Need Help Finding Information on my Grandfather Giacomo Riva

[pink67]

Hi!

I agreee with Ada, possible the right birth region for James was Piedmont Region...

This is 1910 census for James's father in law Pietro Allaria:

1910 United States Federal Census
about Peter Alaria
Name: Peter Alaria
Age in 1910: 25
[51]
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1885
[abt 1859]
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Spouse's Name: Orelia
Home in 1910: Cherry Valley, Lake, Michigan
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Peter Alaria 25 head
Orelia Alaria 48 wife
John Alaria 18 son
Joe Alaria 17 son
Rose Alaria 15 daughter
Peter Alaria 13 son
Romer Alaria 11 son
Frank Alaria 9 son

[img=http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5162 ... nt8.th.jpg]


and, from this 1907 arrival for Pietro you can see he had a sister and was born in San Giorgio Canavese, Torino Province, Piedmont Region...

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
about Pietro Allaria
Name: Pietro Allaria
Arrival Date: 12 Oct 1907
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1850
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Race­/Nationality: Italian (North) (Italian)
Ship Name: La Touraine
Search Ship Database: View the La Touraine in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Nativity: Italy
Line: 7
Microfilm Serial: T715
Microfilm Roll: T715_1015
Birth Location: Italy
Birth Location Other: s giorgio
Page Number: 182


page 1:
[img=http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7696 ... rc1.th.jpg]

page 2:
[img=http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/803/ ... yt6.th.jpg]

Don't know if James was from San Giorgio but it's possible he was from Piedmont...

Laura

[pink67]

Here is 1920 census for Aurelia Alaria... (James's mother in law).. she was already widowed ...

1920 United States Federal Census
about Amelia Alaria
Name: Amelia Alaria on the manifest Aurelia
[Armelia Alris]
[Amelia Alario]
Home in 1920: Grand Rapids Ward 3, Kent, Michigan
Age: 57 years
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1863
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Mother
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Marital Status: Widow
Race: White
Sex: Female
Year of Immigration: 1906
Able to read: No
Able to Write: No
Image: 175
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
John Alaria 27 head
Elizabeth Alaria 24 wife
Elizabeth Alaria 2 2/12 daughter
Lilian Alaria 9/12 daughter
Amelia Alaria 57 mother
Peter Alaria 23 brother
Romer Alaria 20 brother
Frank Alaira 18 brother

[img=http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/4163 ... jn8.th.jpg]

from this site:

http://search.labs.familysearch.org/rec ... e=standard

the marriage dates for Frank Olaria (Alaria)... (parents listed Peter Olaria and Orelia Mosvero):

[img=http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/2649 ... dk5.th.jpg]

[uantiti]

Hi,
if you look at the second John Riva, in the draft Wldspirit posted, you will see that his father address is in Italy, Province of Turin. The spelling of the town is not correct but it's a two words name. Now, the second part is "Canavese" which is an area in the province of Torino. There are several towns with the word "Canavese" added. I lived several years in that area. The problem is to find out what is the correct first part of the town name, assuming that this second John is related to your family.
Here is a list of the towns in Torino Province.
http://piemonte.indettaglio.it/eng/prov ... orino.html.

Ada

[wldspirit]

I could not make out the name of the town except Torino....
wldspirit

[uantiti]

Just to confirm that is Piedmont and that the area is "Canavese", there is a "San Giorgio Canavese". If you select the town and then click on the family names list, you will see that there are several Masoeros.

Ada

[pink67]

Hi all!

It seems St. (San) Ponsio (Consio) Canavese ....
I don't think this name exists...

Laura

p.s. sure James's mother and father in law were from San Giorgio Canavese, maybe it could be helpful ask for him in that Comune...

[uantiti]

Hi,
the LDS church has microfilmed 24 towns in the "Canavese area" including San Giorgio Canavese. You can find a center near you and request the rolls for that town, there are church records from 1500 to the end of 1800.
This is th link to find your nearest LDS center:
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library ... et_fhc.asp

Ada

[JeanR]

ADA:

The more I study the handwritten line on the document, more I can see that you are correct in your interpretation of what it says. It's a disappointment that it's not the name of the town Giocomo was from but I'm glad I posted it so I don't go off on a wild goose chase, looking for a town that don't exist. Thanks! I do have a copy of my grandfather's army paper. I don't read Italian and the writing is faded but I'll try to get a good image of the two sided posted.

