Casalvecchio di Puglia

[LouMascitello]

My own family, (some of whom had the spelling of our surname with an "o" and some with an I", I understand a priest or parish clerk made the decision at random), is from paese Castropignano a Provincia Campobasso. We have MANY DiMarcos as well as Buonavicos, Placitellas and more. Mind you, Nonno and Nonna, (n. Buonavico), only came here in the '20's, so they only had six children born "on the other side", (and another 7 here), so MANY of these families knew each other well before hand.

[anthony71688]

You're welcome?!

#5 Rose/Rosa Maria FINO married Pasquale Arthur ANNANTUONIO on Dec 30, 1944 in Milford. Pasquale was born April 8, 1920 in Milford. He and Rose have exactly the same date of death of October 22, 1995. I haven't as yet learned the story that must exist behind that fact.

I haven't tracked Rose & Pasquale's children beyond their son Anthony A. ANNANTUONIO Sr. born March 23, 1946 as they are likely still living. I did track Pasquale's family upstream and learned a few interesting things.
Pasquale's original surname is most likely IANNANTUONO. His father Antonio (1888 ? Italy - 1977 MA) immigrated in 1906 and married Filomena ZURLO (1892 CM - 1974 MA) on Jan 30, 1910. I have listed and partially tracked 5 other children for Antonio & Filomena:
---Donato/Daniel A. (1911 - 2009) who married Eleanor DEMERS
---Lucia/Lucy (1913-1930) who died as a child
---Arturo/Arthur M. (1914-2000) who married Margaret MEOMARTINO
---Guerino/Goody A. (1916-2006) who married Rose TESSICINI
---Ermando P. (1918-2014) who married Minerva WATKINS

Antonio lists his parents as Leonardo and Lucia IADAROLA. I was unable to track Antonio to a hometown in Italy or to continue beyond what is listed in the 1910 marriage for his parents. In his wife's hometown of Casalnuovo Monterotaro, IANNANTUONI is a common surname but IADAROLA is relatively rare. In nearby Pietramontecorvino, IANNANTUONO is the version used and is relatively common. IADAROLA is very common and there are many IANNANTUONO/IADAROLA marriages in the books. I couldn't find a 1888 range birth for Antonio or a Leonardo + Lucia marriage on the quick scans I did, but did not dig very deeply. Some other document with some clue to Antonio's origins must be found to help narrow down the search areas. Again based on the early records found, IANNANTUONO is the most likey 'pre-americanized' version.

Filomena ZURLO's family took me once again deep into the Casalnuovo Monterotaro records. Her parents were Antonio Maria (1859 CM - +1940 MA) and Angela MANDES (1862 CM - +1940 MA) who married Feb 9, 1882 in CM. I have listed and partially tracked 6 other children for Antonio & Angela:

This is too funny! I'm looking for information on my great grandfather Alessandro Porzio and found this through the search. His wife being my great grandmother was Josephine Zurlo. We must be related lol.
---Maria Maddalena (B. Sep 15, 1883)
---Pasquale (1885-1886)
---Nicola Pasquale (B. Sep 5, 1887) married 1st Angela Maria MINCHILLO/2nd Rosa MEOMARTINO
---Rosa (1894 CM - 1979 MA) married Antonio SANNICANDRO (son Michele & Carmela DeLUCA)
---Eda/Ida (1897 CM - 1992 MA) married Amelio Nunzio FERRELLI. Their daughter Rose Mary (1923 MA - 2008 MA) married Michael D'ALOIA Sr. (1920 CdP - 2003 MA)
---Giuseppa/Josephine (1899 CM - 1989 MA) married Alessandro PORZIO (son of Baldasarre? and Raffaela IADAROLA)

