acts that have been giving you trouble.

Let us know if you need anything.

jcsm

[sisorella]

Antonius,

My mother, Irene Durigan Smith, is a granddaughter of Giovanni and Giuseppina Castagnera. She is formerly from the Summit Hill-Lehighton, Pennsylvania area and knows where a lot of our common ancestors' graves are. She says she did know Clara and some of the other relatives.

We now live in San Diego, CA, where another branch of Castagnera family also lives.

Please contact my mother off-list at sorella@webtv.net or me at albosdo@yahoo.com.

We are glad to have found your posts on this forum and to know there are other Castagneras out there! We look forward to coresponding more with you about our family history.

Sincerely,

Allyson Smith

[Castengera]

I am coming late (very late) to this discussion, but hopefully not too late. I had spent some time examining my father's family history, but then, unfortunately, stopped. If anybody is interested, I would like to re-start the process.

As you will see, my last name is spelled differently. It is the result of the SECOND trip through Ellis Island. Let me explain (or at least as I understand it).

My family came to America and settled in Summit Hill. My grandfather's family came from Scomigo. My grandmother was from a neighboring town whose name escapes me. In any case they lived there for a number of years, but grandmother was not happy. They returned to Scomigo. Family lore is that Mussolini started conscripting more and more young men, and my grandmother decided to return to the states. That was the second trip in which the name was damaged.

My father's given name was William Edward, although he was called Mario. He was born in Summit Hill. My uncles Rudy and Bruno were born (I believe) in Scomigo. My uncle Gilbert back in Summit Hill.

Probably way too much information, but I was struck by the amazing coincidence of names and places in the postings and am hoping this will jump start the conversation.