WLDSPIRIT:

Oh, my Gosh! It gave me a chill to see my grandfather's signature on that draft registration. It also gave the name of the coal mine company he worked for. This is exciting because I know from oral history he was in caught in an explosion and cave-in that trapped him in the mine in that time frame. There were two of them in the 1910s and with that company name I'm hoping I can pin point which of the two accidents it was. The census gave me another nugget of information with a street name where he lived. Thank you so much for taking the time to post these images. I'm looking forward to studying them more.

By the way, what does the sentence in your signature mean?

Jean

[JeanR]

PINK:

I'm absolutely blown away with what you found on Peter and Orella Alaria. I need to learn some better search techniques, I think.

Thank YOU ALL for your input. I'm printing off this thread to study and put all pieces the together. I have such fond memories of my adolescence days when Italian customs and my extended family were a strong part of growing up. Reading their names on these documents posted here is a joyous return to those early memories.

Jean

[uantiti]

Jean,
if you have your grandfather army paper then for sure it states his place of birth. There must be something printed saying "data e luogo di nascita" which means: date and place of birth and after that there must be a date and a name of a town handwritten. Anyway try and post it so that we can see what we can read.


Ada

[JeanR]

Thank you, Ada. I just posted the army document in the translation forum. Click here.

Jean

[pink67]

Hi Jean and thank you for your kind words....
Here everybody is really glad to help..
I saw that Ada told you in the other section of the forum the exact birth town for Giacomo... that's great!

So, I found for you also the 1900 census for Pietro and Aurelia's family:

1900 United States Federal Census
about Petre Olerio
Name: Petre Olerio
Home in 1900: Felix, Grundy, Illinois
Age: 39
Birth Date: Nov 1860
Birthplace: Italy
Race: White
Ethnicity: American
Immigration Year: 1885
Relationship to head-of-house: Head
Father's Birthplace: Italy
Mother's Birthplace: Italy
Spouse's Name: Orelia
Marriage Year: 1884
Marital Status: Married
Years Married: 16
Residence : Carbon Hill, Coal City, Diamond Parts of Villages, Grundy, Illinois
Occupation: View Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Petre Olerio 39 head, born in Italy, year of imm. 1885
Orelia Olerio 38 wife, born in Italy, year of imm. 1886
Josie Olerio 14 daughter, born in France on Dec. 1885, year of imm. 1886
John Olerio 10 son, born in ILL
Joseph Olerio 8 son, born in ILL
Rosa Olerio 6 daughter, born in ILL
Peter Olerio 4 son, born in ILL
Romellio Olerio 11.12 son, born in ILL

here is the image:
[img=http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7261 ... mg5.th.jpg]

Laura

[JeanR]

Thank you, Pink! That census is very helpful in filling in some useful missing information.

I can't believe how great you all are on this forum in sharing your time and research talent.

Jean

[wldspirit]

Wonderful research Ada and Pink!!! I saw the link on the military infos,
this should really open doors to new research on the family.

Jean....the line is similar to our version of same song, different tune.

I am going to provide you with a few additional links.
At the following site, enter surname in cognome, town of interest in
dove, and click on cerca. This will bring up the name and address of all persons residing in that town who share your surname. From what was already provided in the military thread, there are not that many persons who carry the surnames of interest. It is possible and has been done before with great success, to write to these persons and make a family connection.

Address

Potential relative letter

Also, a book by Trafford R. Cole. "Italian Genealogical Records"
How to use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical, & Other Records in Family History
Research.
This book is a fast, easy read, one of the best I have ever seen.
After reading this, you will be a pro!! It covers everything....I had to order mine from Barnes and Noble, about 30 dollars if I remember correctly.

We have a great team here, always willing to go the extra mile....keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we can help with any other research or questions.
wldspirit

[Maurizio]

Hi all!

It seems St. (San) Ponsio (Consio) Canavese ....
I don't think this name exists...

Laura

As Laura, I too can read "St. Ponsio".
And the name exists: the Comune is SAN PONSO CANAVESE, not far from where I live and exactly bordering on PERTUSIO, the birthplace of Giacomo Riva as listed in his Italian Army discharge posted by Jean.
Ciao,
Maurizio

P.S.: May I add that I'm always absolutely astonished at seeing how quickly and efficaciously the forumists here succeed in making optimum use of web sources to gather useful info when it comes to discover what happened to Italian emigrants after they landed in U.S.? BRAVISSIMI!