Antonio Maria's parents were Nicola Pasquale ZURLO (B. 1832 CM ) and Maria Maddalena TOCCI (B. 1836 CdP) who were married Nov 8, 1855 in Casalvecchio. Nicola Pasquale's parents were Diego (B. ~ 1792 Lucera) and Vittoria PALADINO (B. ~ 1792 Lucera) who were married Jan 5, 1812 in Lucera. Diego & Vittoria moved their family to CM sometime between 1824 and 1832. Many (if not all) ZURLOs in CM descend from them including:
--- Vincenzo (B. 1819 Lucera) who married Angela Maria SOCCI in 1841
--- Anna (B. ~ 1822 Lucera) who married Giovannantonio D'AMICO in 1851
---Domenico (B. 1824 Lucera) who married Angiola DiNUNZIO (her mother was Emanuela IANNANTUONI)
Only known from the 1812 marriage: Diego's parents were Domenico & Teresa GRAZIANO/Vittoria's were Gaspare & Rachel VERRELLI.

Maria Maddalena TOCCI's parents were Antonio Maria Martino (B. ~1806 CdP) and Carmina CRIASIA (B. 1813 CdP) who were married April 25, 1835. Antonio Maria Martino's parents were Teodoro ( B. ~1780) & Maddalena TOSCHES ( B. ~1780) who were married ~1800. Carmina's parents were Giuseppe Maria ( B. ~1788) and Maria Giovanna FRATTA ( B. ~1790) who were married ~1808. We will see another child of this marriage, Leonardo Antonio CRIASIA, in a later post.

Angela MANDES' parents were Vincenzo Maria (B. 1834 CM) and Maria Filomena BECCIA (B. 1834 CM) who were married Nov 22, 1855. Vincenzo Maria's parents were Giuseppe Maria (B. 1811 CM) and Angela Maria IANNETTA (B. 1814 CM) who were married April 14, 1833. Giuseppe Maria's parents were Luigi (B. ~1786 CM) and Angela Maria CAPPABIANCA (B. ~1786 CM) who married about 1806. Angela Maria's parents were Adamantonio (B. ~1789 CM) and Maria Vincenza DiNUNZIO who were married about 1809.

Maria Filomena BECCIA's parents were Giovannantonio/Giovanni (B. 1811 CM) and Angela Maria VILLANO (B. ~*1821* CM - Bef 1857) who were married Oct 27, 1833. Giovannantonio/Giovanni married again in 1857 to Maddalena FIORE (daughter of Michele & Silvia SANTOMARCO). Giovannantonio/Giovanni's parent's were Nicola (B. ~1787 CM) and Cristina SANGIULIANO (B. ~1787 CM) who were married about 1807.

Angela Maria VILLANO's parents were Domenico Maria (B. ~1793 CM) and Rachela CICCONE (B. ~1793 CM) who were married October 24, 1813. Domenico Maria's parents were Angelo (B. ~1772 CM) and Rosa MEOMARTINO (B. ~1772 CM) who were married about 1792. Rachela's parents were Giovanni and Liboria PIERRI/PIRRO/PIRRI.

Some of Giovanni CICCONE and Liboria PIERRI/PIRRO/PIRRI's other children include; Luigi who married Annantonio ZULLO in 1830, Saverio who married Teresa AGNUSDEI in 1835, Gabriella who married Michelangelo FERRECCHIA in 1830 and Francesco Paolo who married Rachele PALMIERI in 1834.

Next time we are going deep into some VERY familiar Casalvecchio families as we explore the ancestry of #8 Angelina Rose FINO's husband Agostino/Augustino Anthony NIRO.

[NickAndreola]

"This is too funny! I'm looking for information on my great grandfather Alessandro Porzio and found this through the search. His wife being my great grandmother was Josephine Zurlo. We must be related lol."

