Italian GGM Was Twice Married, Never Divorced: A Problem for My Jure Sanguinis Case?

[DrBlank_2947]

Ciao All,

I'm preparing my Jure Sanguinis case and have, I think, a pretty solid one, with one possible snag. I'd love to hear what others think about the situation. Read on!

The Details
My Italian GGF, Cosmo, came to the U.S. in 1913, had children here with my Italian GGM, Maria, and didn't naturalize until their kids (including my GF) were over 10 years old. Here's the rub: Maria was married twice--once in Sicily (1905, to a man named Nicolo Trovato) and then once in the U.S. (1923, to Cosmo). However, from what I can determine, Maria never divorced or was never able to divorce Nicolo. Nicolo himself had been married prior to his marriage to Maria, came to the US in 1920, and died here in 1937. So far as I know, Maria never had contact with Nicolo after she left him in 1912 and came to the U.S.

A Curious Twist
My GGP, Cosmo and Maria, were married in Wayne County, MI, on July 3, 1923. Interestingly, the ledger page on which the county registered their marriage (attached) shows a court-ordered correction to their marriage registration dated some 27 years after the marriage. This correction includes striking out Maria's former married name, Trovato, leaving only her maiden name, LoFaro. These changes are dated February 15, 1951. No one in my family has any idea why this change was made, but my suspicion is that it has something to do with her getting a retroactive annulment or divorce from her previous husband, Nicolo. Frustratingly, the microfilm copy of the Wayne County ledger page recording the marriage and the corrections doesn't allow you to see the full court order number as originally written, and I have been unsuccessful at tracking down the original paper ledger. I'm currently working with the Wayne County Circuit Courts to try to locate the court order with the information I have (i.e., partial order number, date, names of parties involved), but I'm not sure that I'll be successful at that either.

The Question
Does this situation--my GGM's prior marriage and possible retroactive divorce/annulment--seem like it could be a red flag for my Jure Sanguinis case? Has anyone dealt with anything similar to this situation before? I'm very much eager to hear any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas!

Grazie mille!
James

P.S. - I have posted this same query on some other Italian Citizenship boards. I hope that's not bad form; I'm just trying to get as much insight into this situation as possible.

[suanj]

I had a similar problem with a friend whose ancestors were of Calabrian origin. That is a case of bigamy of a parent. The fact that the surname on the marriage was changed, after 1937, in 1951, i.e. after the death of Nicolò Trovato, is useful, because she, being the widow of her legitimate husband, somehow healed the second marriage by correcting the surname. In Italy, women always keep their maiden name, so the surname rectification validates the marriage . To my friend who applied for dual citizenship, and obtained it, the Municipality of birth of the ancestor asked in addition only the death certificate of the bigamist's first spouse, in this case I think you would do well to get the certificate of death of Nicolò Trovato. Also attaching the court order could be helpful. In Italy, the children of di Cosmo and Maria at that time would have been considered children born out of marriage Maria, but still enjoying the legal rights of legitimized children. So that a parent was a bigamist at the time does not imply that the children were legitimized children. Then Maria also healed the discrepancy years after Nicolò died, so this is ok.

also the correction of Maria's surname, in my opinion also heals the problem that could arise if on the birth certificate of Cosmo and Maria's children, the mother's surname was written Trovato. With the correction of the surname, Maria put things in order. I repeat the only thing required of my friend, for a similar case was the death certificate of the first spouse of the bigamist parent.
Regards,
suanj

[DrBlank_2947]

Thank you so much for your response! On your advice, I've ordered an official copy of Nicolo's death certificate from the state of New York. Do you feel it might be wise also to order some of the other documents related to him that I've located on Ancestry.com, for instance, his arrival paperwork and the federal census entries for him and his children in New York? Doing so might help make the connection that the Nicolo my GGM married in Sicily was the same Nicolo who died in New York decades later.

Since I first posted my query, I've started working with a local genealogical society and their research team to locate the court order that amended my GGPs' marriage record. For all I know, the amendment could have been made for a health insurance application or for some other mundane reason--at least, that's what a county clerk's assistant suggested to me when I went looking for a copy of my GGPs' county marriage records a few months ago. I would hope, however, that the amendment was made to annul GGM's previous marriage to Nicolo so that, as you suggest, she can be shown to be "healing the problem."

You mentioned the birth certificates of my GGPs' children, so I also checked the names there. I'm tracing my lineage through my GF, and on his certificate his last name is slightly misrecorded as Olivario (should be Oliverio, i.e., my GGF's last name). Curiously, in the field for Mother's Current Legal Name, the entry reads "Not Recorded," but in the field for Mother's Full Name Before First Married the entry reads "Mattie Lafaro," (i.e., her maiden name) and there is again no mention of Trovato. Of course, her name was Maria Grazia Lofaro, but she went at times by Mattie. So while the absence of Trovato on my GF's birth certificate seems to bode well for me, I probably need to start getting all the other name discrepancies in this document and others addressed. If you know of a specific area of this site I should check for that sort of discussion, please let me know!

Grazie!

[suanj]

Hi,
Regarding other documents for the arrival of Cosmo etc, I don't think they are necessary, all you need is the non-naturalization certificate, or the naturalization certificate showing him naturalized AFTER the birth of the children, or in any case of the child from whom you descend.
Regarding the name of Maria Grazia Lofaro, discrepancies in this regard are usually resolved with an affidavit ONE AND THE SAME. As I have already told you, the fact that Cosmo was not legally married to Maria Grazia does not imply absolutely anything regarding Italian citizenship. Furthermore, you should apply through Cosmo for citizenship and therefore the complicated situation of Maria Grazia who is already married is a small and marginal problem for obtaining citizenship, which you solve with the affidavit.
Best regards,
suanj