Hi, Anthony! That's the one big takeaway I've learned from my research into our families from this part of Italy --especially those that came to the Milford Mass. area in the USA---we are all so interconnected its almost easier to say who we are NOT related to

Your GGM & her family are already on the tree https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Zurlo-11 and notations are there for your GGF, Alessandro Porzio and their children. Click on the 'SHOW ANCESTORS' button and I think you'll be surprised . I did not find any direct blood links for Josephine & me, BUT we have many common surnames (Fratta, Criasia, Tosches etc...) in our histories and I've only been able to go back to the late 1700's ...

I did not track upstream on the Porzios. If you need help with the records for them, please feel free to give me a buzz.

[NickAndreola]

Hi Lou!

I've been having difficulty with this website blocking my posts...I wanted to ask where your family emigrated to in the USA.

[NickAndreola]

Cousins,
Please note that the powers-that-be at the wikitree website have decided that the "Category" function will not be used for the functions that were most useful to me so I will no longer be adding any of the new family connections I make or any of the Casalvecchio specific research links/discussion topics to those pages.

Through some additional family connections I've been looking into, I stumbled on a FINO descendant line that I had missed earlier. Originally, I had not been able to locate any information for the 4th child of Angelo Maria FINO & Anna Rosa COICO, Maria Giuseppa. Coming down another research avenue, I discovered her marriage to Pasquale IACOVELLA (I) on Feb 19, 1857. Pasquale married Maria Filomena COSTANTINO on April 28, 1861 so we must assume that Maria Giuseppa FINO died prior to that (prior to the 1866 records available as well).

Pasquale's parents were Francesco IACOVELLA & Maria SIMONE. I will be doing additional tracking at a later date on the Simone family line and will add more detail then for his parents.

Maria Giuseppa & Pasquale had one known child, Francesco, on Jan 18, 1858. Francesco was in the 'swing' generation for his surname so both versions are seen throughout his and his children's records. Below is a explanatory note that used to be at the wikitree site:
"...Be aware that some of these surnames have gone through some changes over time. Some, such as the CRIASIA to CREASIA and the VENDITTI to VENDETTI transitions, appear to have coincided with immigration into the USA; others such as the IACOVELLA to IACOVELLI transitions occurred earlier and while the families were still in Casalvecchio. Be mindful of the names with the apostrophe; D'Aloia is seen in the USA as Daloia etc... The DI XXXX and DE XXXX names appear to also have shifted in the mid-1800's-the early records often use DI and later records use DE. The early (1810-1865) records are only available as transcriptions while the later (1866-1910) records are viewable in the original handwritten form. Where any issues/conflicts exist, my default has been to go with the way the names are spelled on the original later records."

Francesco is listed as an IACOVELLA-his children are listed as IACOVELLI's.
Francesco married Anacleta Amalia CALZONE (B. May 11, 1859) on Nov 9, 1882 in CdP. Amalia's parents were Paolo Maria (~1809-Dec 9, 1892) & Maria Giovanna SANNICANDRO (Jan 19,1821-bef 1892). Again reflective of the difficult times in this part of Italy in this time period, Francesco & Amalia's first 4 children did not survive childhood:
1. Maria Giuseppa (Nov 25, 1883-Aug 12, 1884)
2. Pasquale (Nov 27, 1884-Dec 5, 1884)
3. Angela Maria (Aug 2, 1886-Nov 22, 1886)
4. Pasquale (May 30, 1890-July 18, 1892)
Their 5th and last child born in CdP was Maria Giuseppa. More about her below. Shortly after Maria Giuseppa's birth in 1892, the family emigrated to the US. First they moved to Newark, New Jersey where children 6 & 7 were born. Then they moved to Montrose, Pennsylvania where children 8 & 9 were born. The family finally settled in Milford, Massachusetts in the early 1900's and Francesco set up his own shoe repair shop. Francesco died on May 22, 1931 in Milford. I have yet to be able to find an absolute date for Amalia's death.
5. Maria Giuseppa 'Josephine' (June 2, 1891 CdP-March 6, 1981 MA) married Giovanni Maria VENDITTI/VENDETTI (Sep 26, 1885 CdP-Jan 1968 MA) on June 7, 1909 in MA and had 5 known children (all as VENDETTI):
---Unnamed (Jan 20, 1911-Jan 20, 1911)
---Stefano Joseph 'Stephen' (Feb 20, 1912-Nov 16, 1985) married Nora Marie DIOTALEVI
---Maria Domenica (May 27, 1913-Aug 17, 1919)
---Francis John (July 19, 1920-March 7, 2004) married Maria Clementina DE LUCA
---Luciano Mario 'Lucio' (Sep 27, 1924-?)
Giovanni Maria VENDITTI/VENDETTI's parents were Stefano & Domenica Maria BECCIA - this family has many connections already documented.
6. Pierina (B. ~1894 NJ-July2, 1903 MA)
7. Antonetta/Antonia "Jennie" (Aug 5, 1896 NJ-July 9, 1964 CA) married Emilo Luigi D'ALOIA (B. Sep 14, 1894 CdP-?) 3 known children: Florence Maria (B. Jan 5, 1918), Anna Claire (B. April 16, 1922) & Rita Eleanor (B. Sep 23, 1924)
8. Santina Regina (~1898 PA-?) married Antonio FIORI and had 1 known child, Veronica Anna (B. Nov 24, 1931). Divorced by 1940.
9. Rose R. (B. ~1899 PA-?) married 1st Luigi IANNITELLI and had 1 child, Regina (B. Sep 30, 1921). Married 2nd Arthur Ward ROBERTS, no children found. Divorced by 1940.

That's all I have for now hope I haven't bored too many people!

[NickAndreola]

Below is a explanatory note that used to be at the wikitree site:

"...Be aware that some of these surnames have gone through some changes over time. Some, such as the CRIASIA to CREASIA and the VENDITTI to VENDETTI transitions, appear to have coincided with immigration into the USA; others such as the IACOVELLA to IACOVELLI transitions occurred earlier and while the families were still in Casalvecchio. Be mindful of the names with the apostrophe; D'Aloia is seen in the USA as Daloia etc... The DI XXXX and DE XXXX names appear to also have shifted in the mid-1800's-the early records often use DI and later records use DE. The early (1810-1865) records are only available as transcriptions while the later (1866-1910) records are viewable in the original handwritten form. Where any issues/conflicts exist, my default has been to go with the way the names are spelled on the original later records."

Another surname topic that was formerly discussed at that site that is relevant to virtually anyone who has ancestors in Casalvecchio:

TOSCHES is a very common surname in this area and one that is likely connected into almost every Casalvecchiesi family tree in some way. Having this surname somewhere in your ancestry is a sure sign to expect at least some Albanian/Balkan results in your DNA tests. It has been rarely seen in post-immigration records reviewed so far in an Americanized form as TOSKES.

I haven't had time to explore the roots of this surname more fully, however with some of the information from the 'Cognomi' book linked below and from various wikipedia pages, some ideas begin to form:

Translated from book: "Tosches is a surname typical of Casalvecchio di Puglia in Foggia, of Albanian origins is present in Foggia at least from the second half of 1500."
Original from book: Tosches è un cognome tipico di Casalvecchio di Puglia nel foggiano, di origini albanesi è presente nel foggiano almeno dalla seconda metà del 1500.

The Arbëreshë speak Arbëresh, an old variant of Albanian spoken in Southern Albania that is known as Tosk Albanian. The language is of particular interest to students of the modern Albanian language as it represents sounds, grammar and vocabulary of pre-Ottoman Albania.

Tosk (Albanian: toskë/toskërisht) is the southern dialect group of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern dialect) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is the basis of the standard Albanian language.

It is perhaps only coincidental that TOSK/toskë -- TOSCHES seem so aligned. But one can easily extrapolate the conjecture that some of the early Tosk/Albanian immigrants into Italy could have taken this as their surnames.

An excellent resource for learning more about our surnames can be found here:
http://www.ganino.com/cognomi_italiani

[ptosches]

I'm planning a trip to Italy in September and want to visit my grandfather's hometown of Casalvecchia di Puglia. Giacomo Tosches (and his parents) eventually settled in Milford, MA, which apparently was the destination for a number of families from this town. Any suggestions for finding out more about his roots and/or potentially contacting family members still living in the area? Any help is much appreciated.

[NickAndreola]

Hi P.!

I've just got a few minutes this morning but will get back to you with more when time allows.
First, I've just got a few notes on your family--they're rough and much more work needs to be done to sort out details and chase down additional info but they'll give you an idea of how to dig:

Your GF, Giacomo (1907 CdP - 1983 MA) {See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=2043436 for his birth record} came to the USA in 1920 with his mother, Maria Michela TOSCHES--her maiden name--- They traveled with other folks from the town (some are already documented in the tree https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Mazzone-47-2) Giacomo's father was already in Milford.


Name Giacomo Tosches
Event Type Immigration
Event Date 1920
Event Place Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
Gender Male
Age 13
Birth Year (Estimated) 1907
Birthplace Italy
Ship Name Cretic
"Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, ... 1,404,380.


Giacomo's parent's were Giovanni Maria TOSCHES (B. ~1870) & Maria Michela TOSCHES (B. ~1870) who were married about 1892 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=2043436


Giovanni Maria 's parents were Giacomantonio TOSCHES & Filomena CIVETTA who were married in 1866https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... cc=2043436


Giacomantonio's parents were Giovanni TOSCHES & Maria Michela CELOZZI

Name Giacomo Antonio
Gender Male
Christening Date 10 May 1841
Christening Place CIVILE, CASALVECCHIO DI PUGLIA, FOGGIA, ITALY
Birth Date 09 May 1841
Father's Name Giovanni Tosches
Mother's Name Maria Michela Celozzi
"Italia Nati e Battesimi, 1806-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XK3W-VZB : 10 February 2018), Giovanni Tosches in entry for Giacomo Antonio, 10 May 1841; citing , reference 2:1FCN54H; FHL microfilm 1,178,113.


They were married in 1826
Name Giovanni Michele Tosches
Birth Date 1802
Birthplace Casalvecchio
Age 24
Spouse's Name Maria Michele Celozzi
Spouse's Birth Date 1803
Spouse's Birthplace Casalvecchio
Spouse's Age 23
Event Date 12 Nov 1826
Event Place Civile, Casalvecchio Di Puglia, Foggia, Italy
Father's Name Pasquale
Mother's Name Maria Tosches
Spouse's Father's Name Michelangelo
Spouse's Mother's Name Catterina Criasia
"Italia Matrimoni, 1809-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XKQP-MNT : 10 February 2018), Giovanni Michele Tosches and Maria Michele Celozzi, 12 Nov 1826; citing Civile, Casalvecchio Di Puglia, Foggia, Italy, reference 2:1QQQZKC; FHL microfilm 1,178,117.


I haven't made full checking etc... but it is likely that these are your further ancestors Pasquale TOSCHES & Maria TOSCHES https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tosches-130 and Michelangelo CELOZZI & Caterina CRIASIA https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Celozzi-51


Your Great GM Maria Michela's parents were Michele TOSCHES & Anna Maria MARGOLICCI? MIchele was deceased by 1892. I haven't dug any deeper on this side yet.

You have SO many TOSCHES connections! I'll get back when there's more time.....

BTW --nice to meet you!

[NickAndreola]

A few more items this morning. These show that you and I are indeed blood cousins.

Filomena CIVETTA (who married Giacomantonio TOSCHES in 1866) was born Feb 4, 1842 and her parents were Mercurio Antonio (B. ~1804-1877) and Carmina NIRO (B. ~1809-1897). Carmina's parents were Ferdinando (B.~1775) and Maria Fedela NIRO (B.~1777). Ferdinando & Maria Fedela were my fourth great grandparents.

Carmina was living at #11 Vico primo Garibaldi at the time of her death (1897) and they were at #10 Vico primo Garibaldi in 1877.

Giovanni TOSCHES & Maria Michela TOSCHES lived at #17 Via Ricciardi in 1907 when your grandfather was born.

Hopefully, you'll have the opportunity to see some of your ancestral homes when you visit!

[bousejg]

My family is from Casalvecchio. thought you might be interested in this history:

Casalvecchio Italy
The village was founded by some Greek-Albanian refugees who, in order to escape the invasion of the Balkans by the Turks, poured out massively into the territory of daun; They originally settled about three kilometers from Casalvecchio, in the municipality known today as Castelnuovo della Daunia , where they lived between 1468 and 1476 , but cohabitation was not easy from the start, considering the often tenacious indole and the rebel of the Albanian people, in fact the differences, the continuous episodes of intolerance, the difficult coexistence of these refugees with the community of Castelnuovo continued beyond the early decades of the sixteenth century, when Greek-Albanians abandoned their first home to populate the near the farmhouse that depended on it, as reported by the ancient documents and named until then as Sanctus Petrus de Castelluccio, but later became Casalvecchio di Puglia.
Its inhabitants are arbëreshë , and despite having lost the Byzantine rite, they keep the arbëreshë language and the traditions of Greek-Albanian fathers very lively.

[NickAndreola]

Yes, that was very interesting! Thank you!

[ptosches]

Thank you for all the information. It will be a huge help. This is pretty exciting stuff and I am looking forward to finding more when we get there. I'm always amazed at how you can dig things up from so long ago -- and very much appreciate the help. Pete

[Kjb83]

Hello everyone,

My grandfather's name is Alfred Beccia and is from Milford, Massachusetts. His parents were Michele Beccia and Anna Delsignore. We were never able to find much about the Beccia lineage and my grandfather doesn't remember much, until recently he said he thought Michele Beccia's parents were named Enrique and Angela. According to Michele Beccia's WWII draft card, he was born in Caselvecchio del Puglia on January 11, 1895. That takes me to just now to this site. I noticed the name Angelamaria Beccia and got very excited. I'm just starting to look through these records and hoping I can find some more info. Thank you for posting these records!

[mmogno]

Record #6, Jan 13, 1895. Birth of Michele Beccia in Casalvecchio di Puglia (Foggia).
Father: Luigi Beccia, son of deceased Michele, 34 yo, farmer, born and resident in Casalvecchio.
Mother: Anna Maria Petrella, daughter of Giovannantonio, 24 yo, farmer, Luigi's wife.
Date: January 12, 1895 at 6.15 am.
Place: Vico terzo Cairoli #15.
Witnesses: Michele Bianco, son of deceased Francesco, 50 yo, farmer; Nicola Oliviero, son of deceased Michele, 43 yo, farmer. Both resident in Casalvecchio
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 6&cat=1027

Record #6, February 9, 1889. Marriage Luigi Beccia & Anna Maria Petrella in Casalvecchio.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 6&cat=1027

[mmogno]

Attachements to Marriage (Processetti)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 6&cat=1027

Birth of Luigi Beccia on Feb 18, 1861 in Casalvecchio.
Father: Michele, 22 yo, son of Saverio.
Mother: Orazia Cipollone. 22 yo.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 6&cat=1027

Birth of Anna Maria Petrella on Aug 20, 1871 in Casalvecchio.
Father: Giovanni Antonio, 41 yo, born in Pescas(s)eroli, son of deceased Savino.
Mother: Domenica Venditti.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 6&cat=1027

Death of Giovanni Antonio Petrella on Jul 16, 1884 in Casalvecchio.
Mother: Monaca Saltarelli.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 6&cat=1027